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 LV= Insurance County Championship...
Fixture: Leicestershire v Middlesex
Venue: Uptonsteel County Ground, Leicester
Dates: Thursday, May 27, 2021 - Sunday, May 30, 2021
Start time: 11am
What's the lowdown?
It’s a basement battle in Group Two with fifth-placed Middlesex taking on sixth-placed Leicestershire in a match which will likely decide who finishes the first part of the season at the foot of the table.
Middlesex have won just once in 2021, completing a 10-wicket victory over Surrey in round three. They played out a rain-affected draw against the same opponents in round seven, but every other match has been a ruthless defeat. Batting has been Middlesex’s kryptonite throughout the red-ball season, frequently undoing the good work of the bowlers. They have been all out for a sub-200 score in seven of their 14 innings and most recently posted 160 after dismissing Surrey for 190 in the first innings at the Oval.
Leicestershire, meanwhile, are winless after six matches, suffering defeats against Hampshire, Somerset and Gloucestershire, and completing three draws. Their two drawn matches against Surrey featured excellent displays of batting resilience but they had the weather to thank against Hampshire last time out. Only 80.5 overs were bowled across the first three days, saving Leicestershire some of the embarrassment from their first innings total of 84.
Who's in form?
Middle-order man Lewis Hill is Leicestershire’s leading run-scorer, with 502 runs – including one hundred and four half-centuries – in six matches. Sam Evans is also on fire with the bat, with three centuries in nine innings. With the ball, Chris Wright is Leicestershire’s golden arm, with 21 wickets at an average of 25.47 in 2021 – Callum Parkinson (12) is the only other bowler in double figures.
For Middlesex, Nick Gubbins and Robbie White are carrying the workload with the bat, scoring a combined nine 50+ knocks and 816 runs. Sam Robson has also impressed - remember his 165 against Somerset? – while Stuart Law will be hoping Handscomb’s 70 against Surrey will light a fire under his captain’s belly.
Tim Murtagh and Ethan Bamber have been the shining lights with the ball, taking 26 and 23 wickets, respectively, but at the Oval it was Martin Andersson who raised his hand with a quickfire three-for to kickstart Surrey’s first-innings collapse.
Last five first-class matches (most recent first)
Leicestershire: DDLLD
Middlesex: DLLLW
Head-to-head first-class record
Total matches: 94
Leicestershire wins: 20
Middlesex wins: 39
Draws: 35
Abandoned: 3
What's the team news?
Ben Mike returns to the Leicestershire squad after missing out last week due to injury.
Will Davis has recovered from an injury sustained in pre-season and comes into the 14-man squad. Louis Kimber misses out.
Leicestershire squad: Colin Ackermann (c), Hassan Azad, Ed Barnes, Will Davis, Alex Evans, Sam Evans, Gavin Griffiths, Marcus Harris, Lewis Hill, Ben Mike, Callum Parkinson, Rishi Patel, Harry Swindells, Chris Wright
Middlesex head coach Stuart Law has recalled leg-spinner Luke Hollman and batsmen Stevie Eskinazi and Max Holden to a 15-man squad for their bottom-of-the-table clash with Leicestershire.
Eskinazi captained the county at the beginning of the season but was discarded upon Peter Handscomb’s arrival, while Holden returns to the squad two games after being dropped, with Jack Davies replacing him for those matches before being left out for Holden’s return.
Hollman and left-arm spinner Thilan Walallawita will likely battle it out for one spot, while senior spinner Nathan Sowter hasn’t been seen in first team action since the second round of red-ball matches.
Middlesex squad: Peter Handscomb (c), Martin Andersson, Ethan Bamber, Blake Cullen, Stephen Eskinazi, Nick Gubbins, James Harris, Tom Helm, Max Holden, Luke Hollman, Tim Murtagh, Sam Robson, John Simpson (wk), Thilan Walallawita, Robbie White
Latest Leicestershire news: Click here
Latest Middlesex news: Click here
What's the weather forecast?
There shouldn’t be a raindrop in sight in Leicester across the four days so it should be a quiet week for the grounds team at Grace Road. Expect considerable sunshine on Thursday and Sunday with cloudier weather forecast on days two and three, and temperatures ranging from 13 to 21 degrees Celsius – that’s more like it!
Keep up to date with the MetOffice’s rolling forecast for Leicester: Click here
How do I follow the match?
TV/stream: Leicestershire will offer live coverage of the match via their website: Click here
All LV= 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 LV= 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
A limited number of tickets are available at a maximum of two per person.
Click here to visit the Leicestershire box office.
Travel
By car: The Uptonsteel County Ground is approximately three miles from the M69/M1 Junction 21.
For satnavs, the postcode LE2 8EB will send you to the main entrance on Curzon Road.
Parking: The on-site car parks cannot be opened to the public for Leicestershire's clash with Middlesex, as the ground has been specifically configured to adhere to government and ECB advice relating to Covid-safe practice.
Leicestershire are offering free parking at the Saffron Lane Athletics Stadium site (LE2 7NQ), a 10-15 minute walk to the ground. This car park is not staffed car park and cars will be parked at the owner's risk.
By bus: To explore the local bus options and plan your journey, click here.
By train: The Uptonsteel County Ground is approximately two miles from Leicester Station.
Regular services run to Leicester from London St Pancras, the East Midlands and Yorkshire, serving Market Harborough, Leicester and Loughborough. They are operated by East Midlands Railway.
Cross Country Trains run services between Birmingham New Street and Leicester, via Hinckley, Narborough and South Wigston, and between Birmingham New Street and Stansted Airport, via Leicester and Melton Mowbray.
Prediction?
When these two sides met in 2019, they played out two draws, one a classic County Championship tug of war, the other an 11-over wash-out at the Uptonsteel County Ground.
The weather isn’t forecast to interrupt proceedings this time around so expect another close encounter between two sides desperate for a win. If push comes to shove, Leicestershire have a far less flaky batting line-up than the visitors and could edge it on that alone.
OTHER ROUND 8 MATCH PREVIEWS
Group 1
Warwickshire v Nottinghamshire
Group 2
Group 3
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