Kiwi batsman Hamish Rutherford hit 71 not out as defending NatWest T20 Blast champions Lancashire Lightning suffered a humbling nine-wicket defeat at Old Trafford against Derbyshire Falcons.
Rutherford's 40-ball demolition helped Derbyshire to record a resounding victory with 32 balls remaining after he and countryman Neil Broom (25*) added an unbeaten partnership worth 94 runs for the second-wicket partnership to send the visitors to victory inside 14 overs.
Captain Steven Croft (31) top-scored for Lancashire, sharing 46 runs for the fourth wicket with Liam Livingstone after the hosts had stumbled to 46/3 on a slow Old Trafford wicket. Setting Derbyshire a semi-competitive target of 132, the visitors made a blistering start through Wes Durston, who hit 30 from 15 balls.
It became clear very quickly that Lancashire had not put enough runs on the board, as Rutherford continued to hit regular boundaries, recording a 24-ball fifty to rub salt into Lancashire's wounds. Made to bat first in a rain-affected match, Lancashire had to battle hard to reach 131/7 after 19 overs, with Tom Smith scoring nine runs on his return to First Team action after more than a year on the sidelines.
Smith was the first wicket to fall for Lancashire when he fell to Jimmy Neesham (2-38) in the second over of the innings and Karl Brown followed for 12, with Shiv Thakor (1-18) claiming the second wicket at 38/2 in the sixth over.
Skipper Croft, who recorded a Twenty20 career-best of 94 not out in this fixture last season sought to turn Lancashire's average start into a positive one, but the batsmen continued to find life hard and boundaries were hard to come by. After showing early signs of promise, South-African Alviro Petersen departed for 19 when he was comprehensively bowled by Alex Hughes (1-23), a wicket that left the Lightning in trouble at 46/3 at the start of the ninth over.
Positive running between the wickets proved to be all that Lancashire could muster, as Derbyshire continued to stem the flow of runs. Leg-spinner Matt Critchley got a few deliveries to turn sharply, adding to Lancashire's already miserable task, as the home side faced seven overs without scoring a boundary.
Croft broke free of the shackles to hit Lancashire's first six of the campaign, spoiling Critchley's economical figures, as he finished with 0-19 from four overs. Boundaries towards the end of the innings helped push Lancashire towards a better score, as the hosts added 48 runs in the last five overs of their innings.
Neesham made a good impression on his debut for the Falcons removing Croft lbw with the second ball of a new spell to send the captain back to the pavilion for 31 from 34 balls and Livingstone followed soon after when he was run out for 24.
Alex Davies hit back-to-back boundaries during his innings of 15 from nine balls but the momentum came too late for Lancashire, as they continued to lose wickets in their desperation to accumulate runs. Arron Lilley was run out coming back for two after he had also struck two boundaries in his knock of 10 from five balls, before Davies was bowled by Andy Carter (1-33) off the final ball of Lancashire's innings.
Lancashire's disappointment could have been satisfied if Derbyshire had found life to be equally difficult on a seemingly sluggish wicket, but there was no such luck for the defending champions, as they were made to suffer a devastating defeat in their T20 opener.
Durston hit two boundaries in the first over from Croft, reaching 24 from just 11 balls after Neil Wagner conceded 16 runs in his first Twenty20 over for Lancashire. Two fours and a six in the second over of the innings gave Derbyshire a tremendous platform and life managed to get even worse for a dejected Lancashire when Gavin Griffiths had to leave the field with a nasty injury.
Attempting to take a catch off his own bowling, Griffiths received treatment on the field when Rutherford hammered the ball back at the young bowler, who was forced to abandon the game after bowling just one ball, as Smith completed his over.
Brief and fleeting respite arrived when George Edwards (1-23) had Durston caught by Wagner for a devastating 30 from 15 balls, but this proved to be the only breakthrough of the innings for Lancashire. Boundaries continued to flow for Derbyshire, who made light work of their task, with Rutherford racing to a 24-ball half-century with his third six.
Derbyshire went on to record a resounding nine-wicket win in the 14th over of their innings, with 32 balls remaining, as Rutherford and Broom - who was unbeaten on 25 - cruised to victory. Lancashire must overcome this resounding defeat quickly, as they prepare to host Surrey in the County Championship tomorrow.
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