County Championship: Sol Budinger makes debut fifty for Leicestershire

Sol Budinger did not play any first-class matches for Nottinghamshire

Leicestershire and Durham had the rare experience of being frustrated by the weather on day one of their County Championship match at the Uptonsteel County Ground.

Only 22 overs were possible before rain forced the players off the field for an early lunch just after mid-day, with Leicestershire 97-2, with debutant Sol Budinger 63 not out.

Once the rain had subsided, the groundstaff made every effort to make the playing surface fit for a resumption, but with no wind to speak of to hasten the drying process parts of the outfield remained stubbornly soggy.

Those 22 overs were enough time, though, for the former Nottinghamshire batter Budinger to make a favourable impression on his Leicestershire debut, with 10 fours and a six.

• Relive the first-day's play in the County Championship as it happened

The 23-year-old never played a first-class match during his two years as a senior player at Trent Bridge but moved to Grace Road after scoring 645 red-ball runs for Nottinghamshire's Second XI this season.

Of those, 321 came in two matches against Leicestershire's Second XI, including his highest score of 151.

He has a reputation as an aggressive top-order player in white-ball formats and it is clear that he wants to play red-ball cricket with the same mindset, reaching 50 off just 57 balls with nine fours, three of them in a single over off the rookie seamer Oliver Gibson.

Flexing his muscles, he then pulled Paul Coughlin for a huge six over the Milligan Road side of the ground, and although he had some early luck with balls that were a whisker from finding the edge, he generally hit the ball cleanly.

Budinger is on loan from Nottinghamshire for the last three matches of the season ahead of starting a two-year contract.

Coughlin removed Budinger's opening partner, Hassan Azad, with a big inswinger that had him leg before - their partnership of 74 was the second highest for the first wicket this season for the side currently bottom of Division Two.

England bowler Matthew Potts - rusty at first after almost four weeks with no cricket - dismissed Rishi Patel via a catch at second slip in the last over before the rain came.

It was the first time Leicestershire have lost time to rain in a Championship match since the opening day of the season in April.

Leicestershire's Sol Budinger:

"I found out about a possible move here about halfway through the Royal London Cup competition. There were talks about it and it was something I was keen to do.

"It is good to be able to finish the season with the team I'm going to be playing with for the next two years.

"One of the biggest reasons for moving was the chance to play red ball cricket and it was good to get out there today.

"There were a few nerves at the start, especially when the first ball broke one of my favourite bats! After that, it was just a case of putting my foot down and getting on with the job."

Report supplied by the ECB Reporters' Network.