MATCH PREVIEW: Lancashire Lightning v Leicestershire Foxes
You wait ages for one win to come around, so let’s hope two come at once.
Lancashire Lightning v Leicestershire Foxes
Vitality Blast, North Group
Thursday May 25, 2023, 12.30pm
Emirates Old Trafford
With five successive draws in the Championship, it had been a frustrating start to 2023, with Lancashire not rewarded for dominance in a number of matches.
But that changed at Blast Off on Saturday when the Lightning brushed Derbyshire aside in the competition opener at Edgbaston, chasing down a target of 180 with four wickets in hand and as many balls remaining.
Luke Wood impressed with three wickets in the Falcons’ 179-5 before opener Luke Wells led the chase with a quick-fire 66 not out.
This will be Leicestershire’s opening game of this season’s Blast.
While Lancashire, Derbyshire, Birmingham and Yorkshire kicked things off in the Midlands at the weekend, the rest of the counties were playing a round of Championship matches and join this competition throughout this week.
Opposition
The Foxes came oh so close to qualifying for last season’s quarter-finals. In fact, they would have advanced had they not been docked two points for poor on-field behaviour.
They were due to go into a final day winner takes all group clash with Yorkshire at Grace Road, the victors taking the final quarter-final place on offer in the North Group. But, on the morning of the game, the ECB announced a damaging sanction against the county because of a number of on-field incidents they deemed worthy of punishment.
Leicestershire went on to beat Yorkshire that day, but it was the Vikings who qualified and later advanced to a Roses semi-final at Edgbaston.
That aforementioned win for the Foxes was one of eight in 14 group matches last season.
They head into 2023 aiming to create a bit of history. If they triumph at Edgbaston in mid-July, they could be the first county to win the Blast on four occasions. They won it in 2004, 2006 and 2011. Reigning champions Hampshire have also won it three times.
Captained by wicketkeeper-batter Lewis Hill, the Foxes have employed South African all-rounder Wiaan Mulder as an overseas player for the whole of 2023 (and 2024).
They have also re-signed Afghanistan seamer Naveen-ul-Haq, who was the second leading wicket-taker in last season’s Blast with 24 scalps - one fewer than Lancashire’s Richard Gleeson. But he will be unavailable for this fixture as he is involved in the IPL finals with Lucknow Super Giants.
Lancashire’s IPL players Jos Buttler (Rajasthan) and Liam Livingstone (Punjab), meanwhile, have both been knocked out.
Former Red Rose junior Callum Parkinson hasn’t played a match all season due to injury.
Leicestershire have won one, lost one and drawn four in Division Two of the LV= Insurance County Championship so far in 2023.
Opposing player to watch
It has to be 18-year-old England all-rounder Rehan Ahmed.
Over the most recent winter, Ahmed made his senior international debuts across all three formats, including taking seven wickets on Test debut in Pakistan before Christmas and then playing a pair of T20s in Bangladesh in March.
Ahmed is an energetic leg-spinner and a dynamic batter who has come through the system at Grace Road. He also played winter franchise cricket in the UAE with Gulf Giants over the winter having featured in the Hundred last summer for Southern Brave.
He has performed better with the bat than the ball in the early stages of the Championship season, posting three fifties.
In T20 cricket, he has bests of 4-22 and 33 to his name.
Previous meeting
Lancashire won last season’s only Blast clash between the two counties, by seven wickets at the Uptonsteel County Ground last June.
Having elected to bat, the Foxes posted a well below par 135 all out at a high-scoring venue, with Tom Hartley, Matthew Parkinson and Danny Lamb all claiming two wickets.
Captain Lewis Hill played a lone hand with a busy 50 off 34 balls from number three. Only one other player - Colin Ackermann with 25 - made it beyond 20.
In reply, Lancashire were much more confident and composed with the bat. Phil Salt with 38 and Steven Croft, who top-scored with 45, shared a second-wicket partnership of 81 following the early departure of Keaton Jennings at 16-1.
Tim David later finished things off with two fours and two sixes in a quick-fire 24 not out, reeling in that 136 target in only 16.1 overs.
What they said
Versatility is vital for the success of a T20 player and in turn a T20 team, believes Saturday’s star man Luke Wells.
The ex-Sussex man was named player of the match for his top order 66, being elevated to face the new ball having batted down the order in last year’s campaign.
With a number of players missing through injury or unavailability - captain Keaton Jennings injured and Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone at the IPL - Wells grasped his chance with both hands.
He knows it may be a role he won't get to hold onto when those players do return to the fold. But he’s relaxed about the situation and has just one wish.
“I’m happy to go in whatever position as long as I get in the team,” said the left-hander.
“I think it’s a lot easier at the top of the order, with men up and the gaps. I think it suits my game. But, having said that, we’ve got so many world-class players who can play there.
“When they come back, we’ll see what the coach thinks about the best set-up for the team.
“If you have a good team first mentality, it’s a lot easier to adapt. If you’re too worried about your own performance - I have to bat here, I have to bowl those overs - it becomes a lot harder.
“The fact we’ve got all that firepower coming in, guys are going to be disappointed. Roles might change. But it’s only good news for Lancashire and Lancashire fans.”
Wells may not have the limited overs reputation that the likes of Buttler and Livingstone have, but make no mistake he’s central to the county’s hopes of success against the white ball in 2023.
“I contributed with the ball a lot last season and didn’t get the opportunity to bowl (against Derbyshire),” said the batter cum leg-spinner. “I’m really confident when I get my opportunity, my bowling’s in a really good place as well.
“I’ve taken a long time to work out my game in T20.
“I’ve played for 14 years and haven’t played much T20 in my career. At Sussex, I didn’t get in the team. It’s taken me a long time to work out different ways to go about it, because it is very different.”
He added: “I’m just enjoying being part of a team and contributing to wins. That’s what it’s all about.
“It will be great to get back to Emirates Old Trafford. Our record there has been unbelievable over the last few years, so there’s no reason why that can’t continue against Leicestershire.”
How’s Stat!
Lancashire are unbeaten at home in T20 cricket for the last two seasons, winning 12 of 15 matches. That also includes a pair of ties and a rainy No Result.
In fact, the Lightning’s last home defeat came against Leicestershire in late September 2020.