Lancashire Vs. Worcestershire Day 3.

Strong Batting Display Gives Lancashire Edge.

Although the result in this fixture seems to have been written for sometime, Lancashire gave a strong account of themselves in their first batting display of the season, accumulating a total of 250-3. The rain caused further delays to occur, but at the end of the third day the home side have a strong platform to achieve more bonus points, in what looks to be a certain draw.

Unlike most fixtures this morning, Lancashire managed to achieve the scheduled start time of 11:00 and the with Paul Horton (16*) and Luke Procter (24*) seeming to be very confident at 42-0, the day promised to provide much more entertainment for the Lancashire faithful than the previous two days.

The score passed 50 quickly and the comfortable air of Lancashire’s opening pair was restored, after the great start they had made in the evening session on day two.

Procter (54) continued to score quicker than his partner and he was able to reach his half-century in the best possible manner, striking Russell for six, taking him to 53 from 116 balls. Unfortunately though, he was caught at mid-on by Andrew off Russell, as Lancashire lost their first wicket at 97.

By lunchtime, Lancashire had reached 112-1, giving them a strong platform for the afternoon session. The home side capitalised on their position and joined by Karl Brow, Horton continued on his already impressive role in this match.

The pair brought up the 50 partnership, with the score now at 147-1 and Lancashire looked increasingly settled to make a commanding total.

Horton joined his opening partner, reaching 50 from 179 balls, hitting 7 fours in a slow, but important innings, as Lancashire went in search of their first batting point.

Their authority continued to grow, until a rather disappointing mix-up saw Horton run out for 66, as he decided at too late a stage to turn around and failed to make his ground.

Ashwell Prince joined Brown at the crease, but with the score at 172-2, the players were frustrated by yet more rain, forcing an early tea interval to be signalled by the umpires. Every time an inspection was scheduled, further rain fell and it seemed as though play might not resume.

Fortunately though play restarted at 5:20, with plenty of time remaining for both sides to claim their first bonus points of the innings. With Lancashire needing 28 more runs for the first batting point, it seemed as though they would acquire the first point of the innings - but when Brown edged to Mooen Ali off Alan Richardson for 34, Worcestershire reduced Lancashire to 178-3 and went to 4 points, to Lancashire’s 2.

For the first time this season Simon Katich and Ashwell Prince were batting with one another and the very presence of 122 test caps brought a different feel to Old Trafford. The pair enjoyed early success and a four from Katich took Lancashire past 200 as they earned their first batting bonus point of the season. The partnership continued to show how vital their expertise may be this season, as they passed 50 for the fourth wicket in just 64 balls.

The day closed at 250-3, with Prince (34*) and Katich (25*) in full flow and looking very dangerous indeed. Worcestershire’s lead of 84 runs now looks minimal as both of the overseas stars will surely aim to go pass their score and in search of the maximum amount of batting bonus points.

Lancashire Vs. Worcestershire Day 2.

Rain Halts Worcestershire Progress on Second Day.

Rain was certainly the story of the day, all over the country, and after a unsatisfying first days play, Lancashire were subjected to further frustration, as they failed to take any wickets before heavy rain interrupted play for nearly three hours.

Finishing the first day on 227-6, Worcestershire were in a much more commanding position at the start of the days play, with captain Daryl Mitchell and Gareth Andrew both capable of causing Lancashire a problem.

The seventh wicket partnership continued to progress slowly and indeed annoy the home side as Worcestershire passed 250-6 and earned a second batting bonus point.

Rain fell in the morning session but in comparison to the afternoon delay, it was nothing more a drop, as play resumed with half an hour before lunch. But Lancashire’s luck had not changed as the visitors went in to lunch with the score at 301-6.

As the Lancashire players left the field, after a tough and unsuccessful morning session, light rain began to fell once more and continued to do so throughout the afternoon.

Eventually the players got back out, but both sides, especially Lancashire will have felt dejected by their progress in this match, which was made worse by the conditions that bring us all back to the rainy summer of 2012.

