Match Preview: Lancashire v Kent, Men's Metro Bank One Day Cup
Lancashire v Kent
Metro Bank One-Day Cup, Group A
Tuesday July 28, 2026, 11am
AO Farington Cricket Ground
An historic occasion awaits on the outskirts of Preston.
Lancashire’s brand new second home will host its first senior match tomorrow, a repeat of the 2022 final at Trent Bridge, which Kent won.
After piloted second-team and age-group matches in recent weeks, George Balderson will lead out a Red Rose first-team for the first time at an impressive venue which has been a long time in the making.
This is the first of four first-team matches through until the end of 2026 - two men’s matches this week and then two women’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup matches in September.
The Red Rose head to Farington with a win and a loss to their name in Group A. After last Tuesday’s defeat to Surrey at Sedbergh, they bounced back to beat Leicestershire Foxes at Grace Road yesterday in a game which saw both sides top 350.
Keaton Jennings impressed with an opening 135 in 383-4 from 50 overs before Tom Bailey returned 3-48 from 10 overs as Leicestershire, 22-4 at one stage, responded with 362-8. Lancashire won by 21 runs.
Kent have also played two, won one and lost one. They were beaten at Gloucestershire yesterday, the hosts chasing down 213.
Opposition
Champions in 2022, Kent have failed to get out of their group in each of the last three seasons.
They finished seventh in Group B last year, winning two of their eight games and finishing a place above the Red Rose side in the table.
Kent beat Northamptonshire in their opener at Canterbury on Friday, successfully chasing down 254 for the loss of five wickets.
Captained by experienced batter Daniel Bell-Drummond, they have South African seam-bowling all-rounder Keith Dudgeon as their overseas player.
Emerging England Lions batters Ben Dawkins and Ekansh Singh are both part of Kent’s side in this competition, as is dangerous wicketkeeper-batter Chris Benjamin.
Matthew Parkinson’s name is one which jumps out at Lancashire fans.
Opposition player to watch
Seam-bowling all-rounder Matt Milnes was Yorkshire’s leading wicket-taker in this competition last season with 15 wickets in only six appearances.
That return included a hat-trick and seven-wicket haul in a win over Sussex.
Milnes joined Yorkshire from Kent ahead of 2022, a spell beset by multiple stress fractures of his back. He opted to return to Canterbury ahead of 2026, despite Yorkshire being keen to keep him.
A seamer with good pace and skill, he has played a full season this year and has taken 46 wickets in all cricket, including friendlies.
He is taking the new ball in this competition and is also handy with the bat.
Previous meeting
Kent Spitfires beat Lancashire by 22 runs in a Metro Bank One-Day Cup thriller at Beckenham in mid-August last year, despite a magnificent century from Josh Bohannon.
Jaydn Denly and Ben Dawkins both hit their highest List A scores, making 91 and 85 respectively, as Kent posted 315-8.
Bohannon, who batted through what looked like significant pain towards the back end of his innings, made 133 from 110 balls, including 17 fours and two sixes.
But when he fell to Denly in the 47th over, Lancashire's last-wicket duo of Tom Bailey and Charlie Barnard needed 30 from the last three overs.
Bailey hit the first ball of the 48th for six, but he was run out by Chris Benjamin chasing a single and Kent had won with 15 balls remaining, Lancashire bowled out for 293.
Kent's Matt Parkinson finished with 3-57 against his former county, while Marcus Harris made 54 for the Red Rose.
What they said
George Balderson can’t wait to be part of history at “remarkable” Farington tomorrow.
Lancashire’s new second home will open its doors to the public for the first time as Kent make the long journey North, followed quickly by a clash with Nottinghamshire on Thursday.
All-rounder Balderson, captaining the Red Rose in this competition, said: “We've all been up to Farington a couple of times now for a bit of training and to see it, and it really is a remarkable facility.
“The club have done brilliantly with it.
“We're just looking forward to seeing it full, the grass banks full and supporters in there watching us play.
“No one really knows what to expect in terms of the surface or anything like that, but I'm sure it'll be fantastic, and it's a great thing for the club.”
Asked if Balderson had any inclination as to what conditions might be like, he added: “I know the dimensions of the ground are identical to Old Trafford. It’s a big playing area.
“I've only had one net there, so I'm not the best person to ask. But, from the other lads who have played some second-team T20s there, they've said it was a pretty decent surface with some good pace in it.
“I’m sure there will be a little bit of bedding in.
“But our ground-staff are fantastic, so I'm sure they'll do a good job.
“It’s going to be somewhere that we're going to spend a lot of time over the next 10-15 years. As a player like myself, it’s really exciting.”
How’s Stat!
Lancashire have previously played first-team cricket in Preston, a city which is just a stone’s throw away from Farington.
The Red Rose played five first-class matches at the West Cliff ground between 1936 and 1952.
The venue remains in use as the home of Preston Cricket Club, who play in Division Two of the Northern Pyramid’s ECB Premier League competition.
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