MATCH PREVIEW: Lancashire Lightning vs Surrey
The show goes on for Lancashire, who are hoping it continues to be a case of, ‘Home is where the heart is’.
Lancashire Lightning v Surrey
Vitality Blast, Quarter-Final
Friday July 7, 2023, 6.30pm
Emirates Old Trafford
The Lightning head into this blockbuster quarter-final with Surrey on a 21-game unbeaten home streak in the Blast dating back to the final game of the 2020 campaign.
Having finished second in the North Group with nine wins from 14 games, we face a Surrey side who also won that amount in the South but finished third.
No doubt about it, these are two star-studded teams.
Look at the teams from Sunday’s final round of group games and Lancashire fielded six full internationals in victory over Northamptonshire at Emirates Old Trafford, while Surrey fielded eight in defeat to Essex at the Kia Oval.
The two counties have previously met twice in the Blast, both at Finals Days. Surrey won the 2004 semi-final by one run at Edgbaston in 2004 before the Lightning gained revenge the following year when they won by 22 runs at the Oval, again in the semi-final.
Both teams have won this competition once before; Lancashire in 2015 and Surrey were the inaugural winners in 2003.
Lancashire will be hoping to back up a stunning Championship win against Surrey, the reigning champions and current Division One leaders, at the Oval last week.
Opposition:
Sean Abbott, the Curran brothers Sam and Tom, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Sunil Narine, Jamie Overton and Jason Roy.
Make no mistake, Lancashire’s stunning home record will be tested to its limits by a Surrey side who missed the chance of a home quarter-final with Sunday’s final group stage defeat at home to Essex when the visitors, needing three to win off the last ball, hit a six through Feroze Khushi.
The Londoners are captained by England white ball all-rounder Jordan, and they’re bidding to make up for the disappointment of missing out on Finals Day last year when beaten by Yorkshire at the Oval.
They have Australian seam bowling all-rounder Abbott, a serial Big Bash winner with Sydney Sixers, and legendary West Indian spinner Narine as their two overseas players.
Jacks in their leading run-scorer with 541 in this season’s Blast, forging a formidable opening partnership with Laurie Evans, who has 493 runs to his name.
Narine is their leading wicket-taker with 19. With 508 to his name across a storied career, the Trinidadian is the third highest wicket-taker of all-time in T20 cricket behind Dwayne Bravo (615) and Rashid Khan (555).
Former England off-spinner Gareth Batty is their coach.
Opposing player to watch:
It has to be England batting all-rounder Will Jacks, he of six international caps - two in each of the three formats.
Jacks has been a linchpin at the top of Surrey’s batting order this summer.
Added to his near 550-run return in the ongoing Blast, he has also chipped in with 10 wickets with his off-spinners.
The tall 24-year-old has hit 31 sixes - more than anyone else in this season’s Blast.
Fingers crossed this theory holds up. He’s actually due a failure in the Blast because his last five innings in the South Group have yielded scores of 69, 96, 50 and 23. In between that, he hit 64 and 20 from the middle order against Lancashire in that aforementioned Championship game at the Oval last week.
Jacks has also had captaincy experience with Surrey. For example, he led them in last year’s Blast quarter-final defeat to Yorkshire.
Previous meeting:
You have to go way back to 2005 for the last Blast meeting between these two counties, and Lancashire won it by 22 runs at the Oval in the semi-final. The Red Rose were ultimately beaten by Somerset in a rain-affected final.
Go on, let’s take a quiz. Can you name Lancashire’s full team that day?
The answer will be posted at the end of this section, with clearly a few clues along the way as we take a look back at that victory.
The late, great Andrew Symonds top-scored for Lancashire with 52 in an imposing 217-4, a total not beyond reach as Ali Brown made 51 and shared 93 for the first wicket with James Benning.
But Surrey lost four wickets for 11 runs to slip to 104-4, with six of the Lightning’s seven-man attack, including Symonds, ultimately striking once apiece as Mark Chilton’s side limited the hosts to 195-7 in what proved a comfortable win.
Lancashire team: Mal Loye, Stuart Law, Andrew Flintoff, Andrew Symonds, Dominic Cork, Andrew Crook, Mark Chilton c, Glen Chapple, Warren Hegg w, Jimmy Anderson, Gary Keedy.
What they said:
In-form wicketkeeper opener Phil Salt is hoping Lancashire can heap more pain on Surrey, following up Championship success with a victory in the Blast.
Salt, 26, scored two fifties in the Championship success at the Kia Oval - both in the middle order.
He then backed that up with an excellent 74 not out at the top of the order in Sunday’s final North Group Blast fixture against Northamptonshire at Emirates Old Trafford.
It leaves the England man in confident mood ahead of what will be a blockbuster clash against Surrey, one he believes wouldn’t have looked out of place at Edgbaston a week on Saturday.
Salt said: “I think if at the start of the competition you’d have asked anyone who would be in the final, I think Lancs and Surrey a lot of people would have said that. So to have that game in the quarters is very exciting.”
No doubt asked the same question, Surrey’s players would respond with something along the lines of, ‘It’s a different game, a different format’.
But Salt gives a compelling argument to back up the theory that Lancashire’s recent Championship win can play a part come Friday evening.
He added: “I think you can (take something from the Oval game).
“I think if they take a message away from that game, it’s that we don’t give in and we keep coming and we keep coming.
“I think a lot of sides would have been broken by their pressure because they did play well. They batted really well in the first innings and bowled well both innings.
“They kept throwing stuff at us, and we kept absorbing it. Then, at the end of day three and when day four came, we showed how much fight we have as a group.
“Hopefully that’s fresh in their minds.
“Twice in two weeks, we hope!”
How’s Stat:
This will be Lancashire’s 16th quarter-final tie in the Blast and fifth at Emirates Old Trafford.
The Lightning have won all three of the games previously played; versus Derbyshire in 2005 (won by 17 runs), versus Glamorgan 2014 (won by one run) and versus Essex in 2022 (won by seven wickets).
The fourth game versus Somerset (2009) was abandoned after three days of rain, with the visitors winning the subsequent bowl-out 5-1.
Quarter-Final: Tickets On Sale
Lancashire Lightning are through to the Vitality Blast Quarter-Finals for the third year in a row. Secure your tickets to watch Lancashire Lightning v Surrey at Emirates Old Trafford on Friday 7 July - we need your support.