Leicestershire vs Gloucestershire, County Championship Division Two, Today Match Prediction 17 May 2024

leic vs glo Match Prediction & Analysis

Leicestershire will be eager to find their first win of the season. They’ve been in great touch with the bat. However, they will be facing their biggest challenge of the season yet as they take on Gloucestershire at Grace Road.

Gloucestershire are coming into this match on the back of a huge win in an away match against the Northants. They did well to bounce back from their loss against Sussex and have been brilliant in both departments in the last two Tests.

And though their bowling has also been top-notch with their key players finding consistent breakthroughs, the venue here will offer a tough challenge. Grace Road in Leicester has been a great venue for batting with not much on offer for the bowlers.

As a result, both matches played here this season have ended in a draw. Unless the pitch is different this time around, we don’t expect a clear winner between the two teams.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Leicestershire Preview

Leicestershire are back to Grace Road for their 3rd home game of the County Championship 2024. They’ve been in good touch with both bat and ball and should be looking to push even further and secure their first win of the season.

They suffered a batting collapse at the top in their last outing against Middlesex at the Lord’s. However, Peter Handscomb and Rehan Ahmed turned things around for the side with a 64-run stand for the 5th wicket. 

Handscomb’s hundred helped Leicestershire finish with a respectable 1st innings score. This can be seen as a slight dip in their batting performance since most of their key players were out cheaply.

In their previous outing at Grace Road, Leicestershire posted a 450+ score. Peter Handscomb scored 99 in that game at number 5. Louis Kimber and Rehan Ahmed were among the top contributors in that inning.

Marcus Harris who scored a double hundred against Derbyshire hasn’t scored much since then. And as an opener, he needs to strike a good partnership at the top alongside Rishi Patel.

The lack of runs from the openers could affect Leicestershire badly. In the bowling attack, Tom Scriven, Scott Curie, and Ben Green will be the key pacers to watch out for. Whereas, in the spin department, Rehan Ahmed will be leading from the front.

Leicestershire Predicted Playing XI:

Rishi Patel, Marcus Harris, Louis Kimber, Lewis Hill (c), Peter Handscomb, Rehan Ahmed, Ben Cox (wk), Ben Mike, Ben Green, Tom Scriven, Scott Currie

Gloucestershire Preview

Gloucestershire will be confident coming into this game. They registered a convincing victory in their last match against Northamptonshire. They’ve successfully turned things around after their loss against Sussex.

Their middle and lower middle order has been delivering consistently and will be key to their batting performances here as well. Skipper Graeme van Buuren is in good form at number 6. 

He’s delivered some impactful knocks in recent games and will be a key player to watch out for. Miles Hammond and James Bracey are other key players in the middle-order.

Hammond scored a hundred in the 1st innings of their last Test. His scores in the last few innings have been 28, 112, 11, 81, 77, 56. After Hammond scored his hundred in the 1st innings, it was opener Cameron Bancroft who was unbeaten on 130 runs in the second innings.

Gloucestershire have looked threatening with the bat in recent outings but what’s more important to their wins is the bowler’s success. They crossed the 400-run mark against Sussex while batting first, yet they ended up on the losing side.

However, Merchant de Lange’s 5-fer in the last match against Northamptonshire helped them take a considerable lead after posting 409 batting first. In addition to de Lange, Gloucestershire also has Ajeet Dale and Josh Shaw to look up to in the bowling attack.

Gloucestershire Predicted Playing XI:

Cameron Bancroft, Ben Charlesworth, Oliver Price, Miles Hammond, James Bracey (wk), Graeme van Buuren (c), Tom Price, Zafar Gohar, Marchant de Lange, Ajeet Dale, Josh Shaw

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

It is a batting-friendly wicket with plenty of runs on offer. The first two innings of the Test seem to be dominated by the batters. The bowlers could find some help from the surface, but only in the last stages of the match. There will be scattered showers on Day 1 of the Test followed by cloudy weather on Day 2 in Leicester.

Venue Details

Grace Road in Leicester will host the 23rd match of the County Championship Division Two between Leicestershire and Gloucestershire. The average 1st innings total in recent Tests on this ground has been pretty high, upwards of 400. A win is less likely in this Test for either team given the pitch and weather conditions.

Toss: To Bat

It is a high-scoring venue and we reckon batting first should be the preferred choice. A big score in the 1st innings will set the tone for the match and possibly also put the bowling team under pressure.