MATCH REPORT: Lancs suffer 11-run defeat against Hampshire
Lancashire fell to a second Metro Bank One Day Cup defeat in five days, losing to Hampshire by 11 runs at Emirates Old Trafford.
The loss means Lancashire are in sixth place in the Group A table but two points adrift of Yorkshire who occupy the third qualifying spot in the race for the play-offs, with three games left.
Brad Wheal playing his second game of the season following injury, did the damage for the visitors with a career-best five-wicket haul, successfully defending a total of 234.
Jack Morley took a one-day best for Lancashire and Will Williams chipped in with three wickets to restrict the visitors after Hampshire had made a great start to their innings with a century partnership.
George Lavelle top scored with 57 and his mid-innings partnership with George Balderson looked to be steering Lancashire towards their target before Wheal’s late burst settled an entertaining match.
Lancashire lost early wickets in their run chase; George Bell caught behind off Dom Kelly for one, Keaton Jennings caught at deep square leg for 24, and Dane Vilas also caught behind for one – the latter two to Wheal – to be 39 for three by the ninth over.
Josh Bohannon drove Dom Kelly for three fours in the following over but edged Eddie Jack down the leg side to wicketkeeper Ben Brown for 28 to have the Red Rose struggling on 64 for four.
Balderson and Lavelle steadied matters with an excellent alliance of 93 across 23 overs although Lavelle received an early let-off when dropped at fine leg on 6.
The Lancashire wicketkeeper/batter brought up the 50 partnership when pulling Kelly to midwicket for his third four as the pair combined clever shot selection with good running to steadily advance towards their target.
But the loss of three wickets for 13 runs in 13 balls swung the game firmly back Hampshire’s way.
Balderson had made a careful 44 off 81 balls when he top edged a pull off seamer Scott Currie to Gubbins at cover quickly followed by Matty Hurst run out for one.
When Lavelle, having reached a 79-ball fifty that included 5 fours, pulled Currie to Donald at midwicket for 57, Lancashire were 170 for 7 still needing 65 off 11 overs.
Aspinwall and Blatherwick reduced that by 31 off the next six overs, Aspinwall pulling Wheal for six over midwicket.
But Wheal finished the game by taking the final three wickets; yorking Aspinwall for 19, bowling Williams for 5 and having Morley caught at cover for 3 with Blatherwick left unbeaten on 22 and Lancashire 223 all out with one over left.
The Hampshire innings fell neatly, more or less, into two halves; the first where the visitors prospered during an opening century partnership while the second saw Lancashire hit back strongly by taking all ten wickets for 103 runs.
Having won the toss and batting on the same wicket that produced last Friday’s run-fest, Hampshire skipper Nick Gubbins took full advantage as he joined forces with Fletcha Middleton to get the visitors off to an excellent start.
Gubbins was the initially the more aggressive of the pair and the first to reach a half century from 57 balls that included 6 fours and a six over square leg off Blatherwick. Middleton played an excellent supporting role and, once established, stroked 5 fours while also hitting a six over midwicket off Aspinwall, to reach his fifty from only 52 balls.
The century partnership took 107 balls but just when it seemed that Hampshire might push on towards a challenging total, Lancashire hit back by taking three quick wickets.
Having moved the score onto 131, both openers fell in the space of seven balls when Gubbins drove Morley straight to Jennings at cover for 66 and Middleton lofted Morley into the hands of Bohannon at long-on for 58.
Four balls later Morley was celebrating again when his quicker arm ball knocked out Tom Prest’s middle stump to leave Hampshire on 138 for three after 25 overs.
Those successes also helped dry up the run scoring with no boundaries struck for eight overs until Brown flicked Balderson to fine leg, but having made 15 the batter then played back to a Williams delivery that separated his middle and leg stumps.
And with the top four batters removed, the Lancashire attack pressed home their advantage by taking wickets at regular intervals, the last six falling for 44 in 11 overs.
Aneurin Donald pulled Williams to Blatherwick at midwicket for 25, Felix Organ was trapped lbw for 3 by Aspinwall and Morley claimed a one-day best of 3 for 40 when he bowled Joseph Eckland for 17 with Hampshire 208 for seven in the 42nd over.
Kelly pulled Balderson to Jennings at mid-on for 6, Jack top edged a pull off Blatherwick to Morley at mid-off for 2 and Wheal was last man out when he lofted Williams (3-30) to Jennings running back from mid-off for 3 with Hampshire 234 all out in the 48th over.
But disappointingly, from a Lancashire perspective, that proved to be enough.
“It’s a tough one to take,” said Lancashire Coach Graham Onions.
“If we’re honest with ourselves it’s a game we should have won.
“We’ve had two disappointing results in a row. It’s a case of getting on the road for our last three games and try and get back to winning ways,” he added.
Lancashire hauled themselves back in the game after the Hampshire openers put on 131 and Onions said: “I thought the bowlers did really well.”
“We were very confident they were short, around 30 runs under par, at halfway.”
So there was some frustration that Lancashire fell just short in the run chase.
“There were things we could have done slightly differently with the bat,” said Onions.
“Some of them are younger players still learning about their trade. I lost a lot of games in my days as a young player and it took a while to sink in.
“Learning is about losing games and developing and accepting you’ve either made mistakes or maybe lack a little bit of intent with the bat. We probably did a little bit today. That’s not pointing fingers at anyone. We lost wickets at key stages and tried to build partnerships.
“Ultimately we’ve lost a game, and we’ve got to be honest with each other.
“We’ve got to bounce back now against a good Surrey team.”
Ken Grime
Photos: Barry Mitchell & George Franks