Alex Green’s five for 25 and Ian Holland’s four for 37 troubled Surrey’s batting at Guildford, where Leicestershire Foxes chased 175 with six wickets in hand.
Surrey were bowled out for 174 in 43.1 overs, leaving all the Foxes’ top order to enjoy themselves with a succession of cameos, until Ben Cox settled matters with successive sixes.
Surrey, missing 15 players away at The Hundred, were also without the injured duo Dom Sibley and Matt Fisher, and fielded a predominantly youthful line-up.
Cox ended 38 not out from 36 balls and added an unbroken 57 in 8.5 overs with Peter Handscomb, who was unbeaten on 23.
Openers Sol Budinger and Rishi Patel struck two sixes and 10 fours between them in their entertaining innings of 36 and 29, Shan Masood included a massive straight six in his 27 and Lewis Hill made 20.
Fast bowler Alex French, 18, conceded 26 in two overs on his senior debut but at least also grabbed the wicket of Budinger for his efforts.
Earlier, Ryan Patel and Ollie Sykes, with 53 and 50 respectively, offered resistance to the Leicestershire attack in front of a 2,500 sell-out crowd at Woodbridge Road.
Making only his fourth List A appearance, in addition to a first-class debut last September, highly-rated England Under 19 fast bowler Green first removed Ben Foakes before ripping out Sykes, who had pulled Tom Scriven for one huge six over mid wicket, Steel and James Taylor in his second spell in mid-innings.
He then returned to finish off Surrey by dismissing Josh Blake for 31 and bowled with genuine pace throughout.
All-rounder Holland’s clever medium pace was also too much for Surrey, although it was the occasional off spin of Rishi Patel which struck perhaps the game’s decisive blow when he claimed the wicket of namesake Ryan Patel for 53 in the 25th over.
Surrey’s total had been based on a fourth wicket stand of 68 between Patel and Sykes that rallied the home team after a wobbly start.
Rory Burns edged Holland to second slip to go for three in the third over and 19-year-old Adam Thomas, in only his third List A game, also fell to Holland who pinned him leg-before for six during a tidy five-over new ball spell of two for 21.
The introduction of the 18-year-old Green brought almost immediate results, with Foakes (5) nicking his second ball behind, but Patel and Sykes steadied the innings.
Patel, captaining Surrey for the first time, has been the county’s leading run-scorer in this competition for each of the past two seasons and he looked in good order before falling to a low caught-and-bowled. Driving at Rishi Patel’s off spin, there initially seemed to be some doubt about whether the ball carried but the bowler was confident and a quick consultation between the umpires confirmed that it had.
Patel’s dismissal proved a turning point in the innings, with 111 for four quickly becoming 141 for eight.
Sykes was caught at mid on, Steel caught from a skied misfit first ball, Taylor taken at the wicket and Nathan Barnwell – who also scored just two – bowled by Holland between bat and pad.
Yousuf Majid did add 32 with Blake but on 14 he fenced at Holland and edged behind, and one run later Blake holed out at deep square leg to give the impressive Green his fifth wicket.
