The Metro Bank One-Day Cup is in full swing across the country, and whilst not the outstanding competition it once was or still deserves to be, it continues to be a nice advert for county cricket with loads of fascinating storylines to follow.
The celebs of England’s domestic game might not be present, a certain in-form Ben Stokes aside, though there was no shortage of top of the range and drama-fuelled motion with the possibility for some barely less household names to step up for his or her counties.
Listed below are a collection of players who’ve made positive starts to the campaign.
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Hamza Shaikh (Leicestershire)
What an impression batter Hamza Shaikh has made in his first few innings as a Leicestershire player, having initially signed on loan from Warwickshire ahead of constructing the move everlasting over the winter.
The 20-year-old, who has previously featured for the England Lions and Under-19 sides, registered his maiden profession hundred with an unbeaten 104 off 116 balls at No.4 because the Foxes successfully chased down a goal of 271 to beat Surrey at Guildford on Friday.
From a 122-run partnership to a different price 179 just two days later as Shaikh and South African Ruan de Swardt launched a shocking fightback from 22-4 in pursuit of 384 against Lancashire Lightning at Grace Road.
Shaikh narrowly missed out on consecutive tons as he was caught for 91 off 88 balls, whilst the lower order went on to get the hosts inside a commendable 21 runs of the goal, but 228 runs in three innings for his recent club has definitely set the bar high and has only been bettered by Somerset’s Tom Lammonby after the opening week of the competition.
Shaikh had recently made his T20 debut for Warwickshire Bears of their final group but has not played Championship cricket for the Edgbaston side since early 2025 and shall be seeking to benefit from more regular opportunities to impress at Leicester.
PICTURE: Alamy
Adam Thomas (Surrey)
Batter Adam Thomas already made a reputation for himself earlier within the season when he struck a sublime century on his County Championship debut against Sussex on the Kia Oval.
But now the 20-year-old is churning out runs for fun in the beginning of the One-Day Cup as Surrey’s No.3 in what’s a heavily depleted side resulting from the Hundred – albeit with former England duo Dom Sibley and Rory Burns around him.
Thomas has made half-centuries in each of the primary three games, two of which were unbeaten to paved the way in successful chases.
A fluent 76-ball 82 not out at Sedbergh School against Lancashire was followed by a more measured 57 in a defeat to Leicestershire, before a near run-a-ball 83 guided his side over the road of their most up-to-date game against Northamptonshire Steelbacks.
Thomas previously made a career-best 162 on this competition last season against Derbyshire.
Hampshire’s Tom Prest has been a well-known name on the county circuit for a couple of years now since his debut in 2021, though has had an indifferent season and runs within the One-Day Cup have been much needed for the 23-year-old.
Prest began the campaign with a match-defining century at Scarborough against Yorkshire, making 109 off just 94 balls within the visitors’ total of 320-8.
After a failure against Middlesex, Prest then top-scored again for his side with a 55-ball 70 in the center order at Recent Road against Worcestershire, though it might not be enough as Hampshire fell just short in a repeat of last 12 months’s final despite the very best efforts of Andrew Neal in the ultimate few overs.
The previous England Under-19 captain has previous on this competition, having scored 400+ runs across the campaign in each 2022 and 2023.
Josh de Caires (Middlesex)
Like Prest, Josh de Caires has been a daily feature within the county game for a variety of years, though his profession numbers for Middlesex don’t exactly leap off the page as a player yet to satisfy their potential.
This One-Day Cup could prove a crucial period for the 24-year-old – son of former England captain Michael Atherton – who has made a productive begin to the campaign with each bat and ball.
His opening partner Nathan Fernandes stole the headlines with a century in the primary game against Essex but de Caires proved to be the fundamental man in Southampton with a remarkable all-round performance.
A List A better of 75 laid the foundations for a rating of 284-8, before one other List A best soon followed, claiming 6-35 from 10 overs as de Caires’ off-spin did the damage and accounted for Hampshire’s entire top 4.
His bowling was not required within the recent demolition job on Glamorgan, though a swift 45 not out to achieve the goal of 67 inside the powerplay was an indication of a player with growing confidence.
