MATCH REPORT: Rain frustrates Lancashire after fine batting display
Dane Vilas posted his highest score of the season to lead a strong batting performance as Lancashire made 270 for seven, with Essex 23 for two in reply, before rain brought an early end to this 36 over-per-side Metro Bank One Day Cup tie with the game abandoned as a No Result.
After a delayed start at 1pm following heavy rain yesterday that reduced the game to 36 overs per side, Keaton Jennings took three consecutive boundaries off Aaron Beard after Lancashire had been put in to bat before edging to Beau Webster, the Australian all-rounder making his Essex debut, at first slip for 19 in fourth over.
George Bell and Josh Bohannon moved on steadily with a 77-ball partnership of 72 runs to lay good, early foundations, countering the efforts of Essex seamer Jamie Porter who bowled all of his eight overs in one miserly spell that cost just 27 runs, while conceding only one boundary, at the start of the innings.
Bohannon sliced a drive to Robin Das at backward point for 35 in left arm spinner Aron Nijjar’s opening over while Bell departed seven balls later, lbw to Webster for 29, to leave Lancashire on 99 for three in the 19th over.
Vilas and Balderson continued to build on that start with another excellent alliance of 70 in 9 overs, Balderson driving his first ball from Webster for four through cover while Vilas was quickly into his stride lacing Webster for an emphatic four past mid-on and pulling the same bowler for six over midwicket.
The fifty partnership arrived from just 34 balls but was ended twenty runs later in an unfortunate manner when a firm drive by Vilas was deflected onto the stumps at the non striker’s end via bowler Beard’s boot to run out Balderson for 32.
George Lavelle added a useful 22 off 17 balls until bowled by Nijjar at the end of the 31st over but Vilas motored on, reaching his fifty from 40 balls in thrilling fashion hitting Beard for six over long on.
And Vilas was brilliantly aided by one-day debutants Matty Hurst and Tom Aspinwall in plundering 67 runs from the final five overs.
Hurst (21 not out off 13 balls) pulled Beard for six over midwicket, followed by Vilas hitting Webster for consecutive sixes in 34th over before departing for 65 when caught on the midwicket boundary off the next ball.
Aspinwall (22 off 10 balls) hammered three sixes including consecutive blasts off Ben Allison in the 35th over before falling lbw off the last ball of the innings with Lancashire 270 for seven.
That looked to be a very competitive score, especially when Josh Rymell fell for 6 after top edging a pull off Jack Blatherwick to long leg where Balderson judged a good diving catch.
Robin Das then pulled Will Williams to deep midwicket where Aspinwall made a great running catch inches inside the boundary to dismiss the batter for 8 with Essex 19 for two.
The visitors had moved on to 23 for two with Tom Westley (8 not out) and Noah Thain (0 not out) when the rain arrived just before 5pm to end the game.
With only six overs bowled in the Essex innings and a minimum of ten overs required for a result to be possible under the Duckworth/Lewis/Stern method, the game was declared a No Result at 5.45pm.
Both teams receive one point from the match.
“That was disappointing," said Lancashire coach Graham Onions.
"I think we’ve played some really good cricket.
“We fought hard, but it wasn’t to be because of the weather.
“We only needed to bowl four overs. They needed another 87 runs off them so we fancied our chances!"
“I’ve told the boys, we’ve played some really good stuff, gave ourselves opportunities to win the game but the weather rather stole our thunder," he added.
Onions was delighted with the performances of Tom Aspinwall and Matty Hurst, both players making their List A one-day debuts today.
“Tom and Matty have worked unbelievably hard to get to this stage where they are going to be put under pressure," he said.
“I think we’ve seen, on Sunday against Cumberland, and today they are fairly devastating hitters.
“Are we giving these lads chances to play – yes. Are they good enough? One hundred percent.
“Our senior players are going to push the likes of Hurst and Aspinwall to produce the goods. And they are easily good enough to do it.”
Ken Grime
Photos: Conor Molloy