Preview: Lancashire v Surrey LVCC

James Anderson has been named in a 14-man squad for Lancashire's crucial LV= County Championship fixture against Surrey at Emirates Old Trafford starting on Monday.

England's leading wicket-taker in Test history has been made available and will play in his first game for Lancashire since he featured against Sussex at Hove in September 2014. 

On that occasion, Lancashire were involved in a relegation battle, but they face a very different challenge on home soil this Monday. Surrey sit top of Division Two with a lead of five points over Lancashire, who could secure a second trophy of the season if they have a strong finish to the four-day campaign.

Lancashire will, however, be without wicketkeeper Alex Davies, who has failed to overcome a knee injury suffered at Finals Day, with Durham's Phil Mustard being recruited as emergency cover for the 21-year-old. 

Mustard, 32, has scored 7,557 first-class runs in his career, but he has fallen out of favour as first-choice keeper at Chester-le-Street. Michael Richardson has claimed 42 dismissals this season for Durham while Mustard has scored only 51 runs in seven innings in four-day cricket.

Surrey leapfrogged Lancashire with an innings victory against Derbyshire when their captain Gareth Batty claimed a hat-trick to seal victory for his side. Lancashire also secured first-division status in their latest four-day outing, although promotion came in a much more understated fashion with a draw at Canterbury.

Key Players:

Lancashire are feeling the strain in their bowling department with a number of injuries threatening their bid for the Division Two title and so the timely availability of James Anderson will bring a timely boost to their ranks. Anderson's record of 413 Test wickets is a record for England and his talents with the red ball could play a crucial role for the Red Rose in this top-of-the-table clash with Surrey.

Anderson has not featured for Lancashire since this time last season when he played against Sussex at  Hove, but his first-class record of 697 wickets at an average of 27.06 makes him one of the most feared new-ball bowlers in world cricket. 

Kumar Sangakkara's record and reputation in all formats of the cricket has earned him a spot among the greatest batsman to have ever played the game. He has been a dedicated servant for Surrey this season, guiding them to the final of the One-Day Cup after his innings of 166 in the semi-final against Nottinghamshire.

His performances in red-ball cricket has seen a similarly impressive return for the Sri-Lanakn veteran, who has accumulated 633 runs at an average of 42.20, with his highest contribution of 149 coming on debut against Glamorgan earlier this season. Sangakkara has scored more than 18,000 first class runs.

Team News:

Lancashire 14-man squad: Steven Croft (c), James Anderson, Tom Bailey, Karl Brown, Glen Chapple, Jordan Clark, Haseeb Hameed, Simon Kerrigan, Toby Lester, Arron Lilley, Phil Mustard (w/k), Alviro Petersen, Luke Procter, Ashwell Prince.

Surrey 13-man squad: Gareth Batty (c), Zafar Ansari, James Burke, Rory Burns, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Steven Davies, Matt Dunn, Ben Foakes, Arun Harinath, Jason Roy, Kumar Sangakkara, Gary Wilson.

Match Information:

Weather and conditions: As the first and second One-Day International will have demonstrated, Old Trafford produces prodigious turn and so both sides will be keen to play a second spinner. This important fixture is, however, set to be plagued by bad weather, a situation will would benefit the visitors more given their slender lead at the top of the second division. For a full weather forecast, click here.

Ground: Emirates Old Trafford

Start time: 10.30am

Umpires: TBC

Match odds (Sky Bet): Lancashire 8/11, Surrey 1/1

Mustard joins Lancashire on loan following Davies injury

Lancashire have announced the emergency signing of Durham wicketkeeper Phil Mustard following the sudden news of Alex Davies' knee injury.

Davies is one of only three Lancashire players to feature in all 14 Championship matches this season, having scored 730 runs at an average of 40.56, but his untimely injury has forced the Red Rose to sign the more experienced Mustard for their crucial fixture against Surrey at Emirates Old Trafford. 

James Anderson has been made available for this meeting between first and second place in the second division and could make his first appearance for Lancashire since he featured against Sussex at Hove in 2014.

Davies collected the injury on Finals Day in the semi-final, but he has been unable to return to full fitness since his Man of the Match performance, which secured a maiden T20 trophy for Lancashire against Northamptonshire at Edgbaston. Mustard has therefore signed for Lancashire for the final two Championship games of the season, as the Red Rose aim to leapfrog Surrey and return to the first division with their second trophy of the summer.

