Leicestershire vs Essex, RLODC, Today Match Prediction 15 August 2023

LEI vs ESS Match Prediction & Analysis

Leicestershire are the team to beat in this year’s Royal London One-Day Cup. They have firmly established their spot at the top of the Group A table with 8 points and a net run rate of 1.743. They have won four of their five matches this season and will next clash with Essex at the Kibworth Cricket Club New Ground tomorrow. Essex’s season never got going, and they are languishing in 8th place with just one win from five matches. With just three matches left, Essex will need to pull off something spectacular to make a turnaround this year. 

RECENT PERFORMANCE

LEI

W W L W W

HAM

296/10 in 48.4 6.12

RLODC

Leicestershire beat Hampshire by 4 wickets 13 Aug 2023

LEI

249/6 in 40.0 6.22

LAN

316/10 in 42.2 7.49

RLODC

Leics won by 95 runs 11 Aug 2023

LEI

411/6 in 50.0 8.22

LEI

214/9 in 44.0 4.86

RLODC

Nottinghamshire Won By 4 wickets (D/L method) 08 Aug 2023

NOT

206/6 in 42.0 4.9

KENT

116/10 in 23.3 4.98

RLODC

06 Aug 2023

LEI

380/5 in 50.0 7.6

SUR

325/10 in 49.5 6.57

RLODC

03 Aug 2023

LEI

329/5 in 42.2 7.8

ESS

L W L L L

ESS

221/10 in 35.4 6.24

RLODC

Yorkshire beat Essex by 5 wickets 13 Aug 2023

YOR

222/5 in 45.5 4.88

ESS

298/9 in 50.0 5.96

RLODC

Essex won by 3 runs 11 Aug 2023

MID

295/10 in 48.5 6.08

HAM

237/6 in 43.4 5.46

RLODC

Hampshire won by 4 Wickets 08 Aug 2023

ESS

236/9 in 45.0 5.24

ESS

69/10 in 25.1 2.75

RLODC

Nottinghamshire beat Essex by 168 runs

03 Aug 2023

NOT

237/10 in 45.5 5.21

ESS

131/10 in 18.3 7.08

VITALITY T20 BLAST 2023

Somerset beat Essex by 14 runs

15 Jul 2023

SOM

145/10 in 20.0 7.25

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

Leicestershire Preview

Leicestershire are coming off two impressive wins: by 95 runs against Lancashire and by 4 wickets against Hampshire. In the match against Hampshire, Leicestershire chased down a target of 297 in just 47.2 overs with 4 wickets remaining. Colin Ackermann top-scored with a belligerent 93* to take his team home. He is the team’s leading run-getter with 291 runs in just 5 innings at an average of 145 and a strike rate of 114.

Apart from Ackermann, quite a few other batters have made an impression for Leicestershire this year. Openers Soloman Budinger (263 runs in 5 innings at an average of 52.50 and a strike rate of 135) and Rishi Patel (242 runs in 5 innings at an average of 48.40 and a strike rate of 105) have consistently provided the team with solid starts. 

Then there is all-rounder Wiaan Mulder, who has scored 229 runs in 5 innings this season at an average of 76 and a strike rate of 114 lower down the order. He has also taken 5 wickets with his medium pace. 

Leicestershire’s bowling unit has delivered as well on wickets that have mostly been rather flat. Josh Hull tops the charts with 10 wickets in his bag in 5 innings at an economy of 6.10. New ball bowler Chris Wright (9 wickets at 5.04 in 5 innings) has done a fantastic job at the start when the pitch has some zip in it. 

Leicestershire Predicted Playing XI:

Rishi Patel, Soloman Budinger, Lewis Hill (c), Peter Handscomb (wk), Colin Ackermann, Wiaan Mulder, Louis Kimber, Tom Scriven, Chris Wright, Josh Hull, Uttam Ramji

Leicestershire Actual Playing XI:

Josh Hull, Louis Kimber, Rishi Patel, Colin Ackermann, Chris Wright, Lewis Hill, Peter Handscomb, Roman Walker, Sol Budinger, Tom Scriven, Wiaan Mulder

Essex Preview

Essex have a lot to think about as they gear up for their final half of the Royal London One-Day Cup 2023. Their season never really got going, and barring that narrow 3-run win against Middlesex, they don’t have much to talk about so far. They lost their previous match to Yorkshire by 5 wickets, where they could only manage 221 after choosing to bat first at Chelmsford.

Essex’s leading run-scorer this year is Beau Webster, who has 128 runs from 5 innings at an average of 32 and a strike rate of 181. This shows how badly their batting unit has performed. 

The team, however, will take heart from Michael Pepper’s performance in the last game. Playing only his second match of the season, the opener smashed his way to a terrific 64 off just 34 balls with 10 fours and three sixes. If he can start firing consistently at the top, Essex might still have a chance to leave a mark.

Essex’s bowling unit has performed better than their batting. New ball bowler Aaron Beard and all-rounder Beau Webster have taken 8 wickets apiece. Left-arm spinner Aron Nijjar has also been doing a fine job, taking 6 wickets at an economy of 6 in just 4 innings.

Essex Predicted Playing XI:

Michael-Kyle Pepper, Robin Das, Tom Westley (c), Beau Webster, Luc Benkenstein, Simon Harmer, Charlie Allison, William Buttleman (wk), Aaron Beard, Aron Nijjar, Jamal Richards

Essex Actual Playing XI:

Aaron Beard, Aron Nijjar, Beau Webster, Charles Allison , Jamal Richards, Luc Benkenstein, Noah Thain, Robin Das, William Buttleman, Simon Harmer, Tom Westley

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The pitch at the Kibworth Cricket Club New Ground is known to favor the batters. The ball comes on nicely to the bat and travels quickly to the boundary. The overhead conditions are likely to be cloudy for most of the game, which should help the seam bowlers a little to get some movement off the air. However, batters are likely to dominate the contest. 

The weather in Kibworth will see periods of clouds and sunshine, with a ing shower or two.

LEI vs ESS Pitch Report

There have only been two international matches played at the Kibworth Cricket Club New Ground – both were ODIs between England Women and Ireland Women back in July 2010. England won both matches by over 100 runs after putting up huge totals. This is a small ground so some big runs are expected. The team batting first would look to set a target of around 310–330 runs.

Toss: To Bat

This will be the first match of the Royal London Cup to be played at Kibworth. The surface is likely to batting-friendly and the team winning the toss should choose to bat first to put on a huge total and bat the opposition out of the game.