Worcestershire Royals were defeated by 4 wickets against the Leicestershire Foxes in their Clydesdale Bank 40 match at Grace Road.

The match was delayed due to a wet outfield but play got underway at 3:15pm, with the match reduced to 31 overs per side, and the Foxes won the toss and put the Royals into bat.

Moeen Ali and Vikram Solanki made a good start for the Royals by putting on 55 for the opening wicket in 9 overs until Ali was caught by Nathan Buck at mid-on off Robert Taylor for 40 off 35 balls, with 7 fours, and then, with the score on 91 in the 15th over, Solanki was the second wicket to fall when he was bowled by Taylor for 34 off 35 balls, with 4 fours.

Phil Hughes and James Cameron kept the score ticking along by adding 37 runs for the third wicket until Cameron was bowled, in the 21st over, by James Sykes for 29 off 27 balls, with 1 four and 1 six, but then Hughes and Daryl Mitchell, who was dropped on 4 by Taylor at mid-wicket, pushed on, with Mitchell being the more aggressive of the two, as their fourth wicket partnership of 76 off 58 balls took the Royals past 200 in the penultimate over when Mitchell was run out for 44 off 29 balls, with 6 fours.

Hughes then went to his 50 off 55 balls, with 2 fours, and, despite the wicket of Gareth Andrew (0) in the final over, the Royals ended on 214-5 off their 31 overs with Hughes not out on 57 off 58 balls, with 3 fours.

In reply the Foxes made a bright start, as they reached 43 in the 7th over, until Josh Cobb (21) returned the ball to Jack Shantry, who parried and then caught the ball at the second attempt.  Ramnaresh Sarwan and Greg Smith, who was given a life on 15 when, returning the ball, Mitchell failed to hold onto the ball with his right hand, both played steadily, with Sarwan reaching his 50 off 58 balls, with 4 fours, but the second wicket partnership of 66 was broken when, with the score on 109 in the 21st over, Smith pulled a full-toss from Shantry (2-38) to Mitchell at mid-wicket for 34 off 42 balls, with 2 fours and 1 six.

In the 23rd over Sarwan, on 63, was dropped by Cameron at mid-off and, next ball, Michael Thornely, on 4, was not out when Hughes was adjudged to have not caught the ball cleanly at extra cover but, in the 26th over, Thornely (21) was caught by Solanki at deep mid-wicket off Ali (1-31) with the Foxes on 155-3.  Sarwan then went up a gear, as he went to his 100 off 85 balls, but, next ball, he was bowled by a Lucas yorker to end a fine innings off 86 balls, with 9 fours and 2 sixes, with the score on 185 in the 29th over.  Two more wickets then fell in the same over as Matthew Boyce (5) was run out by Scott and when Ned Eckersley (1) was also bowled by a Lucas yorker the home side were on 186-6 after 29 overs.

The Foxes scored 10 runs off the penultimate over and therefore needed 16 runs off the last over but Lucas bowled a no ball, above waist height, off the first ball, which was hit by Taylor over mid-wicket for 4 runs, and it proved to be crucial as the Foxes, needing 2 off the last ball, secured the win when Taylor hit Lucas (2-54) to the extra cover boundary for 4.