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Leicestershire head coach Alfonso Thomas has called on England selectors not to include Rehan Ahmed in a squad role that would keep him out of the One-Day Cup final. The final is scheduled for September 20 at Trent Bridge, where Leicestershire will face Middlesex. Thomas made his position clear after Leicestershire defeated Nottinghamshire by 23 runs in the One-Day Cup semi-final on August 16.
Ahmed had come straight into the Leicestershire side after completing his commitments with Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred. He contributed 31 from 36 balls in the semi-final, providing useful support to Hamza Shaikh, who anchored the innings with 104. Leicestershire's total of 303 for 7 proved sufficient as they dismissed Nottinghamshire 23 runs short of the target. Thomas was direct about Ahmed's value to the county side.
"If he's playing for England that will obviously take first dibs," he said. "The one thing we don't want to see is him getting picked for England, and carry the drinks on the Saturday when he could have been playing a game of cricket," Thomas said, as quoted by the BBC.
Why is Ahmed's availability for the final a concern?
England's limited-overs fixtures against Sri Lanka are scheduled to overlap with the build-up to the One-Day Cup final, creating a realistic possibility that Ahmed could be called into the national squad around the time of the September 20 match. Thomas's concern remains on the fact that if Ahmed is named in the England party but does not feature in any of those matches, he would miss a significant county final without gaining any competitive cricket in return.
Ahmed returned to Leicestershire directly from the Hundred and made an immediate contribution in the semi-final. His availability for the Trent Bridge final will ultimately depend on the decisions England selectors make over the coming weeks. Thomas has made clear that a non-playing squad role would not be an acceptable outcome for the county.
What is Leicestershire's injury situation ahead of the final?
The semi-final victory over Nottinghamshire came at a physical cost for Leicestershire. Ben Green sustained a quad injury during Nottinghamshire's innings, while Steve Eskinazi suffered a shoulder injury in the same period of play.
Wicketkeeper Ben Cox was also forced off the field after being struck by Haseeb Hameed's bat but returned following concussion tests. Leicestershire will assess the fitness of Green and Eskinazi in the weeks before the final.