The second rain delay seemed to benefit the home side much more, as the first breakthrough of the day finally came for Chapple, with captain Mitchell edging behind to Cross for 74. He seemed disappointed with the decision, but in a partnership worth 96, the damage had certainly been done at 315-7.

Gareth Andrew (52) soon followed, but not before reaching a well-deserved 50 from 96 balls, containing 3 fours and a huge six he hit yesterday evening – but Procter claimed his third wicket of the match when Andrew played another big shot to Wayne White on the boundary.

The Worcestershire tail crumbled under the weight of Lancashire’s newfound confidence, as they fell from 315-6 to 334 all out. Further wickets for Procter (4-58) and Chapple (2-71) brought the innings to a close with a further 26 overs to play in the day, under the floodlights.

The turn around was delayed by an alarm that set-off in the player’s pavilion, but when Lancashire’s openers, Paul Horton and Luke Procter stepped out to the wicket, they were everything but unsettled by interruption.

Play was slow, but the pair managed an unbeaten stand of 42, as play ended at 6:50. Horton (16*) Procter (24*) have given Lancashire a platform for the third day and at the very least the home side will aim to muster so batting bonus points from tomorrow's proceedings. 

Lancashire Vs. Worcestershire Day 1.

Debutant White Shines in Championship Opener.

Lancashire’s season got off to a steady start, as their opponents, Worcestershire reached 227-6 at close of play. The stand-out performance came from winter signing, Wayne White, who ended with figures of 2-49 but the efforts of Moeen Ali prevented Lancashire from dominating the first days play.

After winning the toss at 10:30 this morning, the Lancashire skipper elected to field first, with the early season seam movement encouraging this decision. All of today’s tosses ended in the same way, which showed how fearful the counties were of batting on the first day of the season.

For a long spell this fear appeared to be unjustified, as Worcestershire opening batsmen, Matt Pardoe and Michael Johnson faced out the threat of Glen Chapple and Kyle Hogg. In the end it was the first change in bowling that brought the breakthrough, from none other than debutant all-rounder, Wayne White. After a frustrating period of 15 overs, White was introduced into the attack and with his first ball he dismissed Pardoe (13), who top edged the ball to Chapple at mid-off. Soon after that Luke Procter trapped Johnson LBW for 18, as Worcestershire stumbled to 36-2. Despite this early blip, Worcester now had two very dangerous batsmen at the crease in Moeen Ali and Thilan Samaraweera and the pair added a further 36 runs to the total before the lunchtime interval.

After the break, the home side were therefore keen to make a quick breakthrough and after a tough battle with Samaraweera (28), Simon Kerrigan forced an edge through to Gareth Cross, with the score now 93-3.

Ali persisted to frustrate the Lancashire bowling attack as he passed 50 off 97, with 7 fours and 1 six and, assisted by Alexi Kervezee (6), Worcestershire passed 100 in style, as Ali smashed a six off Kerrigan. But the latter was unable to provide any long-term support for Worcestershire’s standout performer, edging to Croft at second-slip, as White picked-up his second wicket.

Neil Pinner and Ali continued to add to the Worcestershire total, but the run rate slowed down severely as the light began to fade after tea. As the final session commenced, the visitors were looking the stronger of the two sides, due to the presence of Moeen Ali. He continued his onslaught on the Lancashire attack, but was undone when he tried to smash Kerrigan for a second six, as he was caught well by Ashwell Prince for 78, with the score now 177-5.

With Ali gone, the dominance had now swayed back in the favor of the home side, but Worcestershire were determined to dig in and produce a score of substance and Worcestershire skipper, Daryl Mitchell, who was due to open the batting until a late illness delayed his role in this match, joined pinner at the crease. The pair managed to irritate Lancashire for a long spell in the evening session, but Pinner was out with two overs left in the day, edging behind off Procter for 29.

