Foxes Men 2nd XI beat Yorkshire Men 2nd XI in one of two T20 friendlies before rain ends the second

Leicestershire Men 2nd XI played two T20s against Yorkshire Men 2nd XI with many of both clubs first team members in action ahead of the Vitality Blast starting on Friday 22nd May.

In the first game, Tattersall captained the Foxes and he played a crucial role with his 52 that steadied the ship after the hosts lost 4 wickets inside the first seven overs. With ball in hand, the Foxes took wickets consistently as Yorkshire only managed 102 before being bowled out, falling 65 runs short of Leicestershire’s 167/6.

Ben Green captained the side in the second match and also made a half century and with contributions from lots of players, Leicestershire made 201/6. Unfortunately, the rain curtailed play without Yorkshire being able to face a single delivery, ending the match without a result.

In the earlier match, Moriarty won the toss for Yorkshire and elected to field first.

Budinger and Gumbs opened up for the Foxes; the former hitting 17 in 11 balls before clipping a Cliff delivery out to Firbank at deep square leg. Patel was caught by Whiteman off the bowling of Tye for 22, whilst Gumbs struggled to 10 in 11 balls prior to being bowled by Chohan in the seventh over.

Later in the same over, a direct hit from Smith saw Trevaskis run out for only 2 whilst Mike was bowled for 6 by Chohan attempting to sweep the first ball of the eleventh over.

However, Wood and Tattersall brought some stability to the Foxes innings, taking them to 124/5 with ten overs to go. Tye managed to remove Wood LBW for a well-made 34 from 21 balls at the start of the eighteenth over.

Tattersall played a proper captain’s knock as he ended with a much needed 52 from 42 deliveries as the Foxes – helped by 14 from Hull – posted a respectable 167/6 in their 20 overs.

Yorkshire lost Vagadia in the second over as he slashed a Wood delivery back down the ground, finding Alex Green who took the catch to remove him for 5.

Smith struggled to score freely as he managed 15 in 17 balls before he was bowled by Trevaskis. Wood was back in the action in the following over, catching Akhtar in the leg side for 1, giving Alex Green his first of the afternoon.

Whiteman faced similar issues in his 18-delivery innings where he picked up 14 runs before Mike produced a stunning delivery to bowl him. In his next over, he removed Chohan for 3 who chipped the second ball of the over straight to Gumbs.

At the halfway point, the visitors found themselves 56/5 and almost out of the match. Tye flashed a drive outside off stump, picking out Mike, falling to Trevaskis for 17 in the twelfth over.

Two overs later, Wood removed Moriarty for 8 before Mike took another catch to dismiss Cliff for 6 and gave Trevaskis his third of the afternoon in the following over. Alex Green the rounded out the game in the next over by removing Firbank for 1 and Thompson for 22 – the Foxes winning the first game by 65 runs.

Ben Green came in to captain the side for the second match and he won the toss, electing to bat first.

Moriarty picked up the wicket of Budinger in the first over as he holed out to Smith in the leg-side for 1. Patel and Eskinazi put some impetus into the innings, but they were both dismissed by Sylvester in the fifth over.

Kiwi Nick Kelly managed 30 in 18 deliveries before he sliced a Firbank delivery and picked out Chohan in the tenth over – Leicestershire 77/4 at the end of the first half of their innings.

Cox ramped Sylvester but he was caught at fine leg by Taylor, falling for 16. Ben Green and Trevaskis came together and continued the fast scoring before the latter was bowled by Cliff at the start of the eighteenth over for 17.

Green and Mike saw the Foxes through to the end of their twenty overs, hitting 56 and 28 respectively (Mike doing his in only 9 balls), taking the hosts to 201/6.

However, the rain had been coming down and play was curtailed without a single delivery being bowled in the Yorkshire innings – the game ending with no result.