Shaikh century and Green four-for send Leicestershire into One-Day Cup final

Leicestershire beat Notts Outlaws by 23 runs in their One-Day Cup semi-final at Uptonsteel Grace Road, booking a meeting with Middlesex in the final.

Set 304 to win, Nottinghamshire were bowled out for 280 in 49 overs. The Foxes' total of 303-7 was built around Hamza Shaikh, who scored 104 off 109 balls — a composed hundred from a player who only joined Leicestershire from Warwickshire a month ago. Nick Kelly made 53, and the pair put on 117 for the fourth wicket to lift Leicestershire from a tricky position into a commanding one. Dillon Pennington took 3-65 for the Outlaws but could not stem the middle-order acceleration.

The chase began well enough. Notts openers Ben Martindale and Freddie McCann rattled along to 63 in 11 overs before Rehan Ahmed struck with his first delivery, trapping Martindale leg before for 43. McCann and Haseeb Hameed rebuilt with a 69-run stand, and at 161-3 the Outlaws needed 143 from 19.3 overs — roughly seven and a half an over, demanding but reachable in the 50-over format where each side bats a maximum of 300 balls.

Then McCann was run out for 63. Kyle Verreynne chipped in with 43, but the lower order could not keep pace. Alex Green did the decisive damage, returning figures of 4-40 to squeeze the life out of the chase.

Leicestershire's semi-final appearance was their third in four years in this competition. They beat Gloucestershire at the same stage en route to the final on a previous occasion, and lifted the trophy in 2023 — one of five finals held at Trent Bridge since the List A showpiece moved away from Lord's in 2019. The first planned Nottingham final, in 2020, was wiped out by the Covid pandemic.

For fans, this final carries a familiar thread: Leicestershire know how to navigate the knockout stages of this tournament, and Shaikh's instant impact — a century in a semi-final weeks after switching counties — adds a layer of intrigue to the Trent Bridge showpiece.

The five One-Day Cup finals played at Trent Bridge since 2020 have been shared among Glamorgan (twice), Kent, Leicestershire and Worcestershire. Leicestershire and Middlesex will now contest the sixth.