Rishi Patel, Colin Ackermann centuries ship Leicestershire high of Group A
Leicestershire 411 for six (Patel 161, Ackermann 100*, Budinger 81) Lancashire 316 (Jennings 127, Bailey 60, Vilas 57) by 95 runs
Rishi Patel made a career-best List A rating of 161 to assist Leicestershire Foxes go to the highest of Group A within the Metro Bank One-Day Cup with a totally convincing 95-run defeat of Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford.
Patel’s 129-ball innings was adopted by an excellent swifter century from Colin Ackermann, who made 100 not out, because the guests piled up 411 for six, their highest rating in List A cricket. In reply, Lancashire skipper Keaton Jennings made 127 however the residence facet had been bowled out for 316 with the debutant leg-spinner Uttam Ramji taking 3 for 58 off 6.2 eventful overs.
In the primary innings of the match the bowling of a dot ball represented a triumph. Patel and his opening associate, Sol Budinger, set the tone for his or her facet’s effort by placing on 159 in 21 overs, thus establishing a brand new file for the primary wicket in matches between these counties.
After hitting 9 fours and three sixes in his 61-ball 81, Budinger was caught at long-on by Tom Bailey off Tom Aspinwall and that started a small collapse for the guests, who additionally misplaced Lewis Hill and Peter Handscomb within the subsequent six overs. But these reverses had been merely the prelude to a different onslaught as Patel and Ackermann added 110 runs within the subsequent 13 overs.
Patel’s magnificent innings ended when he drove Jack Blatherwick to Jennings at cowl and the identical bowler then had Wiaan Mulder caught behind by Matty Hurst for two. That left the Foxes on 311 for five within the forty second over however any pleasure Blatherwick felt at taking his seventh List A wicket of the week was rapidly dispelled when he bowled his second above waist-high full toss of the innings and needed to be faraway from the assault.
Lancashire struggling additionally continued. Although Louis Kimber fell to a catch at deep midwicket off Will Williams for 15, Ackermann and Tom Scriven smashed an extra 62 off 34 balls with Ackermann reaching his century when he pushed Bailey’s penultimate ball of the innings for a single. Scriven’s six off the ultimate supply ensured that Leicestershire’s List A 406 in opposition to Berkshire in 1996 was eclipsed.
Blatherwick, the one bowler to take a couple of wicket completed with three for 70. Apart from Balderson, who picked up one for twenty-four from 5 overs, the remainder of the house facet’s figures carried a authorities well being warning.
Needing to attain at 8.24 runs per over to win the sport, Lancashire’s openers took 35 runs off the primary 4 overs however that shiny begin to the innings ended when Bell minimize Chris Wright very exhausting to backward level, the place Budinger took a wonderful catch.
Josh Bohannon scarcely settled and had made solely 10 when he hoisted Scriven excessive to quick mid-on the place Mulder took the catch operating in from midwicket. Dane Vilas helped Jennings add 77 in 9 overs earlier than two run-outs within the house of three overs put the skids underneath Lancashire’s pursuit.
In each instances the non-striker was dismissed. First, Vilas, having made 57, his third successive List A fifty scampered down the wicket when Jennings reverse-swept Ackermann, solely to be defeated by Wright and Handscomb’s relay throws; then Balderson thought a single was potential when Jennings performed the ball to cowl however was overwhelmed by Budinger’s throw to the debutant, Uttam Ramji.
Two overs later, Ramji, who has come by means of the Grace Road Academy, took his first senior wicket when he had Matty Hurst leg earlier than wicket for 2 to go away Lancashire on 181 for 5.
The highly-rated Aspinwall then made 16 off eight balls earlier than reverse-sweeping his ninth, from Ackermann to Patel at backward level. Jennings reached his century off 92 balls and later took 16 runs off the primary three balls of Ramji’s fifth over, solely to be caught at deep midwicket by Ackermann trying to smack a 3rd most.
Bailey then provided some late defiance with a 42-ball 60 however he fell to Ramji’s catch at deep square-leg off Wright and the debutant then dismissed Williams to finish his facet’s deserved victory.