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| Lancashire celebrate on their way to beating Derbyshire in their first match of the season. |
Lancashire and Kent meet at Emirates Old
Trafford for an early-season battle of top versus bottom in the second
division.
The two teams experienced conflicting starts to the County
Championship, with Lancashire launching themselves to the top of the table with
a 250-run victory against Derbyshire. Kent meanwhile suffered a five-wicket
defeat at the hands of Essex in a low-scoring affair at Chelmsford.
The hosts are aiming to replicate this
victory and ultimately mimic a superior run of form to return to the Division
One at the first time of asking, as they did the last time they were in the
second-tier. Kent will feel frustrated that they were defeated in their
Championship curtain raiser, due to the fact that they managed a slender first
innings lead and had Essex 66/4 in their pursuit of 198.
In an interview with Ashley Giles this
week, the new Head Coach at Lancashire said: “I thought the all-round
performance of the team at Derby was extremely good in that there were
contributions from a lot of guys, not just a couple.
“All the way down they fought when it was
difficult, when they had opportunities to make an impact they did and
ultimately it was a tricky game because Derby played well,” he added.
Giles will be hoping to carry some of the
confidence earned from his inaugural match as Head Coach into his first
Championship match at Old Trafford, as Lancashire look to extend their lead at
the top of the table.
Impressive performances from wicketkeeper
Alex Davies, who recorded his highest first-class score for Lancashire, and
Kyle Jarvis, who claimed 5-13 on the final morning to reduce Derby to 114 all
out were pleasing for a Lancashire side very much involved in a transition
period after a number of wholesale changes over the winter.
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| Jarvis played a crucial role in Lancashire's victory. |
Kent’s side has not changed all that much
from last year, although there is a sense that Jimmy Adams’s men should be
finishing higher than they did in 2014. The
acquisition of Joe Denly was welcome news to the Canterbury faithful who were
frustrated by the lack of runs and - more to the point – lack of consistency of
the more senior players at Kent.
The younger players at Kent carry a lot of
responsibility than those at other counties and they are, perhaps, a side that
could go under the radar this year if they are able to find some form with the
bat, although in fairness they were not the only casualty of early-season
conditions.
Key
men:
Lancashire’s inability to score runs was a
big issue last year, but South-African Ashwell
Prince remains the one dependable figure in a top order desperate to find
form in the second division. The veteran batsman scored centuries in both
innings the last time these two teams met in a four-day encounter at Canterbury
and his role in their promotion in 2013 proved vital alongside Australian Simon
Katich. A return 1,160 runs was by far Lancashire’s biggest return with the bat
in 2014 and if the Red Rose are depending on Prince and countryman Alviro
Petersen then they will have to make the most of his abilities after he
reversed his decision to retire at the end of last season.
Prince started the season with scores of 21
and 97 against Derbyshire and in both innings he was able to stand strong while
so many others came and went. His second-innings partnership with captain Steven Croft worth 160 runs proved to be the turning point with the visitors
struggling on 43/4 at a stage when the game could still have gone either way.
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| Prince is a dependable top-order batsman for Lancashire. |
A sedate start for Adam Riley did not do his potential as an off-spinner justice in a
match which seemed to be dominated by fast bowlers, as is the case at this time
of the season. However, Old Trafford wickets tend to offer something for
spinners, particularly as the match progresses and the footmarks left by fast
bowlers come into play, an aspect which could make Simon Kerrigan one to look
out for.
Considering Kent’s mediocre mid-table
finish, a return of 48 wickets an average of 32.58 was a respectable effort for
Riley, who has perhaps received more England speculation than he might have
done for his efforts were England not in the midst of a crisis in finding a
frontline spinner. Nevertheless, he remains an exciting prospect and will be
looking to simply get some overs under his belt after bowling just the one in the
entirety of the first match at Chelmsford.
Team
news:
Lancashire have named a 14-man
team including Karl Brown, with Nathan Buck and Jordan Clark expected
to miss out as they did in the first game. Peter Siddle is likely to enjoy the
harder wicket at Old Trafford after a modest return of three wickets on his Lancashire
debut.
Fabian Cowdrey is the only omission from
the squad after scoring 18 and 0 against Essex in Kent’s opening fixture. As
ever, veteran Darren Stevens will be vital with bat and ball, as will former
Hampshire all-rounder Matt Coles who made his return to Kent over the winter.
Lancashire
team: Tom Smith (captain), Tom Bailey, Nathan Buck,
Karl Brown, Jordan Clark, Steven Croft, Alex Davies (wicketkeeper), Paul
Horton, Kyle Jarvis, Simon Kerrigan, Alviro Petersen, Ashwell Prince, Luis
Reece, Peter Siddle.
Kent
team: Rob Key (captain), Joe Denly, Daniel
Bell-Drummond, Brendan Nash, Sam Northeast, Darren Stevens, Sam Billings
(wicketkeeper), Matt Coles, Mitchell Claydon, Adam Riley, Matt Hunn, Ivan
Thomas, Charlie Hartley.
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| Denly is expected to play a huge role at Kent this season after leaving Middlesex. |
Weather
and conditions:
The weather becomes typically unpredictable
as the match progresses although this fixture is expected to start well with a
generally bright and dry first day. When the sun goes behind the clouds it can
be uncomfortably cold at Old Trafford although wind should offer assistance to
the fast bowlers, particularly in the morning session of each day. Moving into
the later stages of the game rain could become a factor but it is not expected
to be a permanent fixture at any stage. For a full weather forecast click here.
Date: 26 – 29th April
Ground: Emirates Old Trafford
Time: 11.00am
Umpires:
Jeff Evans and Tim Robinson
Odds
(via SkyBet): Lancashire 8/13, Kent 11/8
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