Photos from Lancashire Vs. Yorkshire Natwest T20 Blast

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. 

Rain salvages draw for Lancashire.

For the second game in a row, the final day of Lancashire's championship match was washed out by rain as they managed to avoid defeat against Somerset at Old Trafford.

In Lancashire's previous four day fixture away at Yorkshire, the Red Rose outfit were on course for a potentially successful fourth day, but on this occasion the rain saved them from the onslaught of Somerset, who needed seven more wickets to earn their third win of the campaign.

The hosts had closed on 95-3 in their second innings after they were forced to follow-on by Somerset and with a deficit of 122 runs to overturn, the visitors will have fancied their chances for victory.

Lancashire's fourth draw in five matches leaves them in eighth place with a 35 point lead over Northamptonshire. Meanwhile, Somerset will feel aggrieved that they were denied the opportunity to convert their superior position into a win which would have put them top of the table.

Man of the match: Contrary to Lancashire's indifferent performance with the bat, this was a wicket with the potential for run-scoring. Alviro Petersen's 155 was the stand out performance in this game and his 193-run stand with Nick Compton (91) put the match beyond Lancashire's control.

Lancashire capitulate as Somerset take control.

Alex Davies made 62 in Lancashire's first
innings from 152 balls. 

Lancashire finished the third day of the County Championship match against Somerset on 95-3 after they were bowled for 203 and forced to follow on by the visitors. 

Alex Davies made a determined 62 in Lancashire's first innings, but the hosts lost their last eight wickets for 120 runs as Somerset's bowlers prospered to enhance their cause for victory.

Lancashire's second innings became a continuation of the first after they had stumbled to 45-3 after being forced to follow on, but an unbeaten stand worth 52 runs between Andrea Agathangelou (46*) and Karl Brown (22*) ensured that the hosts would not suffer any more setbacks.

In spite of Lancashire's resolve,  it was a day largely dominated by the Somerset bowlers, with Peter Trego, Craig Overton and George Dockrell all claiming three wickets in the first innings. 

Resuming on 22-2 after heavy rain had curtailed the second day, Lancashire knew that they needed to apply themselves and a 78-run stand between Davies and Ashwell Prince (45) steered the hosts away from danger.

But Lancashire have been renowned for batting collapses this season and continued this trend by losing their next two wickets in quick succession. Just as Prince was approaching his half-century he was bowled by Overton and Brown added just nine in his first stay at the crease as Lancashire fell to 103-4.

Somerset continue to rifle through the Lancashire batsmen, but Steven Croft's dismissal can be attributed to a rush of blood to the head, rather than a misjudgement of superb bowling. He had played with played an aggressive temperament before dancing down the pitch, only to be stumped for 20 off Dockrell.

His 42-run partnership with Davies edged Lancashire towards a respectable total, but the removal of Croft instigated a batting collapse of significant proportions, as the hosts lost their last six wickets for 58 runs. Davies had earlier registered only his second first-class fifty, but with the score at 153-5 he was removed by Trego (3-37).

Two runs later Glen Chapple was also dismissed by Trego and Kyle Hogg supplied Dockrell (3-44) with his third scalp as the hosts struggled to reach 200. Overton had only managed to claim one wicket in this innings before he was able to inflict damage to Lancashire's late revival, as he finished with 3-37.

Tom Smith (15), Kabir Ali (16) and Simon Kerrigan (18) all made useful contributions to ensure that Lancashire would register one batting point, but it was not enough to deny Somerset the opportunity to enforce the follow-on. 

The visitors relished in Lancashire's misery and Trego (3-25) claimed all three second-innings wickets to enhances Somerset's superiority. Both of Lancashire's openers were trapped lbw as first innings top-scorer, Davies, was only able to add five runs and Paul Horton made just 11, with Lancashire restricted to 21-2.

With an innings defeat looming, Lancashire were dealt another blow when the reliable Prince was caught behind off Trego for seven, but any threat of a humiliating defeat was averted by Agathangelou and Brown who thwarted the attempts of Somerset's confident bowling attack.

Heavy rain is scheduled for the final day and although this will please Lancashire, this is not a position they will want to keep finding themselves in. Rain has certainly restricted their progress this season, but praying for rain is unlikely to save them from relegation unless their batting improves.  

Rain continues to overshadow Lancashire's season.

The second day of Somerset's visit to Lancashire was dominated by the rain which caused 56 overs to be lost as the visitors progress was halted after they had achieved a daunting first innings total of 420.

