Yorkshire retain Emirates trophy with win over Lancashire

Yorkshire Vikings held on to the Emirates Airline T20 trophy by beating Roses rivals Lancashire by 13 runs in the final under lights in Dubai.

Lancashire could only muster 119/9 chasing 133 runs to win, with Luis Reece top-scoring with 35 from 22 deliveries at the top of the innings. Yorkshire made 132/8 batting first, a strong score given the difficult conditions, with Gary Ballance making 46 from 38 balls to lead the Vikings' innings.

The Lightning earned a place in the final after beating UAE in a last-ball thriller in the first semi final, while Yorkshire beat MCC in the second semi by 13 runs, the same margin of victory as in the final.

George Edwards was superb with the ball for the Red Rose, claiming three wickets in Yorkshire's innings, including the crucial scalp of Ballance, who was in tremendous form after making an unbeaten hundred in the two-day Roses friendly earlier this week.

Adam Lyth (7) fell in the third over when he was caught by Reece at mid off, supplying Edwards with his first victim of the innings at 20/1. His replacement, Andrew Hodd, fell in the next over when he chopped-on to Kyle Jarvis (1-26) with an under edge, leaving the White Rose on 23/2.

Ballance continued to find the ropes with his conventional hitting, but he also hit the first of two huge sixes when he lofted Arron Lilley down the ground in the eighth over. He clobbered an even bigger six over wide long on, making the wicket of Alex Lees (28) a much-needed breakthrough when he was caught by Jarvis off Lilley (1-24) at 74/3.

Jack Leaning found himself back in the pavilion after advancing too far down the pitch and he was run out after a smart piece of fielding at short fine leg. Wicket continued to tumble to Lancashire's relief when a bit of extra grip in the pitch forced Will Rhodes to play his shot into the hands of Stephen Parry, who took a good return catch off his own bowling at 97/5.

Approaching his half-century, Ballance departed to a smart catch by Liam Livingstone at deep square leg, Edwards' second wicket after coming back onto bowl at the death. The express paceman added a third to his collection when he had Matthew Waite caught by Reece at long off, with just two runs coming from the penultimate over.

Some late destructive hitting from Steven Patterson, who hit 14 runs from five balls, made all the difference for Yorkshire, as they pushed their way up to 132/8.

A target of 133 was certainly within Lancashire's capabilities, but chasing under the lights made life difficult from the start of the run chase. Reece and Alex Davies started brilliantly and gave Lancashire the ideal start, with Reece leading the charge during his innings of 35 from 22 balls.

The Red Rose were propelled to 51/1 at the end of the powerplay, the perfect platform given the modest target they had been set by their rivals. Davies made 19 from 15 balls, hitting four boundaries before he was caught at backward point by Ballance off Rhodes.

Karl Brown failed to come to the party, adding only four runs to the total before he was stumped by Hodd to the spin bowling of Karl Carver (2-17). Reece fell soon after when he was pinned on the crease and judged lbw to Carver, with these two wickets putting a huge dent in Lancashire's run chase.

Wickets continued to fall for Lancashire, with Livingstone (8) the next batsman to depart, edging behind to Hodd off Rhodes (2-23). Hodd was in action once again when captain Steven Croft edged a delivery from James Wainman (2-25), with the Lighting facing an uphill struggle at 81/5.

Any chance of salvaging the match was put to rest when Luke Procter (9) was trapped lbw by Wainman, who collected his second wicket with five overs remaining. As the run rate continued to climb, so to did Yorkshire's chances of lifting the trophy, with the pressure forcing Jordan Clark to swipe at a delivery from Ben Coad (1-27), one which bowled the Lancashire all-rounder for five.

Patterson claimed his second wicket when he removed Parry for one, a wicket which left Lancashire in a chasm at 103/8, with the Red Rose struggling to avoid being bowled out by their rivals. Lilley made an unbeaten 15 from 12 balls, but it was not nearly enough to redeem the flurry of wickets taken by the Vikings in the middle overs, with Jarvis falling to the penultimate ball of the game when he was bowled by Patterson for six.

Lancashire beat UAE by one run in Airline Tournament

Lancashire Lightning advanced to the final of the Emirates Airline tournament with a tense one-run victory against UAE in dubai.

