James Faulkner returns to the Lancashire
squad for their hosting of Essex after missing the Roses Twenty20 match,
following a drink driving charge.
The Australian all-rounder may face further
punishment from Cricket Australia, but head coach Ashley Giles admits that
Lancashire must move on from this issue to focus on the team.
Even without Faulkner’s exploits,
Lancashire recorded their highest ever T20 score against Yorkshire at Old
Trafford, defeating their rivals by 29 runs in a high-scoring affair.
The last time Lancashire played against
Essex in the County Championship, the year they were promoted to Division One
in 2013, the Red Rose skittled Essex for 20 all out at Chelmsford, the
equal-sixth lowest score in first-class history and the lowest since 1983.
Lancashire escaped impending defeat against
Northamptonshire in their last four-day game when bad light and latterly rain
came to their rescue, allowing the Division Two leaders to maintain their spot
at the top of the table for another week.
Surrey and Glamorgan are both on
Lancashire’s tail and the Red Rose still have to play the latter twice,
including a trip to Colwyn Bay after their encounter with Essex.
It has been a stop-start season for Essex,
who came within eight points of achieving promotion in 2014 and, with
Lancashire and the chasing pack winning games on a regular basis, Essex would
need a tremendous finale to the campaign to be in contention this season.
Essex recently hosted Australia for a tour
match at Chelmsford and the tourists emerged victorious by a whopping margin of
169 runs, a disappointing conclusion for the home side, who posted 414 in their
first innings.
However, Lancashire’s opponents have
enjoyed a winning run of two matches in red-ball cricket, overcoming
Gloucestershire and Derbyshire to take them to fifth in the second division.
Lancashire are unbeaten in their last 12
meetings with Essex including seven victories and they will be aiming to secure
an eighth win in 13 matches to strengthen their position at the top of the
table.
Key Players:
Karl Brown has been in incredible form for
Lancashire in all formats of the game, particularly the County Championship,
where the opening batsman has scored 388 runs in his last five innings at an
average of 77.60. This return includes five consecutive half-centuries, with a
highest score of 97 against Northamptonshire in Lancashire’s last four-day
game.
He is yet to record his first hundred since
2011, but Brown has recently recorded a Twenty20 career-best against Yorkshire,
thumping 69 in 35 balls to push Lancashire to their highest score in the format
of 231/4.
Jamie Porter may not be a name many people
will recognise, but the 22-year-old pace bowler has enjoyed a promising start
to the season, claiming 32 Championship wickets at an average of 19.97. Out of
his 32 scalps, 15 of these dismissals account for opening batsman and only Chris
Rushworth and Kyle Jarvis have taken more (16).
Team News:
Lancashire 13-man squad: Steven Croft (C),
Tom Bailey, Karl Brown, Jordan Clark, Alex Davies (w/k), James Faulkner, Paul
Horton, Kyle Jarvis, Simon Kerrigan, Toby Lester, Arron Lilley, Alviro
Petersen, Ashwell Prince.
Alviro Petersen returns to action after
missing the last match with a back spasm and left-arm pace bowler Toby Lester
could make his first-team debut for the Red Rose.
Essex 14-man squad: James Foster (C &
w/k), Ravi Bopara, Nick Browne, Liam Dawson, Ryan ten Doeschate, Dan Lawrence, Jaik
Mickelburgh, Graham Napier, Jamie Porter, Jesse Ryder, Matt Salisbury, Greg
Smith, Reece Topley, Tom Westley.
Nick Browne and Tom Westley are back in
action after suffering minor injuries in the Australia game and Hampshire
all-rounder, Liam Dawson, is set to make his debut for Essex in his month-long
loan with the club.
Match Information:
Weather and conditions: A dry start will
develop into showers on the first day after lunch, with little prospect of play
in the afternoon and evening sessions given the current forecast. For a full
weather forecast click here.
Ground: Emirates Old Trafford
Start time: 11.00am
Umpires: Richard Kettleborough, David Milns
Match odds (SkyBet): Lancashire 8/15, Essex 11/8
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