MATCH PREVIEW: Lancashire Lightning v Derbyshire Falcons
Lancashire will be hoping for some midday magic as they bid for a second win in three games at the start of their North Group campaign.
Lancashire Lightning v Derbyshire Falcons
Vitality Blast, North Group
Sunday June 2, 2024, 12pm
Emirates Old Trafford
The Lightning have won one and lost one so far beating Durham at home on Thursday by nine wickets chasing 76 before losing by five wickets in the last over against Worcestershire at New Road as they nearly defended 170.
With a third game in four days on the horizon, Lancashire can still ensure a positive start to the campaign with a second win when Derbyshire come to town.
For Derbyshire, they have only played once so far but play this afternoon against Leicestershire at Edgbaston as part of Blast Off.
The Falcons lost their opener on Thursday at Northamptonshire, by five wickets as the hosts chased a total of 163 to win off the last ball at Wantage Road.
This is the first game of a T20 double header with Lancashire Thunder women, who face the Blaze at 4pm in the Charlotte Edwards Cup. Fingers crossed, it’s a repeat of Thursday’s double header when both Red Rose sides won.
Lancashire Lightning squad to face Derbyshire Falcons:
Opposition:
Derbyshire are one of only five counties who have never won the Blast; Durham, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire and Yorkshire are the others. And the Falcons have only reached Finals Day once, in 2019 when they were beaten semi-finalists.
But plenty has changed down at the County Ground ahead of this season’s Blast.
They have a new captain in former England all-rounder Samit Patel, who made the short trip across the Midlands from Nottinghamshire over the winter.
They have also signed T20 specialists, the seamer, Pat Brown and all-rounder Ross Whiteley, the former who has four caps for England to his name.
Whiteley started his county career with Derbyshire before joining Worcestershire and Hampshire.
The Falcons, who still have a significant Red Rose flavour in their side courtesy of Luis Reece and Brooke Guest, will field two from three overseas players this campaign.
New Zealand fast bowler Blair Tickner has been joined by South African seamer Daryn Dupavillon for the early stages of the competition, while Pakistan quick Mohammad Amir is coming for the final six group games. But Dupavillon didn’t feature in their opener at Northamptonshire, despite being in the match-day squad.
Derbyshire finished fifth in last season’s North Group, three points adrift of fourth place and quarter-final qualification.
Wayne Madsen was their leading run-scorer in 2023 with 580 and fast bowler Zak Chappell their leading wicket-taker with 26. Both men were in the top three performances across the competition in their respective fields.
Opposition player to watch:
Zak Chappell is a dangerous cricketer. A tall fast bowler who is potent with the new ball and late in the innings, he also whacks it down the order with the bat. His performance in defeat at Northampton on Thursday tells you that.
He claimed 2-29 from four overs and clubbed two sixes in 18 off nine balls to boost their total to 162-7 from 123-7 - one which they oh so nearly defended. Northamptonshire successfully chased 14 off the last over.
He will be hoping for another good day at Edgbaston today when the Falcons face the Foxes.
Chappell, 27, was the Blast’s third leading wicket-taker last summer with 26.
This is his second year at Derbyshire having moved from Nottinghamshire. He had moved to Trent Bridge from Leicestershire, where he built a reputation as one of English Cricket’s brightest fast-bowling prospects.
He has England Lions experience to his name, but his Notts move didn’t quite work out due to injury.
His move to Derbyshire has worked out better, as indicated by last season’s performances in the Blast, and it would be no surprise if he was back on England’s radar in the next year or two.
Previous meeting:
Lancashire completed the double over Derbyshire in last season’s Blast, first at Edgbaston by four wickets last May - the opening match of the competition as part of Blast Off.
They then returned to Emirates Old Trafford, a month later - in late June, and won by 27 runs on the back of a superb 83 off 39 balls from Jos Buttler.
England’s white ball captain underpinned a commanding 177-4 total having been inserted, with captain Liam Livingstone also adding 47 not out. From 43-1, they shared 101 for the second wicket.
In reply, Falcons opener Harry Came hit 45, but he gained no support as regular wickets fell. When he departed, they were 96-5 in the 11th over and failed to recover, finishing on 150-7. Tom Bailey, Daryl Mitchell and Luke Wells all claimed two wickets apiece.
What they said:
Luke Wells wants Lancashire’s players to follow the lead of young wicketkeeper-batter Matty Hurst after his defiant 45 off 34 balls nearly contributed to a come-from-behind win over Worcestershire at New Road last night.
Hurst, in only his second T20 game - his first innings, helped the Lightning recover from 13-3 in the fourth over to post a battling 169-5, a total which they weren’t miles off defending.
The 20-year-old from Wigan has shown enough in his short first-team career - he debuted last summer - to suggest that he is going to be a star of the future.
And Wells was full of praise for his mentality as much as his skill as he talked about how the Red Rose bounce back from defeat in the West Midlands.
“It was a great effort,” said the opener, who himself contributed 34 and shared 50 for the fourth wicket with Hurst.
“I want to give a shoutout to Matty Hurst.
“The way he came out in effectively his first bat in T20 cricket, to hit his first ball for four down the ground and later hit it over the top for six when we’re three for nothing shows the type of self belief you have to have to be successful in any form of cricket but especially T20.
“You have to be brave, but you have to be brave consistently.
“For someone to come out with that intent - effectively on debut - is a great blueprint for everyone involved in the team and squad about how we’re going to need to go about our cricket.
“That means fronting up, sticking your chest out and trusting yourself even when things aren’t going well.”
Lancashire are back on the horse quickly, facing Derbyshire on Sunday lunchtime.
“You have to keep going,” he added. “We play Derby on Sunday, and we had an unbelievably good game there at Emirates Old Trafford the other night (against Durham).
“This (Worcester) was a much better workout in general.
“If we are going to go to the depths in this competition, games like this will hold us in really good stead because we were put under pressure and certain individuals really fronted up.
“That’s a good sign moving forwards.”
How’s Stat!
Steven Croft top-scored with 52 in defeat against Worcestershire last night. It was an innings which took him beyond 20,000 career runs in all forms of senior cricket.
Croft has now scored 20,048 runs in first-class, List A and T20 cricket in a career which started in 2003 when he played for the Lancashire Cricket Board.
In T20 cricket, the 39-year-old has scored 5,333 runs in 240 matches.
How to follow:
The match will be broadcast live on LancsTV, with ball-by-ball radio commentary from Emirates Old Trafford provided by BBC Radio Lancashire's Scott Read on the BBC Sport website and app.
For those unable to follow the action live, there will be regular updates on the Club's social media channels and Match Centre, with highlights also posted on LancsTV following each day's play.