Leicestershire head coach Alfonso Thomas has criticised The Hundred’s “ridiculous” player participation rules.

The injury-hit Foxes lost in the One-Day Cup to Surrey on Tuesday and next play Yorkshire on Thursday, their fourth match in seven days.

And Thomas is frustrated that, while his side are struggling for numbers, a number of Leicestershire players have featured only occasionally for their Hundred teams.

He believes they would be better off playing for their county, if not selected for Hundred duty.

“The win on Sunday (against Sussex) came at a cost – we lost Ben Mike, we lost [Matt] Salisbury, we’ve got [Liam] Trevaskis with a strapped quad, Chris Wright who’s got a [bad] ankle,” Thomas told Talking Foxes on BBC Radio Leicester.

“What kills me is tonight we’ll go and watch The Hundred and see a couple of our lads not play, which to me is an absolutely ridiculous rule.

“Just to sit out in the dugout and carry a couple of drinks.”

Leicestershire have five players in Hundred franchises – batters Louis Kimber and Rishi Patel at Birmingham Phoenix, all-rounder Rehan Ahmed at Southern Brave and bowlers Scott Currie and Josh Hull both at Manchester Originals.

Patel and Kimber have played just two of Phoenix’s five games, as has Ahmed for Brave and Hull for the Originals. Currie has played all five.

“For teams like Leicestershire, it’s going to hurt more because of the size of our squad,” said Thomas.

“This is the one downside of having a good campaign in the Blast because you’re going to lose players.”

Last year, only Ahmed and Callum Parkinson left the East Midlands club in the summer for The Hundred with the former returning after just two matches.

Leicestershire sit fifth in Group B of the One-Day Cup on six points after three wins and two defeats.