Their superiority was compounded by Lancashire's brief response as they stumbled to 22-2 before this pressure was relieved by rain. Alviro Petersen continued to play with fluency and contributed 155 before falling to Simon Kerrigan (3-94).

After toiling in the heat throughout yesterday, the hosts were able to make regular breakthroughs as Somerset lost their remaining seven wickets for 107 runs and it would have been a day that belonged to Lancashire had Petersen not already made such a significant mark on the match.

Wickets continued to fall throughout the morning session, but Petersen resisted the renewed optimism of Lancashire's bowling attack as he reached 150 in 222 deliveries, a score which ultimately means that Somerset will be unable to lose the match with further rain scheduled over the next two days.

Alex Barrow was the first casualty of the day after he was trapped lbw by Glen Chapple without adding to his overnight score of 14 and Craig Kiestwetter (3) soon followed after edging behind off Kabir Ali (2-90).

Lancashire had further success when they removed Peter Trego for 19 off Tom Smith (2-61) but a 39-run stand for the seventh-wicket between Petersen and Craig Meschede (23) prolonged Lancashire's struggle.

But with the score at 404, the hosts were able to claim three wickets as the innings capitulated to give Lancashire something to smile about. The first of these wickets was that of Petersen, who had just registered 150 before he was caught at point by Karl Brown off Kerrigan.

Kyle Hogg (1-59) had been economical, but had to wait a long time for his first scalp before Meschede played a reckless pull shot, with Brown once again called into action in the field.

Brown made a third catch in eleven balls to dismiss Alfonso Thomas for no score, providing Kerrigan with his 200th first-class wicket, before Chapple claimed the final wicket of Craig Overton (9) to wrap up the innings.

Despite spending much longer in the field than they would have hoped, Lancashire could at least take comfort from the fact that this was a pitch where scoring runs was a possibility. However, they had also claimed seven wickets for little more than 100 runs in the morning session and unfortunately followed Somerset's latter example.

After two successive maidens, opener Paul Horton was out lbw, leaving a straight delivery from Thomas (1-3) and Andrea Agathangelou's return to four-day cricket ended in similarly disappointing circumstances when he too was trapped lbw after adding just two runs to the total.

After falling to 5-2 the hosts welcomed the respite of a rain delay, which curtailed the majority of play after a brief recovery by Alex Davies (12*) and Ashwell Prince (8*).

Petersen century leads Somerset charge.

Petersen made 109 not out as Somerset
 dominated the first day.

Batsmen dominated proceedings up and down the country today and Somerset capitalised on these pristine batting conditions on the first day of their visit to Lancashire, as they closed on 312-3.

A third-wicket partnership worth 193 between Alviro Petersen (109*) and Nick Compton frustrated the hosts for most of the day, as Somerset established a strong position in the match, after winning a pivotal coin toss and electing to bat first.

Petersen's innings was particularly pleasing and the South African reached his first century of the season in 166 balls just before Compton fell short of the same milestone for 91.

After making a straightforward decision to bat first upon winning the coin toss, Somerset captain, Marcus Trescothick, continued his fine form as he made the first half-century of the day.

His 61-run stand with Johann Myburgh ensured that the visitors were able to successfully navigate the first hour of play unscathed and it became clear quite quickly that Lancashire were going to have to fight for their wickets.

The hosts were able to find their first breakthrough courtesy of in-form all-rounder, Tom Smith (1-45) who trapped Myburgh Lbw for 35, but Trescothick continued to play with fluency to earn his third fifty of the season in 74 deliveries.

Soon after passing fifty, Trescothick left a turning delivery from Simon Kerrigan (1-61) and was bowled by the left-arm spinner for 55 as Lancashire fought their way back in the morning session, with the score now at 96-2.

But there was to be a sizeable gap between Trescothick's dismissal and the third wicket as Petersen and Compton frustrated the hosts throughout a wicketless afternoon session. Their partnership proved to be valuable at the close of play, but each batsmen had a very different approach. Petersen was intent upon playing the bad ball, whilst Compton displayed a rather typically patient knock.

This was reflected in the number of deliveries taken to reach their half-centuries, as Petersen was the first to reach this milestone in 66 deliveries, with Compton taking 122 balls to reach the same score.

Nevertheless, his patience was rewarded with another high score but, after being dismissed for 92 in the previous fixture against Warwickshire, Compton will have been disappointed not to reach three figures.

He was removed Lbw to Kabir Ali (1-63) at 289-3, but Somerset were able to negotiate the remainder of the first day at Emirates Old Trafford without losing any more wickets as Alex Barrow made an unbeaten contribution of 14.