MATCH REPORT: Lancashire keep Vitality Blast hopes alive with 22-run victory over Yorkshire
Lancashire go into the final game in the Vitality Blast group stages with their quarter-final qualification hopes alive after a dominant 22-run win over Roses rivals Yorkshire at a near sold-out Emirates Old Trafford.
Led by Liam Livingstone’s fourth half century in the Blast this season, and backed up some strong batting throughout the line-up, Lancashire posted 216-6 before a career-best 4-30 from Mitch Stanley led an equally impressive bowling effort that had reduced Yorkshire to 47-5 by the seventh over.
The visitors never recovered from that start and finished well short, despite some late hitting by Matt Revis and Logan van Beek, on 194-8.
Lancashire need to beat Durham on Sunday and hope Surrey defeat Essex in the South Group. That combination of results would see Lancashire finish as one of the two-best third placed teams and progress to the quarter-finals.
Tonight’s win also takes Lancashire to within four points of second-placed Yorkshire in the North Group, but with a vastly inferior net run-rate. It would take an unlikely sequence of results on Sunday for that to be overturned.
Lancashire made sensational inroads into the strong-looking Yorkshire batting line-up as James Anderson and Stanley combined to reduce the visitors to 47-4 in the powerplay.
Adam Lyth and Will Luxton each hit a six at the start of the visitors’ chase of 217 but the reply from Stanley was immediate, bowling Luxton for 11 in the second over.
Lyth added two further sixes to his tally before gloving Stanley behind for 25 in the fourth over.
Anderson followed that by having Joe Root caught for 4 at the start of the next over, pulling to Stanley at square leg who next had Baistow caught for 2 driving off the back foot but straight to Michael Jones at cover.
Shadab Khan added to Yorkshire’s woes from the first ball after the powerplay when Moeen Ali fell to a leaping catch by Keaton Jennings at short midwicket, also for 2.
Shadab and Livingstone built on that by restricting Yorkshire to 69-5 at halfway with no further boundaries struck until the 11th over.
Van Beek, in his first T20 outing of the season, made 40, adding 64 for the sixth wicket with Revis before falling to a sensational diving catch at deep midwicket by Joe Moores off Jack Blatherwick.
By then, with 106 required off 42 balls, the innings was more of a net run-rate protection job for the visitors, knowing that Lancashire would be within four points going into the final round of games.
Revis blasted away, hitting three sixes, in making 52 before falling to another good catch by Moores off Anderson in the penultimate over.
AJ Tye hit three sixes in his unbeaten 29 off 14 balls, but the 22-run defeat flattered the visitors.
Lancashire raced away from the start with 12 runs taken from the first over bowled by Hassan Ali and despite the early loss of Keaton Jennings for 0, Ben McDermott and Livingstone let loose against the Yorkshire attack.
McDermott launched a couple of sixes in the same third over off AJ Tye, while Livingstone’s first six took him past 3,000 runs in T20 cricket for Lancashire as the Lightning took 70-1 from the powerplay, Livingstone adding a couple more maximums to his tally.
McDermott was caught at deep backward square off Jafer Chohan after making a scintillating 46 off 23 balls in a 77-run partnership inside 7 overs, but Livingstone kept finding the boundary, going to his half century off 28 balls (4 sixes, 4 fours) after square cutting Tye for four to steer Lancashire to 106-2 after ten overs.
Hurst launched consecutive sixes off Chohan in the 12th over before Yorkshire hit back with two wickets in three balls by van Beek.
Livingstone was caught behind for 60 off 39 balls attempting to ramp a short delivery while Hurst sliced a high catch to cover for 17 to leave the Lightning 129-5 at the end of the 13th over.
That breakthrough saw the Yorkshire attack dry up the boundaries with just three coming from the next four overs as Shadab and Jones rebuilt.
Shadab broke the shackles in spectacular style with consecutive sixes off Hassan in the 18th over that saw 20 runs plundered, before he hit van Beek to mid-off after making 38 off 20 balls to end a 62-run stand off 34 balls.
Blatherwick (15 off 6 balls) hit van Beek for six to bring up the 200 at the end of the 19th over, and he and Jones (24 not out off 17) added a six apiece in the last as the Lightning posted 216-6 from their 20 overs. The 13 sixes struck equalled the Lancashire home record in T20 matches.
“I mean, what an event, the first Roses game for me to play in and an unbelievable atmosphere,” said Mitch Stanley.
“There's just a constant buzz around it. The crowd was up and down and with all the cricket almost as it flows.
“When I was at Worcester, I had Bears and Pears games, but tonight was a different level. I mean, wow.
“To get 216 on the board in such a big game, put the pressure on them. We felt it was about par. It was a really good surface, and the short side had the wind (blowing that way).
“So, we felt like if we bowled well, it was defendable. But if we didn't, there was still a chance for them.
“It was some of my best stuff (tonight), so I'm over the moon with it, especially after last game, after getting targeted in my second over.
“I wasn't quite expecting the third over, but when Keats tapped me on the shoulder and said, you're going again, I thought, why not?
“I think we just felt more relaxed because it was all or nothing tonight. So, I think everyone just put everything on the line and we were on the right side of it.
“Everyone's put their hand up at some point and we put in a real performance as a team.”
Ken Grime
Photos: Luke Adams & Dan Adams