Leicestershire vs Derbyshire, County Championship Divison Two, Today Match Prediction 13 April 2023

leic vs derby Match Prediction & Analysis

Leicestershire have started the new County Championship season with a terrific win over Yorkshire. That win has given them 22 points and taken them to the second spot on the table. They next take on Derbyshire at Grace Road from April 13. Derbyshire lost their first game of the season to Worcestershire and are currently second-to-last at the table with just 5 points.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Leicestershire Preview

Leicestershire have had the perfect start to the new County season. They were set an imposing target of 389 runs against Yorkshire at Headingley, but got there quite comfortably in the end with terrific contributions from opener Rishi Patel (125), as well as Colin Ackermann (72) and Peter Handscomb (68*). Handscomb and Ackermann had a superb game and scored 112 and 67 respectively, in the first innings.

Leicestershire’s batting looks really strong this season. They bat deep, with even Chris Wright and Rehan Ahmed being more than handy with the bat down the order, as they showed in the last match.

The team’s bowling was decent in the last match on a pitch that was great for batting. Rehan Ahmed was persistent with his lines and ended up taking 4 wickets in the match. Left-arm medium-pacer Michael Finan went for runs, but took 5 wickets and looked impressive throughout. Chris Wright too took 4 wickets in the game, and his experience will come in handy in this match.

Leicestershire Predicted Playing XI:

Rishi Patel, Soloman Budinger, Lewis Hill (c), Colin Ackermann, Peter Handscomb (wk), Wiaan Mulder, Rehan Ahmed, Chris Wright, Michael Finan, Matt Salisbury, Josh Hull

Derbyshire Preview

Derbyshire’s start to the new County season was a forgettable one. After being asked to bat first by Worcestershire at County Ground, they were bowled out for 321 in their first innings. They then allowed Worcestershire to post 473 runs after having them at 256-6 at one stage. In the second innings, they managed 343, setting up a target of 192 runs. Worcestershire chased the runs with ease, losing only 2 wickets in the process.

One of the positives for Derbyshire from the match was opener Billy Godleman’s performance, who had scores of 70 and 86. Captain Leus du Plooy led from the front in the second innings with a gritty knock of 95. Wayne Madsen’s 85 in the first innings was impressive, too. 

Zak Chappell had a great game, both with the ball and the bat. He scored 45 and 46 down the order and was the wrecker-in-chief in the first innings with the ball, taking 5-69.

The other bowlers didn’t leave much of an impact, but we are backing Suranga Lakmal to come good in this match. The Sri Lankan seamer should find help on this wicket and might be a handful when the ball is new. 

Derbyshire Predicted Playing XI:

Billy Godleman, Haider Ali, Brooke Guest (wk), Wayne Madsen, Leus du Plooy (c), Matthew Lamb, Anuj Dal, Zak Chappell, Ben Aitchison, Suranga Lakmal, Samuel Conners

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

This will be the first match of the season to be played at Grace Road in Leicester, and the track will be fresh.  We can expect a good batting track with an even bounce that will allow batters to play their shots freely once they have settled a bit. Seam bowlers will get some movement when the ball is new.

A couple of showers are expected in Leicester in the first two days of the match, but we should get a full game.

Venue Details

Leicester proved to be a happy venue for batters last season. The highest total of the season – 795-8 by Glamorgan – was posted here. In fact, totals above 500 were achieved four times here last year. In this match, both teams would be looking to post a total of around 450 in their first innings.

Toss: To Bat

The team winning the toss is likely to bat first here as the wicket tends to get harder to bat on by the 4th innings.