Finch too good for Lightning in Roses clash.

Smith's 22-ball fifty was in vain as Finch led Yorkshire to their target 180.

Aaron Finch struck 88 from 55 balls to guide the Yorkshire Vikings to a five-wicket victory against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford in front of a sell out crowd in the Natwest T20 Blast.

The number one batsman in the world in Twenty20 cricket smashed eight fours and five sixes and his 99-run stand with Alex Lees (36) put the visitors in charge as they successfully chased 180 runs.

The match would have been even closer, but a six-run penalty against Lancashire for slow bowling gave the Vikings a late boost as Jonny Bairstow (19*) saw them over the line.

Tom Smith had earlier hit 55 from 28 deliveries to equal the record for the fastest half-century in Lancashire’s t20 history, as the Lightning raced to 65-1 at the end of the powerplay.

The Lancashire opener struck eight fours and one six on his way to a 22-ball fifty, but was dismissed by possibly the greatest catch of the campaign thus far. Smith appeared to have hit the ball far enough to earn a second maximum, but Adam Lyth tipped the ball back into play with a stunning dive as Finch collected an easy catch.

After Smith had got Lancashire off to such a fast start, Yorkshire were greatful to Adil Rashid (2-22) and Azeem Rafiq (0-21) for bowling economically in the middle overs to restore balance.

Lancashire skipper, Paul Horton, had earlier elected to bat first and he too restored order after Lancashire had lost two wickets for nine runs. His 60 from 45 balls started slowly, gaining momentum as the innings progressed, but wickets continued to fall as Karl Brown was caught and bowled by Rashid for 11.

This in turn brought Jos Buttler to the crease and his six over long-on took the hosts past 100 after 12 overs. After scoring the fastest ODI century by an Englishman against Sri Lanka, Lancashire were hoping for a similar display from the England keeper, but the demand for runs saw him caught on the boundary off Tim Bresnan (1-33) for 19.

Horton and Buttler shared a 52-run stand for the fourth-wicket and after Buttler fell the former took responsibility as he reached his half-century in 39 balls, in an innings containing six boundaries. 

Steven Croft added an unbeaten 21 from 10 balls and despite the loss of Horton and Jordan Clark (1), the hosts finished with a healthy total of 179-6 as Ollie Robinson claimed the final two wickets to finish with 2 for 26.

As long as Finch was at the crease Yorkshire remained in control of the run chase and despite the early loss of captain, Andrew Gale, who was bowled by Kabir Ali for one, this proved to be the case as he led them towards 180.

The early breakthrough was not the one that Lancashire needed, but it established a mediocre tone throughout Yorkshire’s powerplay as they crawled to 43-1 after 6 overs.

As time went on, Finch and Lees started to establish themselves as a real threat and soon accumulated a partnership worth 99 runs as Yorkshire began to fancy their chances.

Finch had by no means reached the peak of his destructive powers as he reached fifty in 35 balls, but the Australian soon opened up as he hit two sixes in three balls to swing the pendulum in Yorkshire’s favour.

Lees was similarly pleasing to observe at the crease and the pressure built by these two brought Junaid khan (1-25) back into the attack sooner than Lancashire would have liked, in order to try and force a breakthrough.

The Pakistani fast-bowler persisted with a full length to bowl Lees for 36, but Finch was still at the wicket and growing in confidence with every ball faced. A second breakthrough for the addition of 27 runs saw Lyth bowled by Ali (2-22) for 7, but Finch’s wicket continued to be unclaimed.

With the score at 144-3, Finch’s sublime innings was finally brought to an end by Smith (1-37) but by this stage a significant amount of damage had been done to Lancashire’s chances.

Nevertheless, the match was evenly poised and the removal of Bresnan (2) tipped the scales in Lancashire’s favour in the closing stages of the game.

With the match starting to slip away from Yorkshire, Bairstow (19*) and Richard Pyrah (10*) ensured that Yorkshire would achieve victory with three balls to spare, a position that was aided by the addition of six penalty runs in the penultimate over.

Sixes for both batsmen dismissed any uncertainties about the result and Lancashire will feel disappointed to have lost after such a promsing display with the bat.

Man of the match:

He is number one for a reason and when Yorkshire signed Aaron Finch they were guaranteed match-winning performances like the one he gave this evening. He wasn’t able to see the visitors home but his score off 88, and his 99-run stand with Lees, were crucial to Yorkshire’s victory.