The home side hit a six off the last ball of the match, but were unable to chase the 145/7 set by Lancashire, with captain Steven Croft top-scoring with 38 not out after being put into bat first.

Laxman Sreekumar hit an unbeaten 61 from 52 balls for UAE, as they looked well set to chase 146. But crucial wickets at regular intervals ensured that Lancashire set up a final with either Yorkshire of MCC later today.

Had Lancashire been beaten, it would have been no shame, given that UAE have recently returned from the Asia Cup, a tournament which saw them beat the likes of Oman and Afghanistan. The Red Rose would have looked back at a scratchy powerplay as a difficult spell, with Tom Smith and Alex Davies struggling to time the ball in the early stages.

The duo added 41 runs for the first wicket, although Smith contributed the majority of the runs, hitting six boundaries in his innings of 33 before he departed to Mohammad Shahzad. Davies also made 33 at a run-a-ball, coming out of his shell after the loss of Smith, now accompanied by Karl Brown.

Davies and Brown shared another 36 runs, with conditions still taking ahold of their efforts to break free and score boundaries. A lack of spin bowlers was surprising, but pace proved to be the more effective route for UAE, until Rohan Mustafa (3-27) came into the attack.

He bowled Davies and had Brown out lbw for 10 in quick succession, which left Lancashire needing another strong partnership, but one which could also accumulate runs fast. Captain Croft attempted to galvanise the innings and he was responsible for the only six of the innings, which he clobbered straight down the ground.

Liam Livingstone was unable to carry his form from the warm-up game against Yorkshire yesterday, falling for nine as Mustafa collected his third scalp of the innings. Croft continued to accumulate runs at a good pace, but smart running between the wickets was vital, with timing and boundaries still hard to come by.

A flurry of run outs saw Jordan Clark return to the pavilion without facing a ball, with Luke Procter (13) and Arron Lilley also failing to get the better of intelligent fielding from UAE, as Lancashire could only muster 145/7.

The Lightning made a good start to their defence of 146, with George Edwards and Kyle Jarvis removing both opening batsmen in quick succession. Jarvis, the pick of the Lancashire attack with figures of 3-35, took the catch off Edwards to remove Shahzad for six, before the Zimbabwean bowled Mustafa for 11, as part of a wicket maiden in the fourth over.

Tidy bowling from the Lancashire spinners was inhabited by the dangerous Laxman, who continued to hit boundaries freely and keep UAE in line with the required rate. A much-needed breakthrough came for Lancashire when Shabbir Ahmed was trapped lbw by Stephen Parry (1-28) at 78/3, as the tourists started to apply pressure to the opposition.

Spin bowling might not have been crucial for UAE, but it is a cornerstone of Lancashire's Twenty20 game plan and today was no exception. Mohammad Usman became the fourth UAE casualty, after he was brilliantly caught by Livingstone off Procter (1-6).

Laxman continued to be the danger man for the home side, lofting Parry for six to release some of the pressure that had been applied by the loss of two quick wickets. Livingstone's fielding played a crucial part in the Lightning's slender victory, as his rocket throw from the boundary allowed Lancashire to run out Qasim with the score now at 107/5.

However, this wicket brought Amjad Javed to the crease and he hit his first two deliveries for six, the second of which came from a no-ball, which really put a dent in Lancashire's confidence. Economical bowling from Edwards in the penultimate over gave Lancashire renewed hope heading into the final six deliveries and Jarvis backed up his efforts with a tidy over of his own to take Lancashire over the line.

A thumping six from Mohammad Naveed left UAE just short of their target, although there was a degree of confusion about the score at the time, which caused many people in the ground to believe that the game had been tied.

Livingstone fifty helps Lancashire to tour victory in Dubai

An eye-catching half-century from Liam Livingstone (52) guided Lancashire Lightning to a 33-run win against an Emirates Airline side, as the Red Rose warmed up for the Airline Tournament in Dubai tomorrow with an emphatic victory.

Lancashire largely found life tough in their warm-up game, stumbling to 49/4 as the top-order batsman struggled to adapt to conditions. But Livingstone's crucial fifty and an all-round strong display from the bowling unit ensured that the reigning T20 champions did not suffer what would have been a shocking defeat.