Due to the late breakthrough, Lancashire ended the day in a slightly stronger position, claiming two bowling bonus points, but after putting Worcestershire into bat, they would have hoped for more than 6 wickets. Procter, White and Kerrigan all finished with two wickets, with Wayne White’s debut standing out in a long and difficult first day of the county season. Ending on 227-6, Mitchell (36*) and Gareth Andrew (2*) will face a tough morning session, as they attempt to add to Worcestershire’s slow start to the season, but the weather may not be so kind on day two.

Match Preview: Lancashire vs. Worcestershire - LVCC.

Match Preview: Lancashire vs. Worcestershire - LVCC.

Teams:

Lancashire: 

(12-man squad): Chapple (c), Brown, Croft, Cross (w), Hogg, Horton, Katich, Kerrigan, Procter, Prince, Smith, White.


Worcestershire:

(12-man squad): Mitchell (c), Pardoe, Ali, Samaraweera, Kervezee, Pinner, Johnson (w), Andrew, Jones, Russell, Richardson, Choudhry.

Preview of the opposition:

Having finished bottom of division one last season, Worcestershire will want to make this season count. They are certainly one of the strongest outfits in the second division and will be competing for promotion. The overseas signing of Thilan Samaraweera is very promising, bringing a great deal of experience to a young side. On the flip side, the older players in the current squad are set to give them their best chance for promotion and such players include Daryl Mitchell and Alan Richardson. The consistence of Gareth Andrew with bat and ball will also be vital. As a bowling unit they have also got a lot of potential and Richardson is likely to compete for the top wicket taker in the division. Worcestershire have, like many counties, suffered a great deal from losing the talent they have produced. Gareth Batty, Steven Davies and of course Stephen Moore have all left the club in past years, but this winter, they lost perhaps one of their most significant players, in Vikram Solanki, who has moved on to Surrey. 

Key Player:

Although the weather may have already settled this tie, the chances of Alan Richardson's fast bowling making some kind of impact are still very high. In the early stages of the season, the seam movement can be unpredictable making him a real threat. The toss will be an interesting moment tomorrow morning and will be a strong indication of how fearful both sides are of this movement on the first day.

Forecast:                

Wednesday

10°C4°C4MPHSOUTH SOUTH EASTERLY

Thursday

8°C4°C12MPHSOUTH WESTERLY

Friday

9°C2°C12MPHWEST NORTH WESTERLY

Saturday

11°C9°C13MPHSOUTH SOUTH EASTERLY

Lancashire Season Preview.

Lancashire Preview:

2012 in a nutshell: 

The return of Ashwell Prince (left) will be vital to Lancashire's
 chances, as will Steven Croft (right).

The disappointment of being relegated last season will have hit the 2011 County Champions very hard indeed. Lancashire managed just one win in the four day campaign last season and have it all to do to regain first division cricket. In the one-day formats they were much more impressive, finishing top of Group A in the Clydesdale Bank 40 competition, only to lose in the semi-final versus Warwickshire while they experienced an unusally average t20 campaign, failing to qualify from the Northern Division. Lancashire proved once again the importance of youth players in their squad, as they were able to utilise their homegrown talent in the one-day matches and retain fitness levels for the Championship. But they were unable to prevent relegation, due to bad weather and a series of poor batting performances, an area that the coach Peter Moores will be keen to address.

Ins: 

Kabir Ali (Hampshire), Alex Davies (Youth), Gavin Griffiths (Youth), Luis Reece (Youth), Aaron Lilley (Youth), Simon Katich (Hampshire), Wayne White (Leicestershire).

Outs: 

Naqaash Tahir (Released), Sajid Mahmood (Essex), Gary Keedy (Surrey).

