Preview: Lancashire Lightning v Leicestershire Foxes Natwest t20 Blast

Agony. Even with the legend that is Andrew Flintoff at the crease, Lancashire fell painfully short of a maiden t20 success last season. In terms of the number of wins since the competition started in 2003, the Lightning have won the most games and are one of the most consistent performers, reaching Finals Day on four occasions.

Leicestershire are no strangers to Finals Day either, but unlike Lancashire they have been successful on three of the five occasions they have reached the final four, with their most recent victory coming in 2011 when they beat the Lightning in the semi-finals in a super over at Edgbaston.

Lancashire enter this fixture with a host of injuries and absences, but also with a squad which knows the format well and is certainly capable of making it to Finals Day again. Lancashire finished top of the North Group last year, progressing to Finals Day with a one-run victory against Glamorgan in the quarter-finals.

Lancashire defeated Hampshire in a rain-affected semi-final and an injury to Kabir Ali paved the way for 'Freddie' to make an immediate impact, removing Ian Bell with his first ball. The Lightning start the 2015 campaign without club captain Tom Smith due to a back injury and Paul Horton is suspended for the first two games after he was judged to show dissent to the umpires in an intense run-chase in the final last year.

Australian all-rounder James Faulkner is set to be at Lancashire for most of the season in place of countryman Peter Siddle, although Faulkner will not be available until he finishes his IPL commitments with Rajasthan Royals.

Siddle, who agreed to play the first four Championship matches before joining his teammates for their tour of West Indies, will not be available either, leaving Lancashire's director of cricket and head coach, Ashley Giles, much to ponder.

Lancashire made it to the final last year, only to be beaten by the Birmingham Bears by four runs.

Their opponents have recruited New Zealand batsman Grant Elliot for the campaign and most recently announced the arrival of Pakistand wicketkeeper-batsman Umar Akmal, who will play four matches in the absence of Elliot, who is set to feature for the Kiwi's against England in the up and coming ODI series.

The foxes also have Australian Clint Mckay, as well as the O'Brien brothers - Kevin and Niall - who are both accomplished cricketers in this format of the game. Lancashire won both encounters in the group stages last season, but it is fair to say that they start this campaign with a tough game at Emirates Old Trafford, one which may ultimately be thwarted by the weather.

Team News:

Liam Livingstone could make his first-team debut after recently hitting 350 for Natwitch CC. Debuts may also be on offer for George Edwards and Saqib Mahmood. Edwards was signed from Surrey over the winter by Ashley Giles and is a fast bowler with all the right features to make it in the future, while Mahmood has represented England at Under-19 level alongside fellow academy prospect, Haseeb Hameed, who is still studying for his A Levels.

Lancashire (13-man squad) - Steven Croft (captain), Tom Bailey, Karl Brown, Nathan Buck, Jordan Clark, Alex Davies (wicketkeeper), George Edwards, Arron Lilley, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Stephen Parry, Alviro Petersen, Ashwell Prince. 

Edwards could make his Lancashire debut.

The visitors boast a formidable batting line-up and their hard-hitting captain, Mark Cosgrove, is likely to be a dangerous opponent if he gets his eye in during the powerplay overs. 

Leicestershire (14-man squad) - Mark Cosgrove (captain),  Aadil Ali, Ned Eckersley, Grant Elliot, Clint McKay, Jigar Naik, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien (wicketkeeper), Sam Robson, Ben Raine, Atif Sheikh, Jamie Sykes, Robert Taylor, Tom Wells. 


Key players:

Karl Brown was Lancashire's top run-scorer in last year's tournament with 467 runs at an average of 33.35. He has become a one-day specialist at the club and was the One-Day Player of the Season in 2014 with an impressive display in the 50-over tournament. Brown has not featured in any of Lancashire's four-day matches this season, but he has been scoring runs for fun in the second eleven and is likely to be a big part of their t20 campaign, particularly in the absence of Tom Smith, who was also a key contributor in the batting department on the road to Edgbaston.

In the final against the Bears Brown hit 55 off 38 balls to help Lancashire towards their target of 182, but his highest score of the campaign came against Derbyshire where he hit 67 not out in a 20-run victory. With Luis Reece out for an extended spell with a broken hand, a run of good form in the shortest form of the game could open the door for Brown to return to the first team in four-day cricket.

Brown celebrates his half-century in the final against Warwickshire last season.

The hard-hitting Irish all-rounder Kevin O'Brien has the potential to change games in an instance with bat and ball and he is likely to be a crucial wicket for Lancashire. O'Brien, who was signed specifically for the twenty20 competition, has played 125 matches scoring 1,980 runs and claiming 68 wickets. Following the departure of Josh Cobb, the Foxes recruited well over the winter across the board and the younger of the two O'Brien brothers has developed a pedigree in t20 cricket, enjoying stints with Surrey and Somerset.

Match information:

Weather and conditions: Patches of rain are expected for tomorrow evening in Manchester which could see a reduced match or even washout depending on how badly the weather hits the ground. It is likely that the rain will avoid play until about 7pm, but when it does hit there could be long delay. For a full weather forecast click here.

Start time: 6.30pm

Ground: Emirates Old Trafford

Umpires: Paul Baldwin and Tim Robinson