Leicestershire 291 for 7 (Budinger 120) beat Essex 290 for 9 (Critchley 55, Thain 53, Allison 51) by seven wickets
The left-hander carried the Leicestershire Foxes to a seven-wicket victory with 120 at exactly a run-a-ball to give the 2023 champions a second success in three games this season. He hit four sixes and 10 fours and put the Foxes in command in a third-wicket stand of 75 with Ajinkya Rahane.
The Leicestershire batters took an early liking to Aaron Beard, caning him for seven fours in his first five overs, which cost 48. However, the Essex seamer had the consolation of claiming the wicket of Harry Swindells, caught behind chasing one down legside.
Budinger and Lewis Hill settled into a serene partnership that put on fifty in seven overs and 70 in total. Hill had been dropped by Allison at wide mid-off on 35, but added just seven before he was caught and bowled by Critchley off an attempted sweep. Budinger was undeterred and reached his half-century from 65 balls.
Budinger had been circumspect in compiling his early runs but pulled Jamal Richards for six during his 13-over partnership with Rahane that dominated the flagging Essex attack. Rahane’s share was 37 before he followed a ball from Richards into the wicketkeeper’s gloves.
The required rate rose from its initial 5.8 towards seven an over, but Budinger brought it down again with 17, including two sixes, off a Thain over. Two balls later he dragged the ball through the leg side to reach three figures. He eventually went to a catch at deep backward square leg off Tom Westley.
There were a few nerves when Ben Cox became the sixth wicket to fall, caught at deep square leg off Critchley, with 16 still needed, and when Liam Trevaskis was bowled by Richards with four required.
The middle-order half-centuries for Essex followed a sluggish start to the innings after being put in on a wicket dangerously close to the Pavilion boundary. Feroze Khushi was first to go, having struggled outside off-stump against Chris Wright and reached a dozen from 23 balls before he was bowled trying to whip Matt Salisbury off his legs.
Fellow opener Robin Das pulled Salisbury over midwicket for six, but departed lbw for a run-a-ball 33 when playing over a delivery from Tom Scriven.
Westley and Critchley decided to keep the scoreboard ticking over in singles, compiling 15 in succession in 31 balls before the captain chopped Liam Trevaskis into the wicketkeeper’s gloves the ball after Essex had ambled to 100 in 24 overs.
Critchley had nudged and nurdled 30 singles while plodding to fifty from 79 balls. He carved the next ball for only his fourth four, but tried to continue the aggression and was bowled by Salisbury.
Luc Benkenstein followed, bowled trying to reverse-sweep Trevaskis. But Thain took control, thumping Salisbury for three huge sixes, and added a fourth from a Scriven full-toss. Along the way, he lost the free-flowing Allison in an incredible 10-ball over from Ben Mike that cost 15 runs and included three wides and a no-ball. However, ball No10 accounted for Allison, caught and bowled at short midwicket off a leading edge.
That was the first of four wickets to fall in the final five overs as Shane Snater ramped Wright to short fine leg, Jamal Richards fell lbw to Mike, while Thain’s knock ended when he holed out to deep long leg.