Lancashire have had a brilliant week, beating Leicestershire home and away in four-day and one-day cricket and they hope to continue this confident run against Durham at Emirates Old Trafford in the T20 Blast.
The Lightning's record against Durham makes impressive reading, with Lancashire winning six of their last seven matches, the other game ending in a tie back in 2012.
Steven Croft's formidable innings in the first T20 game of the season secured a last-ball victory for Lancashire and the stand-in captain followed up this innings with the ninth Championship century of his career at Grace Road in Lancashire's win against Leicestershire.
Lancashire's five-wicket win at Old Trafford last Friday was a fortunate victory in the sense that the Foxes had dominated the match before rain hit, reaching 105/2 after 11 overs, but a young and homegrown attack fought back well after the delay, claiming five wickets in 21 balls to set up a thrilling run-chase for stand-in captain Croft, who went on to make 70 not out in 39 balls.
Strong T20 debuts for George Edwards and Tom Bailey were also incredibly pleasing given the absence of Junaid Khan and Kabir Ali, who both claimed over 20 wickets in Lancashire's successful campaign last season on the road to Edgbaston.
Edwards claimed 4-20 on his Lancashire debut and Bailey's figures of 1 for 21 were to be eclipsed in the Championship win at Grace Road where he helped the Red Rose to annihilate county cricket's whipping boys.
Bailey claimed career-best figures of 5 for 12 in a nine-over spell as Lancashire waltzed to a 244-run victory to stay top of Division Two and their seam attack is soon to receive a handy boost after James Faulkner's Rajasthan Royals were eliminated from the IPL.
Key Players:
Steven Croft has had a superb seven days in all forms of cricket and he continues to lead the side brilliantly in the absence of Tom Smith. His unbeaten 70 guided the Lightning to a final-ball victory in a rain-affected match against Leicestershire last Friday and, generally speaking, if Croft is in good form, Lancashire tend to do well in the shortest format of the game.
The hard-hitting batsman is the only Englishman to play in over 100 consecutive domestic t20 games and has featured in all of Lancashire's t20 matches in a run stretching back to the 2006 season. His experience in this format and ability to make an impact with off-spin, not to mention his outstanding presence in the field, makes him one of the best t20 players in the country.
Calum MacLeod made an early impression in the T20 Blast, hitting 60 off 32 balls to help Durham record a comfortable victory against Northamptonshire in their first match. His destructive innings, married with Northamptonshire's woeful response, has given Durham easily the best net run rate in the North Group and the Jets sit top of the table after just one game.
MacLeod is a member of an exclusive club in the shortest format of the game, recording a century in a World T20 qualifier for Scotland. The 26-year-old has made a name for himself in limited-overs cricket and his average of over 35 is an impressive return in a format that can be unforgiving at times.
Team news:
Faulkner is not due to make his Lancashire debut in this fixture and given the amount of cricket the Australian has played recently, including his duties in the World Cup, it is likely that he will be given time to travel to Manchester and potentially play a part in the Championship match against Derbyshire at Southport this Sunday.
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| There is a slim chance that Faulkner could make his debut tomorrow, but he hasn't been named in Lancashire's 12-man team. |
It is understood that Faulkner is flying to England today and although he has not been named in th squad, it is not impossible that he will play a part tomorrow.
Saqib Mahmood is the only player to not feature from the squad named last week and Croft continues as stand-in captain in the absence of Tom Smith, who appears to be on his way to making a recovery.
Lancashire 12-man squad: Steven Croft (c), Tom Bailey, Karl Brown, Nathan Buck, Jordan Clark, Alex Davies (w/k), George Edwards, Arron Lilley, Liam Livingstone, Stephen Parry, Alviro Petersen, Ashwell Prince.
Durham squad 14-man squad: Mark Stoneman (c), Usman Arshad, Scott Borthwick, Graham Clark, Paul Collingwood, Paul Coughlin, John Hastings, Keaton Jennings, Calum MacLeod, Gordon Muchall, Phil Mustard (w/k), Ryan Pringle, Michael Richardson, Chris Rushworth.
Match information:
Weather and conditions: Last week the weather played its part and despite some rain early on tomorrow afternoon, their should be no reason why the match is subject to Duckworth Lewis. The rain will clear by 5 o'clock and given the good drainage and hover cover at Old Trafford it is unlikely that the rain will cause a delayed start. For a full weather forecast, click here.
Ground: Emirates Old Trafford
Start time: 6.30pm
Umpires: Neil Mallander, Tim Robinson
Odds (SkyBet): Lancashire 8/11, Durham 11/10
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