Leicestershire vs Sussex, County Championship Two, Today Match Prediction 12 April 2024

LEI vs SUS Match Prediction & Analysis

The new season of the County Championship is now up and running and there’s already been plenty of exciting action in the first week of the new season. In Division Two, Glamorgan and Leicestershire have taken the first two spots after the first round of games. Leicestershire drew with Yorkshire in their season opener and will now take on Sussex in the 7th match of Division Two at Leicester. Sussex, too, are coming off a heartbreaking draw and will be looking to their first win of the season. 

TEAMS PREVIEW

Leicestershire Preview

Yorkshire and Leicestershire had to settle for a draw in the opening round of the County Championship at Headingley as bad light didn’t allow the game to be completed. The draw gave Leicestershire 13 points and a second position in the table.

Opener Marcus Harris’ resolute 56 in the first innings was one of the highlights of the game for Leicestershire. This will give them confidence that the new g can have a successful season with the team this year at the top.

Rishi Patel didn’t get to score much, but he is player to watch in this match. Dominating the batting lineup with finesse, the top-order batsman shone as the primary contributor for their team last season, ranking fourth overall within Division 2. Accumulating a substantial total of 1075 runs at an average of 44.79, his stellar performance included four centuries and three half-centuries, with a standout highest score of 179.

Peter Handscomb and Lewis Hill also stood out last year as two batsmen who maintained a 40-plus average, accumulating 681 runs at an average of 45.40 and 880 runs at 40.00, respectively.

Ben Mike had a stellar game against Yorkshire, where he took 4-44 while also top-scored with 90 lower down the order. He may well be the game-changing all-rounder for the team this year.

You should also back Tom Scriven do well in this game (39 wickets last season at 23.87).

Leicestershire Predicted Playing XI:

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

Sussex Preview

Sussex's hopes of securing an improbable victory against Northamptonshire at Hove were dampened by unfavorable lighting and Lewis McManus's resolute resistance, creating a tense atmosphere on the final day. Unfortunately, the game ended in a draw, and Sussex could only take home 5 points although their NRR stands at an impressive +1.651.

Tom Haines, who had a disappointing last season, has roared back to form with a dominating knock of 133 in the first innings of the previous game. The talented opener can play all sorts of strokes and will be looking to dominate attacks this season.

James Coles has also made a promising start to the new season with a fluent knock of 78 in the first innings. He was one of Sussex's lead scorers last year and can be their batting mainstay this season too. Coles was also useful with his left-arm spin and grabbed six wickets in the game.

Sussex's new ball duo had a memorable outing as well. West Indies pace bowler Jayden Seales impressed the most with a six-wicket match haul. Ollie Robinson was almost immaculate with the new ball as well, and ended the match with four wickets up his sleeve.

Sussex Predicted Playing XI:

Tom Haines, Tom Clark, Tom Alsop, Oliver Carter, James Coles, John Simpson (c & wk), Fynn Hudson-Prentice, Danny Lamb, Jack Carson, Ollie Robinson, Jayden Seales

Weather Conditions

The deck at Grace Road is usually great for batting in the first half of the game but starts helping seam bowlers as the match progresses. The first two days will be the best for batting. Seamers will get help in the morning sessions, so that’s when batters will have to be careful. The last two days should belong to the bowlers.

The weather in Leicester will be mostly cloudy and partly sunny in the first three days. A couple of showers are expected on the final day, which means we might not get a full day’s of play. 

LEI vs SUS Pitch Report

The average first innings score at Grace Road in the last 11 matches is 350. It increases to 384 in the second innings but comes down to 91 in the final innings. The team batting first will be looking to set a total of around 350-380 runs.

Toss: To Bowl

10 of the last 11 matches played at Leicester have been won by the team fielding first. Going by this trend, we recon the toss-winning team will decide to field first as well.