Mustard joins Lancashire after playing in only five Championship matches for Durham this season, with a return of just 51 runs in seven innings in that time. The 32-year-old has hit 7,557 first-class runs in his career, but Michael Richardson has taken over wicket-keeping duties at Chester-le-Street this season, claiming 42 dismissals already this season in the first division.

Lancashire's director of cricket, Ashley Giles, said: "Alex has played tremendously well for us this season and to lose him at this stage is a blow.

"But Phil has a tremendous pedigree and will slot into the squad seamlessly for two games as we hope to finish the season with another trophy," he added.

Davies has scored seven half-centuries in the County Championship this season and his seventh score of fifty or more helped Lancashire to secure a final-day draw against Kent, cementing promotion to the first division for Giles's side.

Lancashire promoted with draw against Kent

A superb unbeaten partnership between Steven Croft (72*) and Alex Davies (58*) secured promotion for Lancashire as they earned a tense draw against Kent at Canterbury.

Their stand worth 120 runs ensured that Lancashire would not suffer what would have been only their second Championship defeat of the season, although Surrey also secured promotion with a convincing win against Derbyshire, one which took them to the top of Division Two with a lead of five points over the Red Rose county.

It was an unenviable task for the visitors at the start of the final day, with Kent needing only eight wickets to secure a comfortable victory after making Lancashire follow on. The visitors started the day with two batsmen at two extremes of their respective careers; Haseeb Hameed was sitting his GCSE’s earlier this summer and Ashwell Prince could very well have played his penultimate game for Lancashire.

The former played a very mature innings, surviving until close of play on the third day while the more experienced Alviro Petersen lost his wicket to a rash shot with only three balls to go. Hameed continued his impressive innings alongside Prince, as the pair added 62 runs for the second-wicket stand.

It was not a case of how many runs Lancashire scored, or indeed how quickly they were accumulated, but rather how long each batsmen could survive at the crease. Hameed typified this approach in a very promising innings, one which was particularly reassuring with Paul Horton set to leave Old Trafford after 12 years at the club.

Kent started the day in the more favourable position, but when Lancashire survived the first hour without any real threat, you could sense that the home side were not so assured of victory. They were given a stroke of luck, however, when Prince (39) was judged lbw to Darren Stevens (1-57) to a delivery which seemed to not only pitch outside leg-stump, but also hit Prince particularly high on the front pad.

With Lancashire needing a minor miracle to secure promotion in this game, the loss of such an experienced campaigner was a big blow, but Hameed (44) played an innings well beyond his tender age as he and Croft steadied the ship either side of lunch.

The teenager was approaching a maiden fifty for the Lancashire first team, but he too was unfortunate to be walking back to the pavilion when he was comprehensively bowled by Calum Haggett (1-41) to a ball that kept low, leaving Lancashire on 138/4.

Croft’s innings of 85 in Lancashire’s first innings was the standout performance for the visitors and the captain played yet another responsible hand for his side with his second half-century of the game and eighth of the Championship campaign coming in 174 balls with seven fours.

Lancashire’s rearguard action had so far been relatively successful after losing only one wicket in the morning session and the same number of wickets after lunch, although Kent struggled to create any real chances as Croft and Davies continued to dig in.

The pair batted for 50 overs, adding 120 runs for the fifth-wicket partnership, eventually forcing Kent to surrender their search for what would have been a deserved victory. Davies also reached a half-century, with his seventh boundary taking him to this milestone in 136 balls and the players eventually shook hands just before 5 o’clock, securing promotion for Lancashire on a bittersweet day.

Ashley Giles’ side will be back in the first division next season, but their next four-day match at home to Surrey will be a title-deciding match after they hammered Derbyshire to go top of the second division and also secure promotion. 

Lancs facing tough final day against Kent

Kent claimed 12 wickets on Day Three of their LV= County Championship match against Lancashire, as they moved one step closer to inflicting a heavy defeat on the Division Two leaders.

Lancashire had to fight hard on the third day of their trip to Canterbury and were indebted to a captain's innings from Steven Croft to keep their promotion bid ticking over, but the visitors found themselves following on after they were bowled out for 259 in their first innings.

