Cox, Holland lead Leicestershire to dominating win over Somerset

With a crushing 164-run victory over Somerset at Uptonsteel Grace Road, Leicestershire Foxes maintained their place in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup's knockout stages. With two games remaining, Leicestershire Foxes are on 16 points in a competitive Group A table. Half-centuries by Ben Cox (89 off 80 balls), Ian Holland - a List A career-best 77 off 68 - and Nick Kelly (60 off 66) powered a Leicestershire middle-order fightback from 124 for 5 as the Foxes posted 289 for 8, Jake Ball and Migael Pretorius taking three wickets each for Somerset. The visitors then crumbled to 125 all out, succumbing to the fourth-largest defeat by runs in Somerset's List A history. Alex Green finished with 3 for 28, Ben Green 3 for 36. James Langridge, the 20-year-old left-arm seamer, was Somerset's top scorer with 32, batting at No. 10. This came after Leicestershire, put in, had themselves been 13 for 3. Stephen Eskinazi edged behind and Rishi Patel, fresh from his 53-ball hundred at Northampton on Friday, was struck in front at thigh pad height but given out, as Pretorius removed both openers, Josh Shaw nipped one back to bowl Ben Mike. Kelly and Hamza Shaikh added 76 in 14 overs but were parted when Shaikh, having twice lifted Langridge for leg-side sixes, found square leg attempting something similar off Ball. New Zealand international Kelly drove profitably until offspinner Archie Vaughan induced a low return catch, leaving the Foxes 124 for 5 from 28. Yet Somerset's bowlers could not maintain the pressure and Cox and Holland, busily enterprising from the start, transformed the innings, adding 155 in 124 balls to beat the county's List A record for the sixth wicket, set by Wiaan Mulder and Louis Kimber with 146 against Surrey in 2023. Cox made his half-century by pulling Langridge for one of 10 fours and then lofting the same bowler over the leg-side rope. Cox was creative with his shot selection. Both fell in the last two overs, but the damage was done from a Somerset viewpoint. Holland, dismissed off the last ball of Leicestershire's innings, bowled the first ball of Somerset's reply and removed Vaughan with his sixth, setting in train a collapse by the visitors to 48 for 5 inside 15 overs. Ben Green's opening seven overs against his former team-mates cost just 21 runs and claimed three wickets as Sav Perera was caught behind before Lewis Goldsworthy and Tom Lammonby took turns to be caught at square cover, all three guilty of loose shots. Alex Green bowled Josh Thomas, who was beaten for pace. Tom Scriven trapped Johnny Connell in front and bowled Pretorius in the space of four deliveries as Somerset slid further to 68 for 7. That became 76 for 8 when Kelly made a superb diving catch at deep cover after Church reverse-swept Mo Rizvi. Langridge thumped Ben Green for towering back-to-back sixes, but Alex Green yorked him and had Ball caught at mid-off to complete a resounding win.