The tourists posted 137/8 in 20 overs and were indebted to Livingstone's knock, with several other Lancashire batsmen making starts and failing to kick on. The Emirates side were unable to chase their target of 138, reaching 104/8 at The Sevens Stadium. George Edwards was the pick of the Lancashire attack, claiming figures of 2-3 from three overs.

Winning the toss and batting first, the Lightning clawed their way to 39/2 at the end of the powerplay, after losing both openers cheaply. Alex Davies (2) was first to depart, caught at backward point by Ahmed Nizam off Nisar Khan (1-16) and former skipper Tom Smith followed at the end of the fifty over, top-edging behind off Krishna Chandran for 16.

Chandran proved to be the thorn in Lancashire's bid for a strong total, as he finished with figures of 3-15, also accounting for Karl Brown (11) and captain Steven Croft (13). The first stable partnership emerged when Jordan Clark and Livingstone came together for the fifth wicket, as they added 39 runs to give the innings a platform to build upon.


Boundaries were hard to come across, with more sixes being hit than fours, but the pair ran well between the wickets to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Clark fell lbw for a hard-fought 19, as Livingstone started to accelerate, smothering a straight six to take him to a 35-ball fifty.

However, he fell to the next delivery when he was stumped for 52, losing his bat in the process to give Silva the first of two wickets. Silva had Kyle Jarvis out to the last ball of the innings, also stumped, as Lancashire set a modest target of 138.

Any fears of a Lancashire defeat were put to rest early on in the Emirates run-chase as Jarvis started with a maiden, before Edwards removed both opening batsmen. He had Cheema caught behind by Davies without scoring and Jarvis collected his first victim when Hussain (4) was caught by Smith at mid-off.

Edwards struck again in his third over, removing Pawar for nine, with Smith once again taking the catch, a wicket which left the Emirates side in trouble at 20/3 in the sixth over. Nizel Fernendes (31) hit the first of two sixes in the ninth over of the innings, as the first true sign of danger for Lancashire emerged.

Fernendes and Chandran, who top-scored for Emirates with 32 not out after his antics with the ball, fought well to resist the high quality of Lancashire's bowlers, but the slow start to the innings made it hard for them to keep up with the run rate.

Lilley accounted for the dangerous Fernendes when he was caught by Croft at 54/4 and spin started to take ahold of the run-chase when Stephen Parry removed Ahmed Nizam for two, with both Lancashire spinners claiming figures of 1-6 from two overs.

Livingstone (1-11) added to his vital fifty with a wicket of his own, trapping Dahanayaka lbw in the 14th over. Silva then gifted Parry a routine catch, supplying Croft (1-10) with a breakthrough, as all four of Lancashire's spinners took a wicket apiece to increase the pressure on the home side.

Gavin Griffiths returned to leave another dent in the Emirates run-chase, although by the time he came back onto bowl, Lancashire were firmly in the driving seat. The wicket of Siddique at 82/8 came with the Emirates side needing 56 to win with little more than two overs left.

The hosts avoided being bowled out by Lancashire, but could only manage 104/8 from their 20 overs, as Lancashire collected a morale-boosting win in preparation for the T20 tournament tomorrow.

Fifties for Procter and Reece in draw with Yorkshire

Lancashire 256/6 after 90 overs - Procter 64, Reece 58; Carver 2-93, Bresnan 1-18

Luke Procter and Luis Reece both made half centuries as Lancashire and Yorkshire's two-day friendly encounter in Dubai ended in a draw.

Lancashire reached 256/6 at close, still trailing Yorkshire's total by 57 runs, but the Red Rose demonstrated that they have the potential to compete in the upcoming season, having tested their credentials against a formidable opponent in the current county champions.

A sturdy partnership worth 80 runs between Tom Smith and Luke Procter allowed Lancashire to recover from a nervous start to their innings, before Luis Reece and Liam Livingstone cemented the innings with a flamboyant partnership.

Smith (31) and Procter (64) came together at 29/2 with Yorkshire in the ascendancy, but managed to get Lancashire back on track with a determined partnership at the ICC Academy Grounds. Yesterday, the White Rose notched up 313/6 dec, with Gary Ballance hitting an unbeaten century and Andrew Gale also carrying his bat with a brisk fifty.

