Luke Adams' Cricket Blog: Preview: Kent Spitfires v Lancashire Lightning Natwest T20 Blast Quarter-Final

Wednesday, 12 August 2015

Preview: Kent Spitfires v Lancashire Lightning Natwest T20 Blast Quarter-Final

Jos Buttler is available for selection in Lancashire's Natwest T20 Blast quarter-final against Kent Spitfires at Canterbury this Friday.

Lancashire enter this important fixture having beaten the same opposition on this ground in the Royal London One Day Cup by 51 runs after Liam Livingstone's impressive List A debut. The explosive batsman scored 91 as he salvaged a disappointing start in his 110-run partnership with captain Steven Croft.

These two sides have never met in the Twenty20 competition before, but it is fair to say that this game will be entertaining and close, if the pedigree of Kent and Lancashire is anything to go by. Kent stormed the South Group without the assistance of any overseas players, earning a home quarter-final after finishing top of their group. Lancashire scraped through to the knockout stages on virtue of a superior net run rate, but a win against the Spitfires would secure a sixth Finals Day for the side who is yet to win the competition.

Lancashire appear to have secured promotion to the first division in the four-day game, while their victory at Canterbury in the 50-over contest resurrected their hopes for reaching the quarter-finals after a disappointing start to the campaign. Kent, on the other hand, would argue that the T20 is the format which they have the best chance of succeeding in and so they will be aiming to continue their ruthless form having lost only 4 games in the group stages.

Key Players:

Sam Northeast has been a breakthrough success for his county this season. The Kent one-day skipper continues to lead the way with impressive performances and his accumulation of 627 runs at an average of 52.25 was imperative to his side's progression to the quarter-finals.

Jos Buttler may not always be available for Lancashire due to his central contract with the national team, but when he does play for the Red Rose he demonstrates an array of talent befitting of an Ashes winner.

When he featured for Lancashire against Yorkshire at Headingley, his innings of 71 not out guided Ashley Giles' side to victory from a seemingly dank position, smashing five sixes in his explosive knock.