Overseas Player:

In Simon Katich, Lancashire have signed a prolific all-rounder, who is certain to play a key role in their bid for promotion. With a first class batting average of 52.04, the 37-year-old will look to account for the weakness in Lancashire’s batting. The Australian left-hander has played 56 Tests and achieved 25 half centuries, converting ten of which into hundreds. He is also a capable spin bowler, providing aid to Simon Kerrigan and Stephen Parry, after the departure of veteran Gary Keedy. He promises to be an engaging and dependable figure in the one-day formats, having guided Hampshire to success in both the Clydesdale Bank 40 and t20 competitions. Katich is likely to play an instrumental part in Lancashire’s team this season and will be hopeful of making a bigger impression than the previous overseas signings at the club. Over the past few years, big names such as Nathan Astle and Sanath Jayasuriya have promised success and made little difference to Lancashire’s chances. Katich will therefore be keen to prove the critics wrong and boost Lancashire after the disappointment of last season. Additionally, the return of Ashwell Prince will be vital to Lancashire's chances of promotion and as the top run scorer last season, their will be a lot of pressure on him to repeat and improve on this. 

Key Player:

There is no doubting that the Lancashire skipper, Glen Chapple, will be a key figure in his team’s bid for promotion. His ability to take wickets has been an ever-present attribute of his game, but in recent years his fitness has restricted him from playing to his full potential. Over the course of the season, it is likely that Steven Croft will be Lancashire’s key player for a number of reasons. Croft has had spells as the captain at Lancashire and with much of the squad comprising of young talent, Croft is now considered to be one of the senior players in the team. His primary task this season is to utilise his all-round game, in order to help Lancashire in the Championship, as he has done since he established himself as one the first names on the team sheet. In last year’s County Championship campaign, Croft achieved an average of 28.96, which by his standards must be considered below par. However, in the Clydesdale Bank 40 competition he had an outstanding average of 57.00 and filled the shoes of Chapple during his fitness issues. This season he will have to step up even further, judging by the standards he has set for himself and his future role at the club. He is therefore Lancashire’s key asset, in terms of their overall chances for success in the 2013 season.

One to watch: 

Given the nature of Lancashire’s squad, there are a number of younger players to keep an eye on this season. They have already proven the importance of youth, after winning the championship with a large number of home-grown players and are continuing to operate under the same ethos this year, depsite their relegation.  Picking one player is difficult, but the name spoken frequently by Lancashire fans as one for the future is none other than Simon Kerrigan. Now that Gary Keedy has joined Surrey, Kerrigan and Stephen Parry both have a responsibility to fufill this season, but the former is likely to play the biggest role because he will feature in their Championship campaign, which will be the pinnacle of Lancashire’s season. Kerrigan was Lancashire’s top wicket-taker in last year’s four-day contest, with 44 wickets, and it is expected that he will push for this feat once more.

How they’ll fare: 

After winning the Championship title in 2011, Lancashire looked like one of the strongest outfits in the first division. But they were deservedly relegated last season after managing to win just one of their sixteen matches. Wayne White promises to be a fantastic signing in all three formats, but, primarily he will add depth to Lancashire’s fast bowling for the Championship campaign. Lancashire need to take more responsibility for their batting this year and runs must come from their openers, Paul Horton and Stephen Moore, and less so from the middle order. The bowling department has suffered slightly after Gary Keedy’s departure, but Simon Kerrigan has proven his potential as Lancashire’s front line spinner. Lancashire are no strangers to the fluctuation between the two divisions and certainly have the quality required for promotion, either automatically or as champions, and anything less will be considered a disappointment to Peter Moores.

Although the one-day competitions might not take priority this season, Lancashire are likely to be strong contenders, given the success of last year’s Clydesdale Bank 40 campaign and the signings they have made. Having lost in last year’s semi-final, the only way to top it this time would be to reach Lords and perhaps lift the trophy. There is certainly room for improvement in the t20, after failing to qualify for the knockout stages. There is no reason why Lancashire cannot reach Finals Day this year, but the nature of the game promises nothing to any team, regardless of previous encounters. However, the Lightning’s record in the t20 format is one of the strongest on the county circuit and they have every chance of living up to this expectation. The overall success of their season will be judged predominantly by the Championship table in September and where they are situated.