In reply to Yorkshire's strong total, the Red Rose made a shaky start in Dubai, losing both opening batsman inside the first hour of the day. Reaching 22/0 before the first threatening delivery, 19-year-old Haseeb Hameed was first to depart when he shouldered arms to Jack Brooks (1-25) and was bowled for 10.

Although it took Yorkshire longer to make the first breakthrough, their second-wicket partnership was far more significant than Lancashire's. Karl Brown edged behind to Andrew Hodd off Tim Bresnan (1-18), who struck in his first over to leave the Red Rose in discomfort at 28/2.

Lancashire needed a strong partnership to prevent a devastating top-order collapse, which arrived when former captain Smith and Procter came together for the third wicket. Procter in particular looked to dispatch the bad ball and dig in against a ferocious Yorkshire bowling attack, with the likes of Brooks, Bresnan and Ryan Sidebottom all featuring for the White Rose.

Smith, however, was looking to test his credentials against the current county champions after an extended absence from the first team. Procter continued to dispatch anything wide of his off-stump, scoring seven boundaries on his way to fifty, which he registered in 119 balls.

Their partnership continued to develop unscathed, until Matthew Fisher (1-18) encouraged an edge to Hodd, as Smith was caught behind for 31. Procter fell soon after, now accompanied by wicketkeeper Alex Davies, edging to Bresnan at slip off the spin bowling of Karl Carver (2-93).

Carver continued to bowl a tidy line throughout the afternoon session as Davies and Luis Reece survived until the tea interval. After the break, Davies began to open his shoulders, hitting Carver to the boundary regularly, before departing for 28 when he was caught off the bowling of Jack Leaning (1-21).

Reece adopted a similar approach, with his new partner, Livingstone, also enjoying the aggressive route. They added a further 88 runs for the sixth wicket in less than 20 overs, as Reece progressed to a 102-ball fifty, with three fours and a six.

Carver claimed his second victim when he had Reece stumped for 58, with his wicket all-but signalling the end of this two-day fixture. Livingstone threatened to become the third Lancashire batsman to reach fifty, but fell short of this milestone when the match was drawn.

Ballance century spearheads strong day for Yorkshire

Yorkshire 313/6 declared after 89.1 overs, Ballance 103 (retired), Gale 64 (retired), Bailey 2-21

A superb century from Gary Ballance has put Yorkshire in a commanding position in their two-day friendly game against rivals Lancashire at the ICC Academy Grounds.

Lancashire were put to task by the County Champions in their opening tour fixture in Dubai, after a terrific innings by Ballance, who shared a determined partnership worth 127 runs with Alex Lees (49). He then added a further 85 runs with skipper Andrew Gale, consolidating a sturdy platform into a hard-fought day for the Lancashire fielders.

The tour began perfectly for Lancashire when Tom Bailey (2-21) had Adam Lyth trapped lbw with the very first ball of the game, but this glimmer of success was to be the only joy for the Red Rose in the morning session.

Bailey also made a crucial breakthrough after lunch, removing Lees before he could make fifty, forcing him to edge behind to Alex Davies with the score at 127/1.

Lyth's dismissal was welcomed by Lancashire, with the opening batsman vying to prove his credentials to the England selectors, but it was another England exile who would hurt Ashley Giles' side.

Ballance and Lees added 110 runs for the first wicket before lunch, reversing the strong start made by Bailey and ultimately giving Yorkshire the upper hand by close of play.

Lancashire, captained by Karl Brown in the absence of Steven Croft, welcomed the return of Tom Smith, who was out for the majority of last season with a persistent back injury.

Ballance accumulated boundaries at regular intervals, progressing to his half-century in 80 balls. He then moved to an impressive ton in 188 balls, scoring 18 fours in the process.

Ballance retired immediately after reaching three figures, with Jack Leaning coming in to bat just before the tea interval. Leaning became the third Yorkshire batsman to retire when he had progressed to 35 from 62 balls, with Tim Bresnan enjoying a late rally in the evening session alongside Andrew Hodd (6*).

