Tag: Leicestershire

Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood is set to play county cricket for Leicestershire in the 2025 season, having signed an all-format contract with the club.

The 35-year-old left-handed opener, who led Pakistan to a historic Test series win against England last year, will bring a wealth of experience to the club.

Masood is expected to join Leicestershire in May, following the conclusion of Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 10, and is likely to make his debut on May 31 against his former county, Derbyshire.

With this move, Masood’s stint with Yorkshire comes to an end, following a two-year deal that saw him captain the side from 2023.

During his tenure at Headingley, he played a crucial role in securing Yorkshire’s promotion back to Division One, amassing 1,240 County Championship runs at an impressive 53.91 average in 15 matches.

Before joining Yorkshire, Masood had an outstanding season with Derbyshire in 2022, where he racked up 1,078 first-class runs at 82.61.

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Shan Masood, who has been capped 90 times for Pakistan across all formats, joins club captain Peter Handscomb and Netherlands all-rounder Logan van Beek as Leicestershire’s overseas signings for the 2025 season.

With no Test matches scheduled for Pakistan during the English summer, he is expected to be available for the entire county season, unless recalled for Pakistan’s white-ball tour of the West Indies in July.

“I am really excited to have the chance to play all three formats for Leicestershire. I have always admired the club and have had great conversations with a lot of the team during the last three seasons,” Masood said in a statement released on Tuesday.

“I love playing at Uptonsteel County Ground. The fans get behind the team in strong numbers and the games I have been a part of have always been a great spectacle.

“The club has been very competitive in all formats and produced some fantastic young players over the last few years. It is an exciting time to join the Foxes.”

READ: Bangladesh likely to tour Pakistan for white-ball series in May

Leicestershire batter Louis Kimber rewrote record books as he smashed the fastest double-century in the County Championship as well as the second-fastest in overall first-class cricket.

The 27-year-old batter played a historic 243-run knock in only 127 balls in the second innings of the County Championship Division Two match against Sussex in Hove. However, his innings came in a losing cause as Sussex registered a narrow 18-run victory.

During his innings, the right-handed batter shattered multiple records and destroyed England’s Test bowler Ollie Robinson, who conceded 43 runs in one over. This was the second-most expensive over in First-Class cricket history.

Louis Kimber hit Robinson for an overall five sixes, three of which came on no-balls, three fours and a single in the 59th over.

Kimber, who was batting at 72 off 56 balls before Robinson’s over, amassed an unbeaten 109 off just 65 balls at the conclusion of the over.

He continued his onslaught and completed his double-century in only 100 balls, breaking the record for the fastest double-century in the history of county cricket.

Kimber’s 100-ball double-century is only second to Afghanistan batter Shafiqullah, who reached the landmark in 89 balls back in 2018.

Fastest double-century in first-class cricket

Shafiqullah – 89 balls, Kabul Region vs Boost Region, 2018

Louis Kimber – 100 balls, Leicestershire vs Sussex, 2024

Tanmay Agarwal – 119 balls, Hyderabad vs Arunachal, 2024

Ravi Shastri – 123 balls, Bombay vs Baroda, 1985

Aneurin Donald – 123 balls, Glamorgan vs Derbyshire, 2016

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Kimber smashed 20 fours and 21 sixes on his way to 243, breaking the record for most sixes in an innings in the County Championship.

The record was previously held by current England Test captain Ben Stokes, who struck 17 sixes against Worcestershire in 2022.

The right-handed batter expressed his joy after the record-breaking innings, but he was a little disappointed to end up on the losing side.

“You don’t get many days like that in your career, it was unbelievable really,” Kimber told the ECB Reporters’ Network. “It’s just a shame we couldn’t get over the line but personally, you have to enjoy days like that. It was good fun.

“I just tried to be positive and see what happened. I got a bit of luck here and there but you need that. Most of the lads have told me to remember it because days like this don’t come around too often.

“My phone has been buzzing and the records I have broken are pretty cool. All the Sussex players congratulated me and told me I didn’t deserve to be on the losing side. They were very gracious and over four days probably deserved to win.

“I can’t remember hitting the ball as cleanly as I did today before. I got into a kind of weird zone when I wasn’t thinking too much except trying to hit the ball where I wanted to.”

READ: South Africa crush Afghanistan to reach T20 World Cup 2024 final