 |
| Lancashire lost their first match of the 2014 season at Trent Bridge. |
This match is set to be the last match of Peter Moores’ reign at
Lancashire, after it was formally announced this morning that he has been named
as the successor to Andy Flower as England coach.
Both sides come in to this match on the back of defeat and will be keen
to find their first win of the season after identical starts in their first
match of the County Championship.
Lancashire’s curtain raiser at Nottinghamshire ended in narrow defeat, but
after being bowled out for 144 in their first innings, Lancashire were pleased
with their all-round response, losing by just 45 runs.
Warwickshire’s contest with Sussex ended in a much more convincing
defeat, with Ed Joyce scoring consecutive centuries to guide the South-coast
outfit to a seven-wicket victory, putting them top of the table with successive
victories.
The England representatives from both counties are sure to play a big
part in this fixture, after Ian Bell struck an unbeaten 189 at Edgbaston and
James Anderson claimed a total of seven wickets in Lancashire’s first match.
However, news emerged this week that Jonathan Trott has suffered
another stress related illness and is likely to be absent from all forms of
cricket for a second time since the Ashes debacle.
After slow starts to the campaign, both sides will be eager to turn
their luck around and, with each of these counties boasting strong squads,
being joint bottom of the Division will not be how they wanted to start their
season.
Despite Lancashire’s success in Division Two last year, they achieved
just two wins at Emirates Old Trafford, with most of their home matches ending
in draws.
They were, however, unbeaten at home last season and lost just once on
the road in the final match of the season at Canterbury, but the first match of
the season at Trent Bridge demonstrated the void between the two leagues, one
which Lancashire will need to adjust to if they want to survive the cut this
year.
Key men:
 |
| Prince made 100 at Trent Bridge. |
Ashwell Prince: Prince showed
that he means business with 100 in Lancashire’s second innings at Trent Bridge
and he will be a major player for them in this match. Prince has entered in to
his last season of professional cricket, but has already made it clear that he
wants to bow out on a successful season.
Lancashire need to get off to a better start with the bat in this match and
his experience makes him the most likely player to make a valuable
contribution.
Prince was the clubs highest run scorer for the 2013 season with 1,169
runs and was ever-present in a Lancashire team that took the second division by
storm. His century against Nottinghamshire showed the value of an experienced
overseas player at county level and the South African batsmen will be setting
his sights on another thousand-run haul this season.
Jeetan Patel: Since the
rotation of the square, spin bowling has prospered at Emirates Old Trafford and
so the contributions of Jeetan Patel will be important to Warwickshire’s attempts
to pick up a win in their first away match of the season. Patel has recently spurred
the advances of the New Zealand national team, making his commitment to
Warwickshire for the 2014 season very clear.
Patel was the counties top wicket-taker last season with 52 wickets and
provided them with useful runs down the order, achieving five half-centuries at
an average of 31.29.
Patel featured in all 16 matches last season and is embarking upon a
fourth season with Warwickshire after spells with the New Zealand team at Test
and ODI level.
Team news:
This match will see the Jos Buttler make his Lancashire debut after
missing the first match of the season against Nottinghamshire. The England
wicketkeeper was rested for the first match after a busy winter schedule and is
expected to be at full fitness for this encounter.
Lancashire’s player of the season for 2013, Kyle Hogg, is still
unavailable after failing to return from his calf injury, while Glen Chapple is
set to return after a hamstring problem.
Lancashire team: Glen Chapple
(captain), Andrea Agathangelou, James Anderson, Karl Brown, Jos Buttler
(wicketkeeper), Paul Horton, Kyle Jarvis, Kabir Ali, Simon Kerrigan, Ashwell
Prince, Luke Procter, Luis Reece, Tom Smith, Wayne White.
Warwickshire will be without Jonathan Trott due to a stress related
illness, after scores of 37 and 26 against. In spite of his absence,
Warwickshire will travel to Manchester with a strong England component, with
Ian Bell playing a prominent role in the previous fixture.
Warwickshire team: Ian Bell
(captain), Tim Ambrose (wicketkeeper), Keith Barker, Varun Chopra, Laurie
Evans, Sam Hain, Oliver Hannon-Dalby, Ateeq Javid, Richard Jones, Jeetan Patel,
William Porterfield, Chris Woakes, Chris Wright.
Weather and conditions:
Dry start to the match with a chance of rain as the match progresses.
The first day should see plenty of cloud cover and breezy conditions. Monday is
expected to be slightly warmer with conditions reverting back to overcast
thereafter.
Date: 20-23 April
Ground: Emirates Old
Trafford
Time: 11:00am
Umpires: Peter Hartley
and Alex Wharf.
Odds: Lancashire 1/1
Warwickshire 4/5
No comments:
Post a Comment