Rehan Ahmed Dives Straight Back Into Leicestershire Duty as Foxes Reach One-Day Cup Final
Rehan Ahmed answered a phone call from his Leicestershire coach on Tuesday with three words: "I'm playing on Sunday." Alfonso Thomas had phoned to check availability after Ahmed's stint with Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred — cricket's 100-ball city tournament — and the 20-year-old leg-spinner needed no persuading. Thomas told him he was not only playing but batting at three (BBC Sport).
Ahmed went straight into the Leicestershire Foxes side for their Metro Bank One Day Cup semi-final, a 50-over knockout match with a place in the final at stake. He scored 31 off 36 balls before falling to a top edge, but not before he and Hamza Shaikh had added 117 runs in 23 overs — a partnership that put the Foxes in command (Leicestershire CCC).
Shaikh, the other half of that stand, scored a century to anchor the innings. Ben Green then took four wickets — a "four-for" in cricket shorthand — to help close the game out. Leicestershire won, reaching the One-Day Cup final. Thomas said afterwards he was "absolutely over the moon" (Leicestershire CCC Facebook).
The coach's praise for Ahmed went beyond one match. Thomas called him "an absolute superstar in the changing room" and said he has two of the most exciting talents in the country in Ahmed and Shaikh (BBC Sport). For Ahmed, the century of England call-ups — across Test, ODI and T20 squads over the past year — has not dulled his appetite for county cricket.
The semi-final was not without its casualties. During Nottinghamshire's innings, Leicestershire lost Ben Green to a quad injury and Steve Eskinazi to a shoulder problem. Wicketkeeper Ben Cox was forced off after being struck by Haseeb Hameed's bat — a blow to the head area that required concussion checks — but he returned to the field after passing the protocols (BBC Sport).
Thomas offered updates on all three. Cox "will be fine." Eskinazi's fitness depends on the doctor and scans. Green's return hinges on the timescale of his quad injury — the kind of muscle strain that can sideline a player for weeks rather than days (BBC Sport).
What gives the story its edge is the backdrop of player availability. Ahmed's quick turnaround from the Hundred to a 50-over county semi-final — days, not weeks — is the kind of schedule juggling that has frustrated county coaches. Thomas has previously criticised the Hundred's player participation rules as "ridiculous" (BBC Sport, 2024). The tournament pulls leading players away from their counties during the heart of the domestic season, and reintegrating them mid-week, mid-competition, is a logistical puzzle coaches are left to solve.
For now, Thomas has solved it. Ahmed walked back into the Foxes side, batted at first wicket down, and helped book a trip to the final. With Shaikh in century-scoring form and Green's four-wicket haul underlining the bowling depth, Leicestershire will head into the showpiece with momentum — if not a fully fit squad.