The Red Rose skipper made 85 and shared a 91-run partnership with Jordan Clark (44) after Kent had reduced their opponents to 101/5 just before lunch on Day Three. Lancashire found life similarly difficult when they were asked to follow on, closing the third day on 47/2 and still needing two more points to secure promotion, with title-contenders Surrey enjoying a productive day against Derbyshire.

Karl Brown's eighth score of fifty or more in his last 13 Championship innings was the only contribution from the Lancashire top order and two quick wickets for Darren Stevens hampered the early progression of the visitors, who were facing an uphill struggle after Kent had amassed 570/8 declared in their first innings.

Brown and Haseeb Hameed returned to the crease with Lancashire on 25/0 at the start of the third day, but the Red Rose found themselves 46/2 after Stevens removed Hameed and Alviro Petersen in the space of four balls. Hameed (14) had struggled to settle in testing overcast conditions, eventually edging to James Tredwell at second slip attempting to leave a delivery from Stevens, who then had Petersen trapped lbw without scoring in the same over.

It was an important first hour for both sides; if Lancashire could dig in and kick on from a good start then the match would likely be heading for a high-scoring draw, but early wickets meant that it was the home side who took the spoils. Stevens took his season haul to 53 wickets, with these victims coming at an average of less than 20 runs, a reminder of his capabilities even at the age of 39.

Lancashire were in need of a solid contribution and partnership in order take the innings in the right direction and with Ashwell Prince (17) striding to the crease, it looked as though the visitors would be able to settle after a tricky start. The South-African's accumulation of 1,315 runs prior to this fixture is the highest in the country, but Matt Hunn (2-47) was able to collect a prized scalp when he forced Prince to edge behind with the score at 76/3.

Brown continued to battle through this difficult spell, progressing to his eighth half-century of the tournament in 86 deliveries, his eighth boundary taking him to this milestone. His first century for four seasons against Glamorgan and career-best score of 132 was the peak of a purple patch for the Lancashire opener, who was under immense pressure to give another standout performance with the bat.

However, he could only reach 53 before edging to Ben Harmison at third slip, who took a juggling catch off the bowling of Matt Coles (3-75), with Lancashire stumbling to 97/4 in the 35th over of their innings. The in-form wicketkeeper-batsman Alex Davies (4) then fell in quick succession when he lost his middle stump to Coles with an inside-edge, a wicket which left Lancashire in disarray at 101/5 before lunch.

Croft and Clark formed an excellent partnership for the sixth wicket and provided just the approach that Lancashire needed after their top-order batsmen had struggled to survive through testing conditions. The pair added 91 runs either side of lunch as conditions continued to assist the fielding side, although Croft was able to reach his seventh half-century in four-day cricket this summer.

A trademark back-foot cut from Croft took his partnership with Clark beyond fifty and the Lancashire skipper accumulated fifty runs of his own in 108 balls with eight fours shortly after Clark had been caught at second slip by Tredwell off Calum Haggett (2-44) to a delivery which climbed on the all-rounder at the last minute.

Tom Bailey appeared to be in good touch, hitting three fours in his innings of 18 before he was deceived by the flight of Tredwell, who managed to managed to sneak the ball between bat and pad and bowl Bailey with the score at 227/7. Lancashire still needed three more points to put the issue of promotion to bed, but a poor shot from club veteran Glen Chapple (8) left the visitors eight wickets down just after tea.

The first team coach tried to pull Haggett into the leg side, but his top edge found the safe hands of Hunn at fine leg, a needless loss with Croft applying himself incredibly well to the situation. Simon Kerrigan was able to play with a calmer approach, assisting Croft in his determined efforts to take Lancashire to 250.

The visitors secured a second batting bonus point with two wickets in hand, but Kerrigan and Croft were out in quick succession, as Lancashire lost both batsmen with the score on 259. Kerrigan was the first to go, edging Hunn behind to Ryan Davies for two, before Croft was judged lbw to Coles, who collected his third wicket of the innings to remove the Lancs skipper for 85.

Lancashire had been subjected to an abysmal day, one which very much went against the grain of how their season has progressed, but Kent were not content with their progress and they had Brown back in the pavilion after just two balls when Coles had him out lbw for no score. 

