Lancashire are looking to bounce back immediately from their defeat against Worcestershire, as they travel to Northamptonshire for a Twenty20 encounter with the 2013 winners.
The Lightning were beaten by two wickets yesterday evening at home to Worcestershire Rapids, but a compacted schedule offers Ashley Giles's side the opportunity to respond quickly. Promising displays from the likes of Karl Brown - who hit 42 from 24 balls - were encouraging for Lancashire, who posted 163/5 in their 20 overs, but the home side were beaten with one ball to spare despite the efforts of James Faulkner at the death.
Three wins and as many defeats means that Lancashire are by no means guaranteed to repeat their success of last season by reaching the knockout stages of the tournament, but a trip to Wantage Road may be the ideal way to bounce back.
The Steelbacks have won two of their five completed matches this summer after losing their first three games. Their ground supports high-scoring matches and - with a quick outfield - setting 180 batting first is a minimum expectation on this ground.
Key Players:
Karl Brown was not in the best of form in one-day cricket before yesterday's Twenty20 encounter with Worcestershire, particularly for someone of his pedigree, but Lancashire's One-Day Player of the Year for 2014 proved why he is regarded highly in this format with a quick fire innings of 42 from 24 balls.
His form in red-ball cricket has seen a return of three fifties in succession, helping Lancashire to achieve wins against Gloucestershire and Leicestershire and it was evident that his success in the Championship gave him a renewed confidence yesterday evening. Brown has scored 98 runs in six innings so far this summer, with his best score coming yesterday against Worcestershire.
Josh Cobb is a consistent all-rounder who would probably make it in to any Twenty20 side in England due to his ability to make his mark on the game in such a diverse way. With David Willey on international duty and Shahid Afridi departing after Northamptonshire's last T20 match, Cobb is left holding a great deal of responsibility as a top-order batsman and useful spinner for the Steelbacks.
The former Leicestershire all-rounder was in high demand this winter, but it was Northants who secured his services and he has rewarded their desire to obtain him with 127 runs in six innings with a highest score of 80 off 44 balls against Worcestershire.
Northamptonshire 12-man squad: Alex Wakely, Rory Kleinveldt, Steven Crook, Josh Cobb, Richard Levi, Ben Duckett, Mohammad Azharullah, Rob Newton, Rob Keogh, Olly Stone, Greame White, Andrew Rossington.
The home side are without key players for this match, including all-rounder David Willey, who has finally been given the opportunity to represent England in one-day cricket. Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi, played in his final game for Northants against Yorkshire, claiming three wickets to help reduce the Vikings to 82/7 as the Steelbacks won on the Duckworth Lewis Method.
Predicted Lancashire squad: Steven Croft (c), Tom Bailey, Karl Brown, Joran Clark, Alex Davies (w/k), James Faulkner, Gavin Griffiths, Paul Horton, Rob Jones, Arron Lilley, Laim Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Stephen Parry, Ashwell Prince.
Lancashire named an unchanged 14-man squad for yesterday's match against Worcestershire from their win versus Derbyshire. Club captain Tom Smith is set to be out of action for longer than first feared and the absence of his hard-hitting talents at the top of the order have been evident so far this campaign.
Match Information:
Weather and conditions: A cooler evening with occasional outbreaks of sunshine in the early stages of the game. Posting a commanding total and batting first will more than likely be the tactic for whoever wins the toss, with a quick outfield assisting conventional shots as well as the more agricultural stroke play associated with the format. For a full weather forecast click here.
Ground: Wantage Road
Start time: 6.30pm
Umpires: Steve Garratt, Neil Mallender
Match odds (SkyBet): Northamptonshire 11/10, Lancashire 8/11
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