Lancashire dominate in first tour match.

Smith led Lancashire's innings with 70 from 41 balls.

Lancashire overwhelmed the Fly Emirates XI in their first tour match in Dhabi, cruising to an 85-run win after the Emirates XI made just 89-7 in their twenty overs chasing 184 to win.

Tom smith made 70 from 41 deliveries as he led the Lightning's first innings of 2014 and a late surge from Steven Croft added 53 to boost Lancashire's total to 183-4.

Kyle Jarvis and Simon Kerrigan each claimed two wickets to propel Lancashire into a commanding position, one which was established after they reduced the opposition to 8-3 and continued throughout the game.

Karl Brown and Tom Smith shared a first wicket stand worth 71 runs, with Smith leading Lancashire's assault. He raced to his half century in just 32 deliveries and after six overs the Lightning had established a demanding platform on 51-0.

Brown was the first man to fall in the ninth over of the innings as he was caught at backward-point of Raza's bowling for 21, but by this point Lancashire had already inflicted a lot of damage.

Smith put his foot on the accelerator as he hit two fours and a six to take Lancashire pass 100 inside the thirteenth over. Smith's charge was cut short as he attempted to reach the boundary once more and was caught at long leg for a match-winning effort of 70.

Steven Croft and Jordan Clark continued to diminish the efforts of the fly emirates bowling attack, adding a further 40 runs in four overs, before Clark fell for 17.

It was ultimately Croft's 53 off 41 balls which put the game beyond the opposition and Lancashire finished with a daunting total, one which proved to be too much for the fly emirates side.

Jarvis and Oliver Newby struck early blows as the Fly Emirates faltered to 8-3, with young wicket-keeper Alex Davies claiming two catches in the early passages of the run chase.

A recovery saw the Fly Emirates reach 44-3 after six overs, but the efforts of Smith and Croft were now starting to toll as the run rate weighted against the opposition.  

Any hope of a dramatic comeback were halted by Simon Kerrigan who removed Pawar, with Andrea Agathangelou taking a smart slip catch at 50-4.

Kerrigan and Croft then struck in successive overs and at 66-6 the match was all but over with eight overs still to bowl.

One more wicket fell before the close of play, allowing the Emirates team to redeem a shred of pride, but the deficit of 85 runs said all you needed to know about the gulf between the two teams today.

Lancashire will play Sussex  in a twenty20 match tomorrow morning.