LIVE BLOG: Lancashire v Northamptonshire, Day One
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5.30pm - PLAY ABANDONED FOR THE DAY
Further rain means we have an early end to the day. Our match report and quotes from the 18 overs possible will appear shortly.
4.47pm WICKET - BAD LIGHT STOPS PLAY
Northamptonshire 1st inns: 56-2 (18 overs) Procter 26 McSweeney 0
What a catch! Josh Bohannon leaps high at mid-off to take a stunning overhead catch and Ben Walkden has his maiden first-class wicket!
Calvin Harrison goes for 1 and the batsman's anguish may be increased as the umpires take the players off one ball later.
4.27pm
Northamptonshire 1st inns: 55-1 (14 overs) Procter 26 Harrison 0
Ben Walkden comes on to bowl for the first time on debut to Luke Procter. His first delivery is on a good length and defended. Decent first over.
4.15pm WICKET
Northamptonshire 1st inns: 41-1 (11 overs) Procter 20 Harrison 0
George Balderson strikes with his sixth delivery after replacing Tom Bailey, trapping Ricardo Vasconcelos lbw for 13.
4.00pm
Northamptonshire 1st inns: 29-0 (8 overs) Vasconcelos 13 Procter 10
Luke Procter twice clips overpitched deliveries from Tom Bailey to the square leg boundary as Northants get off to a good start in the opening thirty minutes.
3.45pm
Northamptonshire 1st inns: 14-0 (4 overs) Vasconcelos 7 Procter 2
After all the hot weather of recent weeks play is under way in weather more akin to that of April, with a blustery wind and cloudy skies. The floodlights have been switched on from the start.
The bowlers have had a few shouts for lbws in these early overs.
Anyone not familiar with debutant Ben Walkden - here he is!
3.30pm
Northamptonshire 1st inns: 3-0 (1 over) Vasconcelos 2 Procter 0
Tom Bailey with the first over of the match from the Brian Statham end and he is sharing the new ball with Mitch Stanley from the Sir James Anderson end.
3.00pm - TOSS & TEAM NEWS
Toss: Lancashire have won the toss and elected to bowl
Teams
Lancashire: Keaton Jennings, Marcus Harris, Josh Bohannon (capt), Arav Shetty, Rocky Flintoff, Joe Moores (wk), Ben Walkden, George Balderson, Tom Bailey, Noman Ali, Mitch Stanley.
There are five changes from Lancashire’s last Championship match against Derbyshire played more than eight weeks ago with James Anderson, Michael Jones, Harry Singh, Liam Livingstone and Paul Coughlin replaced by Rocky Flintoff, Arav Shetty, Tom Bailey, Noman Ali (Lancashire debut) & Ben Walkden (first-class debut).
Northamptonshire: Ricardo Vasconcelos, Luke Procter (capt), Calvin Harrison, Nathan McSweeney, James Sales, Saif Zaib. Lewis McManus (wk), George Bartlett, Liam Guthrie, Ben Sanderson, Yuzi Chahal.
2.30pm
Excellent news, tea will be taken at 3.10pm with play due to start at 3.30pm provided there is no more rain.
There will be a minimum of 48 overs to be bowled in the session.
1.30pm
Conditions are quite wet following the mid morning rain. There will be a further inspection at 2.15pm after the groundstaff have finishing mopping up once more.
1.10pm
We havehad further rain since the 11.15am inspection, but sunny conditions prevail at present and the umpires are now making another inspection.
11.15am
After a lengthy pitch inspection, the umpires have decided to make a further inspection at 12.15pm, with an early lunch being taken at 12.30pm.
10.30am
The umpires have taken a look at conditions and will return at 11am for a further inspection.
9.55am
Better newsas sunny weather and a dry spell has allowed the groundstaff to remove the majority of the covers and start mopping up after prolonged overnight rain.
Just the wicket beneath the hover cover and bowler's run ups remain covered.
The umpires have made a brief visit to the mioddle and will no doubt return once all the covers have been removed.
9.30am
Good morningfrom Emirates Old Trafford where the morning rain has ceased and the groundstaff are busy mopping up ahead of our Rothesay County Championship match with Northamptonshire.
We will provide regular updates on the state of conditions as the morning progresses.
Squad news:
Lancashire
New overseas signing Noman Ali is set to make his debut with 23-year-old all-rounder Ben Walkden also included in a 13-man squad after signing an 18-month contract with the Club earlier this month following some impressive performances in the Second XI this season.
Captain James Anderson misses out with a calf injury, and Paul Coughlin remains absent with a shoulder issue. Josh Bohannon will captain the side in Anderson's absence.
Rocky Flintoff could be set for a first County Championship appearance since September 2024, following a string of impressive performances in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup, while Mitch Stanley returns from a back issue to take his place in matchday squad.
Squad: Keaton Jennings, Matty Hurst, Josh Bohannon (capt), Marcus Harris, Rocky Flintoff, Joe Moores, Arav Shetty, George Balderson, Tom Bailey, Noman Ali, Mitch Stanley, Tom Aspinwall, Ben Walkden.
Northamptonshire
Head Coach Darren Lehmann has named a 13-man squad with Calvin Harrison, Louis Kimber, Ben Sanderson, James Sales, George Scrimshaw and Saif Zaib all returning after their involvement in The Hundred.
Ricardo Vasconcelos has recovered from a slight injury, and Lewis McManus returns after missing Northamptonshire’s final Metro Bank One Day Cup fixture.
Squad: Luke Procter (c), George Bartlett, Yuzi Chahal, Liam Guthrie, Calvin Harrison, Louis Kimber, Lewis McManus (wk), Nathan McSweeney, Ben Sanderson, James Sales, George Scrimshaw, Ricardo Vasconcelos, Saif Zaib.
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