Hameed (17*) and Petersen were able to forge a sturdy partnership worth 47 runs, but Lancashire suffered a crucial blow in the final over of the day when Petersen (28) was bowled playing across the line to Tredwell with only three balls left in the day, signalling close of play.

The visitors are still trailing Kent by 264 runs and will need to fight incredibly hard to avoid suffering only their second defeat of the campaign. If they can bat on and save the draw tomorrow, then they would secure promotion to the first division.

Kent runfest continues with Northeast century

A century from Kent captain Sam Northeast (139) consolidated a strong start from Kent as they amassed a huge first-innings total of 570/8 to frustrate Lancashire's bid for promotion.

Kent enjoyed another superb day with the bat as Sam Northeast and Darren Stevens (92) accumulated  183 runs for the sixth-wicket stand on Day Two. Northeast's first century in Championship cricket this summer also saw the Kent captain pass 1,000 runs in four-day cricket, while Stevens' innings took the veteran all-rounder to 13,000 first-class runs.

Lancashire started the second day needing four more points to guarantee first-division status, but a flat pitch, one which was much more conducive to batting, made their search for bonus points a tough one indeed. The Division Two front-runners managed only two more wickets before the 110-over mark came, meaning that they could only muster one bowling point from this game.

Conditions worsened when Lancashire took their turn to bat, but the visitors managed to make it to close of play unscathed, reaching 25/0 as Karl Brown (16*) and Haseeb Hameed (6*) negated a tricky spell in the evening session.

Nightwatchman James Tredwell proved to be an easier scalp for Lancashire than Stevens and indeed Northeast, who was still unbeaten at tea on Day Two after starting the second day on just seven. Tredwell (11) handed Lancashire all-rounder Jordan Clark (3-87) his third victim after he had claimed the late wickets of Rob Key and Joe Denly in the evening session yesterday. The Kent spinner was caught well at gully by Haseeb Hameed with the score at 257/4, but success with the ball was far and few between for the Red Rose county.

Ben Harmison could only add 19 to the Kent total in a scratchy innings for the home side, although he was able to share a useful partnership worth 58 runs with Northeast before turning the ball to Toby Lester at mid-wicket, handing Tom Bailey (2-89) his second breakthrough of the innings. Northeast progressed to his fifty in 109 balls with eight fours before the lunch interval and the Kent batsman went on to become only the fifth player to score 1,000 runs in County Championship cricket this season, with Lancashire's Ashwell Prince being the first person to reach this milestone.

Stevens made the ideal batting partner for Northeast as the veteran all-rounder played a typically eye-catching innings to rub salt into the ever-growing wounds of the Lancashire bowling attack. The Kent all-rounder has a good record against the Red Rose in four-day cricket of late, scoring a double-hundred the last time he played against Lancashire on this ground and he could very well have secured a century if he had been able to reign in slightly cavalier approach.

It took only 59 balls for Stevens to race to a half-century with eight fours and the all-rounder advanced to 13,000 first-class career runs as he and Northeast denied Lancashire their sixth wicket and a second bowling bonus point. The hundred-partnership between Northeast and Stevens followed Kent reaching 400, although they were unable to score quickly enough to achieve maximum batting points.

Kent's onslaught continued to progress in the afternoon session; Stevens was thriving on a flat batting track, while Northeast went on to reach the 11th century of his first-class career in a purple patch against Simon Kerrigan. Northeast hit the left-arm spinner for three fours, before smashing him for six over long-on to take him to a 177-ball hundred, with his innings at this stage containing 13 fours and one six.

Stevens could well have been the third Kent batsmen to reach three figures in their first innings, clobbering Kerrigan for six, but in his efforts to replicate the shot over mid-wicket and the result, Stevens could only find the safe hands of Hameed on the boundary. His innings of 92 and 183-run partnership with Northeast had taken the Kent total to 498/6 just before tea, but the hosts were not yet satisfied with the number of runs they had on the board.

A short shower signalled an early tea interval and when the players returned to the field blue sky and sunshine welcomed Northeast for a final surge of class before he fell for a superb 139. Kerrigan (2-95) had been fortunate to collect the wicket of Stevens and Northeast rather threw his wicket away, handing Alex Davies a routine stumping at 511/7.

