Lancashire claimed their second win of the Natwest T20 Blast Campaign after earning a 20-run victory away at Derbyshire, their first win at Derby since 2009.
A record-breaking fourth-wicket stand worth 131 between Karl Brown (67*) and Steven Croft (76*) propelled Lancashire towards a highly respectable total of 169-3, a score which was ultimately beyond the hosts.
This partnership came after the visitors had stumbled to 38-3 inside the powerplay after being inserted by Derbyshire, who made just 149-5 in reply, with former Lancashire man, Stephen Moore (40) top-scoring for the hosts.
The match had been reduced to a 19-over match after rain delayed the start of play to 7.45 and Lancashire experienced a mixed start to the innings, largely overshadowed by the loss of three quick wickets.
The decision to promote Alex Davies to opener resulted in him being out for a two-ball duck and, after making 74 in the previous fixture against Worcestershire, Smith was removed shortly afterwards for just six.
At 22-2 the visitors needed to face the rest of the powerplay without suffering any more setbacks, but the loss of captain, Paul Horton (7), who had also made a large impression on the previous fixture, put a sizeable dent in Lancashire's early search for runs.
The partnership between Brown and Croft was therefore necessary in getting Lancashire back on track and the pair added 131 runs inside 14 overs for the fourth-wicket stand. Brown was the first to bring up his half-century in 39 balls and Croft soon followed suit in 38 deliveries, with both batsmen bring up their fifties with sixes.
Smith and Horton had broken the record for the third-wicket partnership in the previous fixture and Brown and Croft followed their example, surpassing the previous best fourth-wicket made by Mal Loye and Croft against Durham in 2007.
The pair struck a total of 17 boundaries, with Brown smashing the final ball of the innings for six to give Lancashire 169-3 after 19 overs.
Derbyshire's response matched Lancashire's in confidence but a moderately slow start made gave the visitors the edge. Former Lancashire opener, Moore, gave the Falcons their best hope for victory in the early stages of their run chase after Hughes (16) fell with the score at 39-1.
A 35-run stand between Moore and Marcus North put the match back in the balance, but the loss of both batsmen for the addition of eleven runs reinstated Lancashire's hold on the match. Moore was the first to depart after miscommunication led to him being run out and North was caught behind off Tom Smith shortly afterwards for a brisk 26.
At 88-3 the hosts were now on the back-foot and the loss of Wes Durston to Kabir Ali (3-27) made Derbyshire's cause that much harder, as they required 57 from the final four overs. Ali then removed Madsen after contributing 29 from 20 balls, as Derbyshire eventually fell 20 runs short of their target to give Lancashire successive victories in this campaign.
Man of the match:
Steven Croft top-scored for Lancashire with an unbeaten 76 from 52 balls and his return to form in this format of the game will be received warmly by the Old Trafford faithful, who have come to expect so much of him of late in twenty20 cricket. His stand with Brown put a void between the two teams, one which was never overturned despite the best efforts of Moor against his former team. He also delivered the first over of Derbyshire's run chase, affording seven runs, which set the tone for the rest of proceedings, as Lancashire achieved their first win at Derby since 2009.
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