Leicestershire vs Yorkshire, County Championship Division Two, Today Match Prediction 19 September 2023

leic vs yorks Match Prediction & Analysis

Leicestershire kicked off their County Championship Division Two campaign with a win against Yorkshire in their opening match at Headingley. In the return game, Leicestershire will face Yorkshire at home where they have been unbeaten so far with one win and 4 drawn matches.

Yorkshire are in better form coming into this match. The hosts have lost two of their last three matches. The performances have been very inconsistent from Leicestershire.

However, given their record at home, skipper Lewis Hill will be backing his team to make a comeback with the bat. In their last outing here, Leicestershire had chased down 168 runs in the 4th innings with 8 wickets in hand.

Yorkshire on the other hand, have been consistent with the bat. They’ve scored 500 twice in the last two games. The middle and lower order have stepped up and delivered every single time.

Matt Salisbury, Tom Scriven, and Chris Wright have been among the top wicket-takers for the hosts and will be the ones to watch out for in this game.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Leicestershire Preview

Leicestershire are placed at number 4 in the points table with 133 points from 12 matches so far. They will be up against the bottom-placed Yorkshire as they look to extend their head-to-head wins 2-0. 

Colin Ackerman will be the key player in this middle order to watch out for. He scored a hundred at number 4 in the second innings of the last game in a losing cause. 

Prior to that, he was unbeaten on 93 runs against Gloucestershire as he led the team to an 8-wicket win chasing down 168 runs. Wiaan Mulder has played a key role with the ball and leaving him out of the side in the last game wasn’t the right decision.

Leicestershire should consider bringing him back to add strength to their bowling attack. Tom Scriven, another key bowler in this side has also been handy with the bat in the lower order.

Rishi Patel, Lewis Hill, and Colin Ackerman are key players in the top 4. There are many players in this lineup who can deliver a strong performance and lead the team to a good total. However, they haven’t been consistent and that is the main concern for Leicestershire coming into this game.

Leicestershire Predicted Playing XI:

Rishi Patel, Soloman Budinger, Colin Ackermann, Lewis Hill (c), Umar Amin, Rehan Ahmed, Ben Cox (wk), Tom Scriven, Chris Wright, Scott Currie, Matt Salisbury

Yorkshire Preview

Yorkshire will be keen to settle the scores with Leicestershire. They will be confident coming to Leicester with an in-form and consistently performing batting lineup.

Adam Lyth, Finlay Bean, and skipper Shan Masood are all in great touch in the top 4 of this batting order. The batting lineup is quite deep and there have been some impressive performances throughout the lineup.

Matthew Revis scored a brilliant hundred at number 7 against Derbyshire in the second innings while bowling all-rounder Jordan Thompson scored 64 off 75 balls at number 9 taking Yorkshire’s 2nd innings total of 520-9.

Thompson has been quite consistent lower down the order and will be a key batter. However, with the ball, it is Matthew Revis who’s consistently delivering wickets for Yorkshire. Dom Bess is another key bowler in this lineup who can deliver crucial breakthroughs.

Ben Coad and Matthew Fisher are other key bowlers who’ve found success with the ball. Fisher wasn’t part of the XI in the last game and should make a return to give Yorkshire a better chance against a struggling Leciesterhsire battling lineup.

Like other consistent performers, George Hill has also delivered back-to-back fifties and is a crucial figure at number 5. He’s a batting all-rounder with a fifer to his name and will be a good bowling option for Masood.

Yorkshire Predicted Playing XI:

Adam Lyth, Finlay Bean, Shan Masood (c), James Wharton, George Hill, Jonathan Tattersall (wk), Matthew Revis, Dominic Bess, Jordan Thompson, Matthew Fisher, Ben Coad

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The pitch is a belter and allows the batters to execute their strokes freely as the ball comes on the bat nicely. There is something for the bowlers as well as the match progresses but the batters will have the upper hand on this surface. The weather forecast is for the showers and rain on all four days of the match.

Venue Details

Grace Road, Leicester will host the last home game of Leicestershire as they lock horns with Yorkshire for the second time this season. It is a high-scoring venue where the team batting first should be looking to cross the 400-run mark to have an advantage. However, with the overcast conditions, things could get interesting and if weather permits any play, the new-ball bowlers are likely to enjoy movement through the air.

Toss: To Bat

It is a good batting wicket here at Grace Road in Leicester. Teams batting first have managed to cross the 400-run mark here in the 1st innings except for the last match which was a low-scoring affair. We reckon Yorkshire will be eager to bat first and put the hosts on the back foot. Leicestershire aren’t in any shape to chase a target with their current batting form and should be looking to bat first.