Match Preview: Lancashire vs Durham, Men's Metro Bank One Day Cup
Lancashire v Durham
Metro Bank One-Day Cup, Quarter-final
Friday August 14, 2026, 11am
Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground
Lancashire careered into the One-Day Cup knockouts in record-breaking fashion, beating Somerset by 174 runs at Taunton on Tuesday.
In racking up 443-6, the Red Rose posted their highest ever List A total, while that margin of victory was their fourth biggest on margin of runs.
Not a bad way to set yourself up for knockout cricket.
The strength of their performance in the South West meant Lancashire leapfrogged Nottinghamshire to second place in Group A on net run-rate, despite them winning comfortably at Surrey.
Had Lancashire restricted Somerset’s reply to 235 or fewer, they would have even topped the group to advance directly to a home semi-final. Instead, Somerset were bowled out for 269.
Keaton Jennings and Rocky Flintoff starred with 156 and 123 respectively before Tom Aspinwall and George Balderson claimed four wickets apiece.
The knockouts have seen Leicestershire top Group A and Middlesex Group B. They will both host home semis on Sunday.
The other quarter-final sees Yorkshire host Nottinghamshire at York tomorrow.
The winners of Lancashire and Durham will play Middlesex at Radlett on Sunday.
Opposition
While Lancashire finished second in Group A with five wins from eight games, Durham finished third in Group B with the same record.
They actually held onto third place in the table despite losing against Worcestershire at New Road on Tuesday. They fended off the Rapids courtesy of a superior net run-rate.
Captained by seam-bowling all-rounder Kasey Aldridge in this format, they have South African batter David Bedingham and compatriot fast bowler Duanne Olivier available to them as overseas players.
Former England Test skipper Ben Stokes will feature for them.
Durham last reached the final of this competition in 2021, beaten in the final by Glamorgan.
All-rounder Will Rhodes has been their standout player in this competition. He’s both their leading run-scorer (310) and leading wicket-taker (12).
Opposition player to watch
It tells you a lot about how good Will Rhodes has been that we aren’t featuring a certain Ben Stokes in this section.
Rhodes, a Championship winner with both Yorkshire and Warwickshire, is in his second season at Banks Homes Riverside.
While he is their leading run-scorer and leading wicket-taker in this season’s One-Day Cup, he achieved the same last year as well.
Team-mate Colin Ackermann has described him as the “one-day king”.
Rhodes will bat in the middle order and bowl canny seamers - not quick but mightily skilful. He has bests of 148 not out and 5-51 to his name en-route to this fixture against the Red Rose at Emirates Old Trafford.
Previous meeting
Captain Ollie Robinson and in-form allrounder Will Rhodes hit composed, match-clinching half-centuries as Durham beat Lancashire by four wickets at Liverpool last August.
Durham still had knockout qualification hopes, whereas Lancashire were struggling. Both ended up missing out.
Wicketkeeper-batter Robinson and Rhodes, in pursuit of 321, came together at 168-3 in the 30th over and calmly secured a third win from six in Group B. They shared 127, Robinson with 80 not out off 59 balls and Rhodes 75 off 68. Durham won with nine balls remaining.
Lancashire, however, lost their fourth game in six.
Wicketkeeper-opener George Bell's excellent 104 off 115 balls represented his maiden first-team century.
The Red Rose's 320 all out saw Bell - aged 22 - star, and Josh Bohannon became the county's first batter to score back-to-back List A centuries since Paul Horton in 2009. Bohannon top-scored with 106 off 102 balls having done similar against Kent in the previous fixture.
Durham seamer Ben Raine excelled with 4-34 from 9.5 overs.
This was Rhodes' third fifty added to a century in the campaign, and Robinson led the side in place of club captain Alex Lees in order to build his leadership experience.
What they said
Keaton Jennings hailed the efforts of teenager Rocky Flintoff, whose 123 at Taunton on Tuesday represented his maiden county century.
The pair shared 214 for the fourth wicket from 138-3 in the 23rd over, putting Lancashire on course for an incredible total of 443-6.
If the Red Rose go on and win this competition, it may be a partnership which they reflect on as defining.
Who knows just what advantage having a home quarter-final will be.
Jennings, who described the thought of a home quarter against his former county as “an exciting prospect”, said: “It was a memorable day for Rocky Flintoff. When you are developing a few grey hairs, it’s great to be out there batting with a young player of such talent.
“Rocky knows his family can’t score his runs for him. He has to go out there and do it himself, and there is every sign he is going to do just that.
“He has a fantastic physique for a cricketer and a good head on young shoulders. He used his feet well and played a fantastic knock.”
How’s Stat!
In scoring 156 off 127 balls at Taunton on Tuesday, Keaton Jennings recorded Lancashire’s third highest ever individual List A score.
Against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in 2019, Dane Vilas hit 166, while Andrew Crook hit 162 not out against Buckinghamshire at Wormsley in 2005.
Vilas’ knock came in this competition, while Crook’s came in the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy.
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