Match Preview: Lancashire v Nottinghamshire Outlaws, Men's Metro Bank One Day Cup
Lancashire v Nottinghamshire Outlaws
Metro Bank One-Day Cup, Group A
Thursday July 30, 2026, 11am
AO Farington Cricket Ground
Two wins and a defeat from three games, Lancashire are moving in the right direction in Group A.
Back-to-back wins against Leicestershire at Grace Road on Sunday and Kent at Farington yesterday, the Red Rose will hope to make it a hat-trick of triumphs when league leaders Nottinghamshire travel to the outskirts of Preston.
The Outlaws have won three games from three to make a strong start to their quest for white-ball silverware.
Yesterday, they won an East Midlands derby against Leicestershire at Trent Bridge, by five wickets chasing 200.
Spinner Joe Pocklington excelled with four wickets to bowl the Foxes out for 199 before Ben Martindale stood out with 50 in the chase.
Lancashire, meanwhile, beat Kent by six wickets chasing 224. Mitch Stanley with three wickets and opener Matty Hurst with 55 impressed for the Red Rose.
Opposition
Nottinghamshire were beaten semi-finalists in this season’s Vitality Blast earlier this month, and they last won this title in 2017.
Last season, they finished fifth in Group A and failed to qualify for the knockout stages, winning three matches. They have already matched that tally with five group games remaining.
The reigning county champions and the current leaders in Division One again, more silverware is very realistic in 2026.
They are captained in this competition by their club captain Haseeb Hameed, the opening batter who Lancashire fans will know so well.
Like Matt Parkinson yesterday, Hameed is a product of the Lancashire system.
And developing the future stars like those two were a few years ago is a primary reason why this new second home at Farington was built.
This is actually Nottinghamshire’s first away game in four. They have played all three matches at home, at both Welbeck just outside Mansfield and Trent Bridge. They have beaten Somerset, Warwickshire and, as aforementioned, Leicestershire.
Opposition player to watch
Left-arm spinner Joe Pocklington started today as the competition’s leading wicket-taker with 10 in three matches.
There are matches today, so he may well be overtaken by the time he turns his arm over against the likes of Keaton Jennings, Josh Bohannon and Marcus Harris to name but a few.
Pocklington, 25, is a Sussex-born player who trialled with Yorkshire and played second-team cricket for them before debuting in this competition for Notts’ last season.
He also played T20 cricket for them this season - six times in the Blast - and has impressed at the start of this 50-over competition with hauls of 3-28, 3-40 and, yesterday against Leicestershire, 4-40.
Previous meeting
Lancashire beat Nottinghamshire by seven wickets at Welbeck in August 2023, with a Keaton Jennings century the headline act in a successful chase of 186.
Will Williams took the new ball and claimed three wickets to bowl Nottinghamshire out for 185, with Tom Bailey, George Balderson and Jack Morley all claiming two wickets.
Bailey was particularly impressive for 2-22 from 10 overs, with Liam Patterson-White top-scoring for Notts’ with a middle order 39.
Jennings opened the batting and posted a superb 103 not out off 125 balls, sharing a second wicket 102 - from 14-1 - with Steven Croft, who added 38.
Balderson later capped off his productive day with 31 not out.
Lancashire finished third in their group that season before being beaten in the quarter-finals by Gloucestershire at Bristol.
What they said
Lancashire are in an encouraging position in the early stages of this season’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup.
In bouncing back from an opening-day defeat against Surrey at Sedbergh, they have beaten Leicestershire and Kent in two very different ways. And head coach Steven Croft has hailed that versatility.
In beating the Foxes at Grace Road on Sunday, the Red Rose posted 383-4 and defended it to win by 22 runs. Against Kent at Farington yesterday, they bowled their visitors out for 223 and chased to win by six wickets. One was a game fitting into the modern age, the other was certainly old school.
Head coach Croft said: “I think this competition, we play at seven different grounds this year. So there's not one way to play. It's adapting.
“We saw a more freestyle play at Grace Road, and then we knew it might be a little bit different (against Kent), which it was. The lads have adapted. So, we know different grounds are going to require different things.
“And the lads have been up for the challenge so far.
“We'll use quite a few different players as well. So, roles will change throughout the competition. But so far, so good with the boys.”
How’s Stat!
AO Farington Cricket Ground yesterday became the first purpose built venue to be used in county cricket since Hampshire moved to the Rose Bowl in 2001.
New out-grounds have been used since then. Sedbergh, for example. But no other county has built a brand new venue in the last 25 years for either a first or second ground.
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