Kent's lower-order batsmen rallied to enhance their superiority, with Callum Haggett smashing 36 not out including two towering sixes, while wicketkeeper Ryan Davies managed 17 before he was caught well in the deep by a juggling effort from Toby Lester with the Kent total progressing to 548/8. Haggett continued to launch the Lancashire spinners to the boundary, before Kent eventually declared on the mammoth total of 570/8.

Lancashire finished the second day on 25/0 after Brown and Hameed applied themselves well in testing conditions, although the Kent seamers did little to threaten the Lancashire openers before bad light brought play to an early close, with the visitors still trailing by 545 runs.

Kent enjoy better of rain-affected day at Canterbury

Veteran batsman Rob Key hit a superb century on the opening day of Lancashire's trip to Canterbury in the LV= County Championship, as the Division Two leaders were put to the sword by their hosts.

Key (113) and Joe Denly (65) shared a partnership worth 149 runs for the second-wicket stand, as Kent closed on 235/3 on a frustrating day for the Red Rose county, who need four more points to guarantee first-division status after picking up two late wickets to secure a bowling bonus point.

Lancashire won the toss and elected to bowl first in overcast conditions and with plenty of rain falling yesterday the decision to take to the field seemed to be a wise one. However, several rain delays prevented either side from making any real progress before lunch, as Kent edged their way to 7/0 at the first interval.

Daniel Bell-Drummond (37) scored all seven runs to be accumulated by Kent in the morning session, with less than five overs being bowled before lunch. Nine overs were lost due to the frustrating stoppages and by the time play resumed the overcast conditions had ceased, only to be replaced by blue sky and sunshine.

The side with the lowest number of batting points in Division Two stunned the league leaders with their application on a relatively flat wicket, sharing 72 runs for the opening partnership. The pair reached the fifty partnership in the 17th over, as Bell-Drummond continued to lead the assault, scoring six fours in his innings of 37 before he was trapped plumb lbw on the back foot by Tom Bailey (1-52).

This solitary breakthrough was the only glimmer of hope for Lancashire for most of the day, who were unable to get the better of experienced duo Key and Denly. The pair added another 50 runs before tea as Key, who has scored over 19,000 first-class runs, reached fifty for the fourth time this season in 113 deliveries with four boundaries.

Lancashire's seamers were largely very unfortunate; Alviro Petersen shelled the chance to remove Key off the bowling of Glen Chapple and several outside-edges found their way to the boundary, rather than the hands of the awaiting slip cordon. Kent reached 100 when Simon Kerrigan's first delivery was dispatched to the fence through mid-wicket by Denly, who reached the 42nd fifty of his first-class career on the opening day of this fixture.

The hundred-partnership followed after tea, as Denly also progressed to a half-century, reaching this milestone in 79 balls with eight fours in an incredibly positive innings after a nervous start. Key's tempo continued to increase and he was soon playing with the same vigour as Denly, who rejoined Kent over the winter after a spell at Middlesex.

Key surpassed his previous highest first-class score of the season and went on to reach his first century of the summer in 179 balls with an all-run four, with the 36-year-old batsman scoring 11 boundaries on his way to an important century for his side. The miserable conditions returned; a combination of bad light and then steady rain threatened to end the day with yet another lengthy delay, but the players returned for another 8.3 overs.

Lancashire were struggling to justify their decision at the toss when play resumed with Kent on 208/1, but Jordan Clark (2-46) struck a timely breakthrough and two wickets in six deliveries in the closing stages of the first day, removing both of Kent's settled batsmen. Denly was pinned on the crease, Lancashire's second lbw of the day, before Key edged to Karl Brown at gully with the final ball of the same over with the score at 224/3.

These breakthroughs gave Lancashire an important bowling bonus point, meaning that they only needed four more points to secure promotion to the first division, as Kent closed on 235/3 with James Tredwell (3*) and Sam Northeast (7*) unbeaten at stumps.

Preview: Kent v Lancashire LVCC

Lancashire require just five more points to secure promotion back to the first division of the County Championship, as they return to four-day action with a trip to Canterbury.

The Red Rose are hoping to put the issue of promotion to bed following their maiden Twenty20 success at Edgbaston and Ashley Giles' side would ideally want to win Division Two by defeating Surrey later this month. Lancashire were unable to achieve the double over Glamorgan due to several rain delays in their latest Championship fixture at Old Trafford, but they will feel very confident of returning to top-flight action with their second Division Two title in three seasons.

