MATCH PREVIEW: Birmingham Bears vs Lancashire Lightning
This will be Lancashire’s second Blast game at Edgbaston in 10 days after starting the campaign there last Saturday when Derbyshire Falcons were brushed aside at Blast Off.
The Lightning head into this one on the back of a fabulous run of three wins from three at the beginning of the North Group, looking to overcome former team-mates Alex Davies and Glenn Maxwell to take a significant early step towards the quarter-finals.
Liam Livingstone and co, fresh from beating Nottinghamshire at Emirates Old Trafford by 22 runs last night, tackle a Bears side who have won two from two so far.
Birmingham have signed Australian all-rounder Maxwell and Pakistan seamer Hassan Ali as their overseas players. Maxwell and Ali are former Red Rose players, though seamer Ali has not yet played in the Blast due to a right ankle injury.
This is the first of four successive away games for the Lightning through to next Sunday, a run which includes the Roses game at Headingley on Thursday.
Lightning's squad remains unchanged from Saturday nights victory at Emirates Old Trafford.
Opposition
This is a repeat of the 2014 final, which hosts Birmingham won at Edgbaston as they triumphed against a Lancashire side featuring Andrew Flintoff.
That was the Bears’ only Blast title success to date, just like Lancashire.
But both teams look well placed to challenge for their second crown this summer.
Birmingham beat Yorkshire by 34 runs at Blast Off last Saturday defending a 201 target before beating Leicestershire at Grace Road on Friday night by five wickets as they successfully chased down 167.
Maxwell and Ali were due to fulfil commitments through the majority of this competition.
However, fast bowler Ali, who has played Championship cricket for Warwickshire since the start of the season, went over on his ankle during the warm-ups ahead of the competition opener against Yorkshire and has not played since.
Maxwell hit 47 off 27 balls on debut against the Foxes, while linchpin batter Sam Hain has posted scores of 83 not out and 65 not out in two games from number four and three.
Chris Woakes has played the first two games for the Bears, though will not be available to face Lancashire having linked up with England’s Test squad to face Ireland at Lord’s this week.
Wicketkeeper-opener Davies has been captaining with club captain Will Rhodes not playing T20 cricket.
Seamer Henry Brookes and left-arm spinner Danny Briggs are bowlers to look out for.
Opposing player to watch
There is widespread bemusement around the county game as to how it’s possible for Bears batter Sam Hain to have not gained any kind of senior England recognition.
Here is a 27-year-old batter who has enjoyed significant success for his county across all formats of the game, but his international representation has been limited to Lions cricket.
Hong Kong-born and Australian raised, Hain made his Warwickshire debut in 2013 and has since scored 12,502 senior runs across all formats. He has one career T20 century to his name and averages just under 40.
Classy middle order player Hain played Big Bash League cricket for Brisbane Heat over the winter.
Previous meeting
Lancashire clinched a home quarter-final courtesy of a top two finish in last season’s North Group with a thrilling two-wicket win at Emirates Old Trafford last July.
In their final group fixture, the Lightning chased down 169, achieving a target of 13 off the last over as Tom Hartley hit a six off Henry Brookes and Richard Gleeson hit the winning boundary.
Adam Hose’s 50 off 39 balls underpinned Birmingham’s 168-8, including two wickets apiece for left-arm spinner Hartley and the leg-spin of Luke Wells.
In reply, the Lightning had to recover from 18-2 and later 139-6 in the 16th over.
Captain Dane Vilas top-scored with 42 off 21 before Hartley whacked a late 19 off nine balls to decisively turn a topsy-turvy contest Lancashire’s way.
Birmingham, Lancashire and Derbyshire - in that order - all finished on 18 points at the top of the North Group, with net run-rate ensuring the Bears and Lightning got home quarter-final ties.
What they said
Daryl Mitchell, fresh from a stunning 85 against the Outlaws last night, insists Lancashire will not be taking their foot off the gas despite giving themselves some early breathing space with three wins from three.
“Birmingham are a dangerous side with some good players,” said the overseas all-rounder.
“We can’t take anything for granted. We have to keep showing up with the bat, ball and in the field. Hopefully we’ll be there.”
Mitchell is clearly loving life on the field, with a Championship hundred on debut against Somerset earlier this month to boot. But he’s also loving life off the field.
He added: “It’s the cool thing about cricket in this country. You get to go to some cool and historical grounds. It’s awesome for me to travel around the country. We’ll have some fun and get stuck in.
“I know as overseas players, especially us as Kiwis, we love coming to the UK and playing.”
How’s Stat
Lancashire’s win over Nottinghamshire last night took them to 138 wins in the 20-year history of the Blast. No county has more match victories to their name. Notts came into last night with 137.