Lancashire Vs. Yorkshire FLt20.

Lancashire annihilate roses rivals to go top.

Tom Smith was awarded man of the match for his
score of 42  and figures of 2-21.

Lancashire have gone top of the North Group after achieving an astonishing victory over their rivals Yorkshire, winning by 8 wickets, with a whopping 9 overs still to bowl. After the two sides had tied in a thrilling encounter at Headingley, this match was comparatively embarrassing for Yorkshire, who now sit bottom of the group.

Stephen Moore (66*) hit his third FLt20 half century of the season, racing to this milestone from 27 balls, and was supported magnificently by his opening partner Tom Smith who smashed 42, before he was stumped attempting to register a fourth six and was rightly awarded man of the match after he had earlier achieved figures of 2-21.

The hosts had managed to restrict Yorkshire to a disappointing total of 124-8 and they were embarrassed by Lancashire, who smashed 18 fours and 4 sixes in the 11 overs it took to
knock-off this inadequate score.

Adam Lyth's 32 from 24 balls proved to be the only sign of Yorkshire finding their feet, with Yorkshire achieving a minor 23 runs from the power play. By the same stage the home team had accelerated to 67, displaying the ruthless nature of Moore and Smith.

Other minor contributions from Gary Ballance (28) and Richard Pyrah (20) proved to be useful, but the visitors had severely under-achieved, after they had won the toss and chose to bat. The former fell in superb style, as stand-in captain Steven Croft pulled-off a stunning one-handed diving catch on the long-on boundary.

In a match of such ferocity from the Lancashire batsmen, it can be easy for the bowlers to lose credit, but there is no doubt that they played a huge role in this victory. Four of the Lightning's bowlers achieved economy rates below 6 runs per over, with Mitch McClenaghan (2-19) the pick of the bowlers.  

Lancashire were also helped out by some poor judgement on Yorkshire's part, as Adil Rashid and Azeem Rafiq were both run out in a comical manner that became part of the unbelievable atmosphere at Emirates Old Trafford.

Yorkshire finally ended the opening partnership, which had amassed 88 runs inside 8 overs and enjoyed further success when Ashwell Prince was out for a second-ball duck.

But this proved to be a high point  in an otherwise forgettable evening for Yorkshire, as Karl Brown smashed an unbeaten19 from 7 balls to assist Moore. Having already hit 12 fours, the Lancashire opener finished the match in the best possible way, lofting the ball back over the bowlers head in to the pavilion for six.