Match times, streaming information, tickets and travel, team news, head-to-head record, weather forecast, prediction, and everything else you need to know ahead of the latest round of the County Championship...
Fixture: Leicestershire v Somerset
Venue: Uptonsteel County Ground, Leicester
Dates: Thursday, April 22, 2021 - Sunday, April 25, 2021
Start time: 11am
What's the lowdown?
After struggling against Hampshire — a fixture which saw a formal complaint when Hassan Azad was incorrectly given out stumped after Hampshire wicketkeeper McManus removed his bails with one hand while the ball was in the other — Leicestershire bounced back to register a creditable, high-scoring draw against Surrey at the Kia Oval.
Somerset’s April has been mixed. An astonishing fight-back to win at Lord’s was followed by a rather limp display at home against Gloucestershire, their West-Country rivals easily chasing down a fourth-innings target of 153 to win by eight wickets.
Who's in form?
Opening batsman Azad has had an eventful few weeks. After kicking off his season against a challenging Hampshire attack, the 27-year-old was at the centre of that stumping controversy.
Unflustered, in the next round of fixtures Azad registered a first-innings 55 and a match-saving, unbeaten 144 at The Oval. This season the opener has 244 runs at 81.33 against Mohammad Abbas, Kyle Abbott and Kemar Roach, among others.
The usual suspects have done the damage for Somerset early season, with Craig Overton and Lewis Gregory chipping in with nine and eight wickets respectively. Gregory was there at the end for the win against Somerset, blasting 62 not out from 72, as Somerset, inspired by a gritty 84 from Tom Abell and an unbeaten 76 from George Bartlett, chased down 285 to win by four wickets.
Last five first-class matches (most recent first)
Leicestershire: DLLDD
Somerset: LWDWW
Head-to-head first-class record
Total matches: 101
Leicestershire wins: 28
Somerset wins: 33
Draws: 40
What's the team news?
Leicestershire: With overseas signing Marcus Harris available for the first time this season and Sam Evans, who made a maiden century at The Oval in last week's game, ruled out with a concussion, it's a straight swap at the top of the order for Leicestershire.
Leicestershire squad: Colin Ackermann (c), Callum Parkinson, Hassan Azad, Harry Dearden, Alex Evans, Gavin Griffiths, Marcus Harris, Lewis Hill, Dieter Klein, Ben Mike, Rishi Patel, Harry Swindells, Chris Wright.
Somerset: One change for Somerset as Eddie Byrom misses out on the 13-man squad.
Somerset squad: Tom Abell (c), George Bartlett, Tom Banton, Jack Brooks, Josh Davey, Steve Davies, Marchant de Lange, Lewis Gregory, James Hildreth, Tom Lammomby, Jack Leach, Craig Overton, Roelof van der Merwe.
Latest Leicestershire news: Click here
Latest Somerset news: Click here
Who's said what?
Leicestershire head coach Paul Nixon is looking forward to a rare opportunity for his young side to test themselves against Somerset in four-day cricket, having not played against one another in the longer format since 2007.
"It's wonderful," he told BBC Radio Leicester's Cricket Show. "That's what county cricket used to be in years gone by. Somerset are a great club.
"Somerset have done that brilliantly. I can't wait to play them, we see them a lot in T20 and for us, our young lads need a bit more confidence. Hopefully, that can be a catalyst."
Somerset head coach Jason Kerr is backing his side to bounce back after the loss to Gloucestershire.
"I’m looking forward to seeing how the guys respond this week. It’s important not to panic at this early stage of the season. We’ve had two games of cricket, which is four innings. We’ve won one game and lost one game. You don’t become a bad player overnight."
What's the weather forecast?
The weather at Grace Road is set fair for the four days with peak temperatures of 16 degrees on day two. A bit of cloud cover will persist through the afternoon of day three until the following morning, but no rain is scheduled for this fixture.
Keep up to date with the MetOffice’s rolling forecast for Grace Road: Click here
How do I follow the match?
TV/stream: Leicestershire will offer live coverage of the match via their website: Click here
All County Championship matches are also available via the ECB's central hub: Click here
The matches can also be viewed on mobile via the ECB app.
Radio: BBC Local Radio and the BBC Sport website will carry ball-by-ball radio commentary of the game.
Digital: The Cricketer will carry live scorecards and daily updates from every County Championship match in 2021, as well as the latest breaking news from around the counties and exclusive features. Visit our County Hub for more.
Going to the game?
Tickets: This match is to be played behind closed doors owing to Covid-19 restrictions.
Travel: Not applicable owing to Covid-19 restrictions.
Prediction?
The Cidermen will be looking for a reaction after the upset against Gloucestershire. Harris and Azad will be a tough opening pair to crack but Somerset have the tools to do so and enter this week's fixture as firm favourites. Away win.
OTHER MATCH PREVIEWS
Group 1
Worcestershire v Nottinghamshire
Group 2
Group 3
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