PICTURE: Dave Vokes/Hampshire Cricket
Naavya Sharma (Middlesex)
One other Middlesex player within the highlight and why not after three wins from three for a side that has not had an awesome deal to shout about in recent times.
A shining light emerging from Lord’s, and their other temporary homes, is their exciting crop of young fast bowlers who’ve all made outstanding contributions across formats this season.
Left-armer Noah Cornwell has been on the scene since 2024, whilst 18-year-old Seb Morgan has already earned himself a wildcard cope with MI London within the Hundred.
20-year-old Naavya Sharma has had a powerful Championship season with 21 wickets in six matches at 24.95 and his List A profession has made an equally impressive start, snaring eight wickets in three matches at 14.25.
Having finished off the tail with the ultimate two wickets in each of the primary two games, Sharma then wrecked havoc at the highest of the order with 4 Glamorgan wickets in his opening spell because the Welsh county slumped to 66 all out at Radlett.
Next up for Middlesex include games against holders Worcestershire, Yorkshire and Durham – with that comes the challenge of barely more experienced batting lineups for Sharma to check himself against.
PICTURE: Alamy/Dave Vokes
Who else has caught the attention?
Charlie Tear (Sussex) – young Scottish wicket-keeper made just his second List A century with 118 off 112 balls against Durham.
Joe Moores (Lancashire) – following a breakthrough T20 Blast campaign, the England Under-19 talent returned to the Lancashire side with an astonishing 15-ball 41 cameo against Leicestershire.
Alex Horton and Jake Hope-Bell (Glamorgan) – two more Welsh talents coming through at Glamorgan in an incredibly inexperienced lineup, 22-year-old keeper Horton and teenager Hope-Bell each notched maiden profession centuries in a shocking recovery partnership against Sussex.
Josh Thomas and James Langridge (Somerset) – one other side with loads of changes but at all times producing a pipeline of talent, 21-year-old Thomas who has established himself across all formats this season has made scores of 97 not out against Gloucestershire and 50 against Warwickshire, whilst 20-year-old left-arm seamer Langridge – yet to debut in red-ball or T20 – has taken five wickets in two matches which included the scalps of Gloucestershire’s James Bracey and Cameron Bancroft.
Joe Pocklington (Nottinghamshire) – left-arm spinner has claimed three wickets in each of his two appearances thus far and likewise contributed with crucial lower order runs within the win over Warwickshire.
Fateh Singh (Worcestershire) – one other left-arm spinner with limited possibilities in T20 resulting from Worcestershire’s overseas duo but gave a reminder of his ability with a match-turning spell of 6-32 against Derbyshire and likewise took crucial wickets to finish the win over Hampshire, despite a reasonably expensive economy rate.
Ekansh Singh (Essex) – England Lions all-rounder took 3-50 against Northamptonshire with crucial middle order wickets and likewise struck a counter-attacking 42 against Gloucestershire.
Ben Cliff (Yorkshire) – operating alongside the more experienced Ben Coad and George Hill, 23-year-old seamer Cliff has made a powerful begin to the campaign with seven wickets in three matches, including 4-29 within the victory over Glamorgan.
PICTURE: Alamy
Who to look at out for?
Savin Perera (Somerset) – the Sri Lankan-born left-handed opener has needed to bide his time for a county stint, but after Somerset offered him a deal on the eve of the competition, he scored a classy half-century on debut against Notts and followed it up with 39 against Warwickshire as he looks to convert starts into an enormous rating.
Luke Robinson (Durham) – the 22-year-old seamer has taken the brand new ball ahead of Ben Stokes and was the standout performer with 3-44 of their opening win at Derbyshire.
Mitchell Killeen (Essex) – you never have to look too removed from Essex for young talent and there are a variety of young quicks of their lineup with Charlie Bennett and Mackenzie Jones each claiming three wickets to finish a powerful comeback win over Derbyshire, nevertheless 21-year-old Mitchell Killeen also made his long-awaited debut in that game with a really economical spell and might be able to kickstart his profession after a winter move from Durham.
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