Yeh match Uptonsteel County Ground mein hua, jahan Leicestershire ne poori tarah se apna domination dikhaya aur Division Two ke table mein top par apni position aur strong kar li.
Dusri taraf, Lancashire ka season ab tak nightmare jaisa hi chal raha hai. Woh ab bhi table ke sabse neeche hain, aur is match mein unki batting puri tarah se bikhar gayi.
Match ka turning point raha Leicestershire ka pehla innings, jahan Rehan Ahmed aur Lewis Hill ne third wicket ke liye 256 runs ki record partnership ki. Rehan ne 164 balls mein 136 run banaye, jismein 14 chaukke lage, aur Hill ne 150 balls mein 119 run banaye, jismein 14 chaukke aur 1 six tha. Yeh partnership 1929 ka record tod kar Leicestershire ka naya championship record ban gaya. Uske baad Ian Holland (50) aur Ben Cox ke saath 76-run ki partnership ne team ko 450 ke upar pahucha diya, aur unhone 251-run ki badi lead le li.
Lancashire ke liye second innings mein bhi kuch khaas nahi raha. Keaton Jennings ne ek fighting century maari (exact score nahi diya gaya), lekin unke alawa koi bhi batsman 26 run se upar nahi ja paya. Logan van Beek ne ek baar phir tight bowling ki aur unki consistency ne Foxes ke liye match jeetna easy bana diya. Lancashire ke bowlers jaise Tom Hartley aur Anderson Phillip ne thoda try kiya, lekin Leicestershire ke aggressive batting aur disciplined bowling ke samne unki ek nahi chali.
Van Beek ne sirf bowling hi nahi, poore match mein all-round performance diya. Unhone important wickets liye, specially Lancashire ke top-order ko tod diya, aur match pe pura control bana liya.
Leicestershire ke liye yeh season ab tak super raha hai. Pehle unhone Middlesex ko Lord’s pe 45 saal baad haraaya tha, aur ab yeh badi jeet unke promotion chances ko aur strong karti hai.
Lancashire ke liye yeh haar ek aur setback hai. Keaton Jennings, jise haal hi mein red-ball captaincy se hataaya gaya tha, ne batting mein thodi umeed jagayi, lekin team ka overall performance phir bhi disappointing raha. Ab Marcus Harris interim captain hai, aur unke liye yeh situation handle karna kaafi tough hoga, kyunki unhe team ko Division Two ke bottom se upar lana hai.
Yeh match clearly dikhata hai ki Leicestershire kitni strong aur confident team ban gayi hai, jabki Lancashire ko apna pura game reset karna padega agar unhe comeback karna hai.
