Leicestershire Foxes Secure One-Day Cup Final Spot with 23-Run Semi-Final Victory Over Notts Outlaws

One-Day Cup, men’s semi-final, Uptonsteel Grace Road

Leicestershire 303-7 (50 overs): Shaikh 104, Kelly 53; Pennington 3-65

Nott Outlaws 280 all out (49 overs): McCann 64, Hameed 54; A Green 4-40

Leicestershire beat Notts Outlaws by 23 runs

Leicestershire Foxes advanced to the One-Day Cup final after defeating Notts Outlaws by 23 runs in a thrilling semi-final at Uptonsteel Grace Road.

Hamza Shaikh played the match-winning innings of 104 off 109 balls, guiding Leicestershire to a formidable total of 303-7. His crucial fourth-wicket partnership of 117 runs with Nick Kelly (53) proved decisive in setting a challenging target for their opponents.

Despite a solid start from Notts openers Ben Martindale and Freddie McCann, who put on 63 runs in 11 overs, the visitors struggled after England all-rounder Rehan Ahmed struck early by trapping Martindale leg-before for 43.

The 20-year-old Shaikh, who recently joined Leicestershire from Warwickshire, fell to Liam Patterson-White’s bowling, while Dillon Pennington claimed 3-65 for the Outlaws in their effort to contain the Foxes’ batting lineup.

Notts showed resilience through the middle-order partnership of McCann (64) and captain Haseeb Hameed (54), but a crucial mix-up led to McCann’s run-out when the team needed runs.

Seventeen-year-old Alex Green sealed victory for Leicestershire with figures of 4-40, removing dangerous players Kyle Verreynne (43) and Farhan Ahmed in consecutive deliveries during the 48th over, effectively ending any hopes of an Outlaws comeback.

The Foxes will now face Middlesex in what will be the sixth One-Day Cup final at Trent Bridge since the competition moved from Lord’s in 2019. Notably, all five previous finals held at the Nottingham venue have been won by teams considered underdogs, including Glamorgan, Kent, and Worcestershire.

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