Success in the Natwest T20 Blast came as a welcome reward for the Lightning's efforts in the shortest format of the game on a truly memorable day for the club, although promotion to Division One remains a key target for Giles and club captain, Tom Smith.

It has been an interesting spell for the T20 Champions of late; their victory at Edgbaston on Saturday was their first one-day trophy since 1999 and Lancashire could secure their place back in the first division with two games left to play if they are even able to draw against Kent. Their opponents will be out for revenge after the Spitfires were denied a place at Finals Day on the technicality that they had lost more wickets than Lancashire, after both sides scored 142 in the quarter-final of the Blast.

Paul Horton guided Lancashire to a nine-wicket win in the reverse fixture earlier this season, but it has been announced that the Lancashire opening batsman has no future at the club and England under-19 joint-captain Haseeb Hameed was recently handed a first-team debut against Glamorgan, scoring 28 in Lancashire's first and only innings.

Kent have been unable to revive their Championship campaign and are currently eighth in the second division having won only three matches with the lowest number of batting points in Division Two. The Spitfires made it through to the quarter-finals of the Royal London Cup, but they were edged out by Surrey in a rain-affected clash at the Oval and so pride in red-ball cricket is the only prize at stake for Kent in the latter stages of the season following their exit from the T20 contest at the hands of Lancashire.

Key Players:

Tom Bailey may sound a surprise choice for Lancashire's one-to-watch in this fixture, but the absence of leading wicket-taker, Kyle Jarvis, due to a broken hand means that Bailey is likely to play a key role with the new ball. Jarvis suffered this untimely injury in the build up to Finals Day and his absence will be event given that the Zimbabwean pace bowler has claimed 62 Championship wickets this season.

With Jarvis out for the rest of the campaign, Bailey must step up and play his part. Bailey has a promising record of his own this season having claimed 29 wickets at an average of 29.55 and his usefulness as a lower-order batsman has also come in handy for the Red Rose county. Bailey has scored 200 runs in this four-day campaign and his best figures of the season (5-12) came in one of three innings victories achieved by Lancashire this season against Leicestershire.

Darren Stevens was responsible for inflicting the only defeat suffered by Lancashire in their resounding Division Two triumph in 2013, scoring a double-hundred to help Kent record the highest fourth-innings total against Lancashire. Without his efforts, Kent would have failed to win a four-day game at home for the first time since 1872, but no such record hangs in the balance this season due to Kent's whopping innings and 207-run victory over Essex at Canterbury in July.

Stevens typifies what it means to be a veteran all-rounder and he continues to defy his age by contributing in all three facets of the game. His primary contribution this season has been with the ball; a return of 51 wickets at an average of 20.25 is beaten only by Matt Coles' record of 57 victims in the four-day contest. Stevens has also accumulated 479 runs this season, a fairly modest return for a player who has scored 12,961 first-class runs.

Team News:

Kent squad: TBC

James Faulkner does not feature for Lancashire following a nasty blow in the final of the Natwest T20 Blast, where the Australian all-rounder fractured his finger. He has therefore played his final game for Lancashire. Toby Lester could therefore feature in only his second first-team game for the Red Rose, with veteran Chapple in the squad to help out in the absence of Jarvis.

Lancashire 13-man squad: Steven Croft (c), Tom Bailey, Karl Brown, Glen Chapple, Jordan Clark, Alex Davies (w/k), Haseeb Hameed, Simon Kerrigan, Toby Lester, Arron Lilley, Alviro Petersen, Luke Procter, Ashwell Prince.


Match Information:

Weather and conditions: An earlier start and a fair amount of rain the day before this games starts could force the side who wins the toss to bowl first in order to extract the most out of the pitch. Lancashire would certainly be happy bowling first against the side with the fewest batting points in the division, but without new-ball bowler Jarvis available there are no guarantees. The weather seems to be clear and bright for most of the game and for a full forecast, click here.

Ground: St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury

Start time: 10.30am

Umpires: Neil Bainton, Graham Lloyd

Match odds (SkyBet): Kent 7/4, Lancashire 2/5