MATCH PREVIEW: Lancashire Lightning vs. Yorkshire, Vitality Blast Men
Lancashire Lightning v Yorkshire
Vitality Blast, North Group
Friday July 10, 2026, 7pm
Emirates Old Trafford
Lancashire have to win their remaining two games and hope.
That’s the equation the Lightning face in terms of Vitality Blast quarter-final qualification.
A two-point tie against Derbyshire Falcons on Monday was better than nothing but not ideal. It means they head into the Roses clash with 18 points from 10 games, sat in third. They are eight points behind second-placed Yorkshire with an inferior net run-rate.
Not only could they do with beating Yorkshire, they could do with hammering them.
Yorkshire then play group leaders Nottinghamshire on Sunday and Lancashire play Durham.
If two wins isn’t enough to claim second place in the North, it may be enough to secure one of the two best third-placed finishers for qualification. At the moment, the two best third-placed teams come from the other groups.
While Lancashire are third in the North with four wins from 10 games, Yorkshire are currently second with six wins from 10, including against Lancashire at Headingley last month.
This fixture is part of a Roses double header at Emirates Old Trafford, with Lancashire and Yorkshire women facing off from 3pm.
Both games will be televised live on Sky Sports.
Opposition
Yorkshire are having an impressive campaign.
One of four sides never to have won the Blast, they are well placed to qualify for the quarter-finals for the first time since 2002 having won six matches so far added to a tie.
They come into this fixture on the back of back-to-back home wins over Durham and Leicestershire on Friday and Sunday.
After years of underachievement, their management team of Gavin Hamilton as general manager of cricket and head coach Anthony McGrath opted to inject plenty of experience into their squad over the winter.
Captained by Jonny Bairstow, they have signed overseas duo Hassan Ali and Faheem Ashraf from Pakistan, Australians AJ Tye and Sam Whiteman and ex-England star Moeen Ali.
Hassan, Tye and Moeen have been particularly impressive alongside exciting youngsters such as Matthew Revis, Will Luxton and Jafer Chohan.
Opposition player to watch
Fast bowler Hassan Ali is the leading wicket-taker in this season’s competition with 22, including a quartet of three-wicket hauls and two four-fors.
Experienced Pakistani Hassan played some Championship cricket for Lancashire in 2022 but not in the Blast.
He has been a firm favourite at Headingley, potent with both the new ball and again at the death.
Hassan celebrated his 32nd birthday last week and, should Yorkshire make it through to the quarter-finals, he would reach 250 career T20 appearances.
Classy with the ball, he’s also a very handy lower order hitter and has without doubt been one of Yorkshire’s better recent overseas signings.
Previous meeting
Captain Jonny Bairstow's impressive 73 and then a devastating powerplay with the ball helped Yorkshire consign Lancashire Lightning to a record 106-run Vitality Blast defeat at Headingley at the start of June.
Yorkshire strengthened their position at the top of the North Group with a fourth win in five, this having posted 213-7 thanks largely to opener Bairstow's four sixes in 44 balls. He shared a second-wicket 105 with Will Luxton.
Pakistani overseas pair Hassan Ali and Faheem Ashraf, alongside Moeen Ali, then struck inside the first four overs of a Lightning chase which slumped to 27-3 and finished with them bowled out for 107 inside 15 overs.
This was their heaviest ever runs defeat in T20.
Moeen's off-spin returned 3-16 from his four overs, while Jafer Chohan led the way with his leg-spin for 4-17.
Liam Livingstone top-scored with a consolatory 44 off 30 for Lancashire, who lost for the third time in four games.
What they said
Even if qualification wasn’t on the line, this Roses clash on Friday night would be a cracker.
And Red Rose captain Keaton Jennings can’t wait: “It’s huge,” he beamed.
“It’ll be 28 degrees. I’ve checked the weather already! Sun’s out, and hopefully there’s no insurance needed for any rain.
“The Roses here, it’s fantastic. I’ve played in some amazing games here.
“We want to make sure we turn up, play some really good cricket, entertain.
“And it's a strong Yorkshire team as well.
“You've got sort of three or four guys who could potentially class as overseas in their side. You've got some high-quality international cricketers.
“So, it's a good test.
“Those are the sides you want to compete against, beat, and come away and have a beer with the lads and actually really enjoy those wins.
“I'm really looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to the challenge, and let's throw some punches.”
How’s Stat!
Lancashire’s Pakistani all-rounder Shadab Khan played for Yorkshire in 2022, and was in the team which the Lightning beat at Finals Day that season.
Shadab, 27, is closing in on a significant all-round T20 milestone. He has scored 3,988 runs in this format and has taken 397 wickets.
Only five other players have achieved the the 400 wickets and 4,000 runs double in T20 history; Andre Russell, Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Dwayne Bravo and Mohammad Nabi.
;