Leicestershire 248 for 3 (Welch 127*, Mulder 71*) beat Surrey 246 for 8 (Geddes 73, Hendrix 4-39) by seven wickets
Welch and Mulder’s unbroken fourth-wicket partnership of 141 runs was Leicestershire’s record against Surrey in List A cricket and the win came with a full ten overs. The 24-year-old Welch had a career-best ODI innings of one six and 16 fours, while Mulder hit two sixes and eight fours in his 65-ball knock.
Leicestershire lost Rishi Patel for naught at the end of the second over, Tom Laws was caught on point driving off the outswinger, and Leicestershire were 107 for 3 as Welch was joined by Mulder in their match-cleaning stand.
On his senior debut, 18-year-old Cranley School student Yousef Majid took a wicket off his fifth ball and impressed in a seven-over spell at the cost of 19 runs.
But a completely uncapped Surrey side – seamer Matt Dunn, at 30, and Steele, 26, were the only two players over the age of 24 in their line-up – were out with both bat and ball after the Foxes won . Tossed and decided to bowl.
Surrey, who have lost 13 players to the Hundred – the most in any county – have given List A debuts to four players – 19-year-old Laws, Majid, left-arm Blake and off-spinner Virdi.
In contrast, offspinner Nathan Bowley was Leicestershire’s only List A debutant and has only four players this month representing a hundred teams.
Patel’s second-ball duck, leg-before for Hendrix, was a crucial early blow for Surrey, but Geddes, 21, was first captaining the county, then joined the spirited third-wicket stand of 105. Went. Blake.
In the 28th over, Aaron Lillee had sweeping leg-before, and Geddes – who had earlier hit a six off medium pacer Tom Scriven – forced the returnee Chris Wright through extra cover for four, His ninth, when he attempted to pull. The next ball was caught at long on.
Laws scored 21 before Scriven was trailed and Kimber’s 27 off 23 balls helped accelerate the scoring rate until Hendricks bowled him. There were only three boundaries in Reifer’s 48-ball effort, but the 21-year-old at least gave his team something to bowl to.
After Patel departed, Louis Kimber’s 22 stabilized Leicestershire’s answer, while Welch scored a half-century off 47 balls with a mix of powerful strokes – such as an uppercut six wide from Laws’ third man – and careful accumulation.
Kimber fell to Conor McCarre and Lewis Hill also briefly kept Welch’s company before Majid bowled him for 17 in a sweep attempt. Mulder, however, never looked in trouble against seam or spin and, after scoring his first half-century or so off a single, he struck Steele’s legspin off the field for six, as the win. was a sign.
Welch and Mulder’s partnership beat the 93-year-old mark of 93 set by John Steele and Barry Doodleston in a Johns Players League match at Grace Road in 1973.
Leicestershire captain Hill said before the tournament: “Our aim is to win this competition and I believe we have a serious chance to do so.” He has at least made a strong start to that ambition.
