There is one more match in the County Championship this week and it comes from Division Two as two surprise promotion chasers meet with top spot potentially on the line when Leicestershire and Gloucestershire collide at Grace Road.
Both sides were involved in NatWest T20 Blast matches on Sunday so the schedule hasn’t been the kindest to either of them but Leicestershire probably had the better of it given their match was local enough at Northampton.
Leicestershire
This season has been a long time in the making for Leicestershire after too many seasons of struggle. Their close season recruiting is paying dividends with the experience that they signed putting their knowledge to good use and really getting Leicestershire in a good position to move into the elite.
Leicestershire go into the match 14pts off the top spot having beaten leaders Essex last week. They have only lost one match in seven and are bowling very well in particular. They’ve had the odd wobble with the bat like all sides with youngsters do but nobody can argue with the improvement they’ve shown.
Gloucestershire
Leicestershire aren’t the only ones to have shown improvement but Gloucestershire’s improvement has come down to coaching and dedication. They’ve not gone into the market and signed players they have just improved their own and with their youngsters getting better all the time coupled with the confidence winning a trophy last season they are a dangerous animal.
Gloucestershire have an identical record to Leicestershire in the Championship this season and a win will take them top of the pile going into the second half of the season. This is their first match since the break for the Royal London One Day Cup so it will be interesting to see how quickly they can make the transition from one day cricket to four day.
Team News
Leicestershire have given Ben Raine a rest after a heavy workload but Richard Jones has come in from Warwickshire for a month and he could go straight into the side. Clint McKay continues the role of overseas player.
Gloucestershire don’t have too many options to make many changes so I wouldn’t be surprised if they are unchanged from the side that played their last match in this competition. Chris Dent is having a brilliant season and he’ll be aiming to continue that here.
Betting
Bookmakers have this match quite level and I can see why that is the case but I’m going with Leicestershire here. I believe they have the better bowling attack and if you take Dent and Klinger out there isn’t a lot between the batting line ups although on his day Angus Robson can cover Dent anyway.
Home advantage can never be discounted at this time of the year either and Leicestershire have that as well. They are really pushing hard for success this season and having had the better of the recent schedule I think they have enough going for them to merit a bet.
Tips
PUSH – Back Leicestershire to beat Gloucestershire for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Betfair
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