Bears coast to One Day Cup win as Foxes fall apart

Bears' skipper Ed Barnard, who made a big century and took two wickets in his side's first game against Essex at Chelmsford, continued his outstanding form in the competition by taking four quick wickets, including that of India Test star Ajinkya Rahane, after putting the Foxes in to bat, reducing the home side to 40-4.

Craig Miles picked up three wickets, and Oliver Hannon-Dalby, Will Rhodes and Jake Lintott one apiece as Leicestershire subsided to 88 all out in just 25.4 overs.

Although former Warwickshire player Chris Wright then took two quick wickets when the visitors began their reply, Rhodes and teenager Hamza Shaikh put together an unbeaten partnership of 85 to steer their side home with 32.4 overs in hand.

Both sides came into the match having won their opening fixture, Leicestershire against Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire against Essex.

On a fine day Leicestershire's supporters turned out in good number in anticipation of the second appearance of Rahane, whose 71 off 60 balls against Notts had left many searching for superlatives.

Warwickshire supporters made the journey from the West Midlands in the hope of seeing for a third consecutive century from Barnard, who had followed his 143 in the warm-up match against Staffordshire with an unbeaten 173 against Essex.

In that respect they were to be disappointed, but it was the only disappointment they were to suffer on what became a near perfect afternoon for their side.

Barnard chose to bowl first after winning the toss, but can hardly have anticipated what would follow, on the same pitch on which Leicestershire had scored 369-6 against Notts.

The first five overs were relatively uneventful, albeit Foxes opener Harry Swindells played and missed at several outswingers, but fellow opener Sol Budinger appeared untroubled, hitting three crisp boundaries.

There was movement off the seam though, particularly for Barnard, and soon after bringing one back to bowl the struggling Swindells, found the edge of Budinger's bat with a fine delivery which left the left-hander.

Opposite number Hill was his third victim, edging a lifting delivery to the wicket-keeper, but his fourth wicket, the key one of Rahane, had an element of fortune about it, coming off a low leg side full toss which the batsman tried to help down to long leg only to turn the bat too soon.

The ball struck the back of the bat and looped gently back to the grateful if slightly startled bowler.

Leicestershire's second overseas batsman, Peter Handscomb, also went caught and bowled, in his case chipping a full straight delivery straight back to Rhodes for a duck.

The procession continued, Liam Trevaskis edging a delivery pushed across him from Hannon-Dalby low to Rhodes at slip, before a stand of 34 between Ben Cox and Ben Mike gave Leicestershire's disbelieving supporters faint hope of posting some sort of score.

The hopes were quickly and decisively extinguished as Cox chipped a simple catch to midwicket, Mike top edged an ambitious pull for Ali, running back from mid-on, to take a good catch, a catch made to look ordinary when Rhodes took a really fine diving catch at slip off Jake Lintott to see the back of Scriven.

Wright was last to go, bowled off the inside edge, but the seamer at least enjoyed some measure of revenge, trimming Barnard's bails with a beauty and then winning a leg before decision against Theo Wylie to reduce the Bears to 7-2.

Thereafter however Rhodes and Shaikh played with increasing comfort to see their side over the line in double quick time.