As Ballance was approaching his century, Gale fired his way to a brisk half-century in 67 deliveries, with five boundaries and one six. Skipper Gale then retired on 64 from 96 deliveries, before Leaning and Bresnan added another 49 runs.

Bresnan made 46 before he fell to Liam Livingstone (1-22), picking out Arron Lilley on the boundary to signal close of play in Dubai, with Yorkshire declaring on 313/6.

For live updates of the match, click here

Lancashire Pre-season schedule

Lancashire will take part in the annual Emirates Airline T20 tournament as part of their pre-season tour to Dubai this March.

The reigning Twenty20 champions will take on Yorkshire, United Arab Emirates or the MCC in the semi-final at The Sevens Stadium.

Lancashire will play rivals Yorkshire in a two-day match, before potentially facing the White Rose county in the T20 tournament a few days later.

After completing the double over Yorkshire in the Natwest T20 Blast, Lancashire will be hoping for a better performance in the Airline tournament than last year. The Lightning were beaten by 21 runs in the semi-final last year when Jonny Bairstow guided the Vikings to a comfortable victory.

Lancashire have decided not to travel to Sri Lanka, as they did last year, but instead to challenge UAE in a two-day match to complete their tour preparations. The Red Rose county will then fly back to Manchester to take part in two pre-season friendlies against Somerset and Cambridge MCCU respectively.

This is the first of four years in which Lancashire will make Dubai their permanent pre-season home, after agreeing to a deal to deal in October. Yorkshire and the MCC will open the tour to Abu Dhabi, with Ian Bell set to captain the MCC side in the annual champion county match.

Tour fixture list:

• March 14/15 - Yorkshire v Lancashire, two-day match at ICC Academy Grounds
• March 17 - Emirates Airline T20 v Lancashire, warm-up match at The Sevens Stadium
• March 18 - Emirates Airline T20 tournament at The Sevens Stadium
• March 21/22 - UAE v Lancashire, two-day match at ICC Academy Grounds

Lancashire have named a 22-man squad for the tour of Dubai:

Tom Bailey, Karl Brown, Nathan Buck, Glen Chapple, Jordan Clark, Steven Croft, Alex Davies, George Edwards, Gavin Griffiths, Haseeb Hameed, Kyle Jarvis, Rob Jones, Simon Kerrigan, Toby Lester, Arron Lilley, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Stephen Parry, Luke Procter, Luis Reece and Tom Smith.

All information from Lancashire's matches will be available on my Twitter profile with match information, including reports and images, being posted on this blog. 

Hameed signs four-year contract with Lancashire

Lancashire opening batsman Haseeb Hameed is the latest member of the team to extend their stay at Emirates Old Trafford, agreeing to a four-year contract with the Red Rose county. 

The England Under-19 joint captain featured in four Championship matches last season, as Lancashire achieved promotion to the first division. The talented young batsman recorded 257 runs in six innings, scoring 91 against Division Two champions Surrey on home soil.

"When Ash [Ashley Giles] came up and offered me the deal, I was delighted to accept it and commit my future to this club," said Hameed.

"Lancashire have shown great faith in me throughout my development and have been crucial to my progress as a cricketer. I'm still learning the game and there is no other place I would rather play my cricket than Lancashire, my home county.

"I've been at the club since being a little boy - I think I was nine when I joined - I've come through the age groups and got a taste of playing for the first team last year."

Hameed is one of many Lancashire players to commit their future to the club this winter, with Steven Croft, Alex Davies, Stephen Parry, Kyle Jarvis, Tom Bailey and Gavin Griffiths all signing new deals since the end of the 2015 season.

Hameed during his innings of 91 against Surrey at Emirates Old Trafford

Hameed, who made his Lancashire first-class debut against Glamorgan in August, seized his opportunity at the top of the order alongside Karl Brown after the club revealed that they would not be renewing Paul Horton's contract.

The talented batsman, born in Bolton, averaged 42.83 in four-day cricket, but he is yet to make an appearance in white-ball cricket. Hameed may only have played a handful of matches for Lancashire last season, but he has already impressed the Old Trafford faithful.

His determination at the crease makes him a dependable opening batsman and he overcame his tender age against Surrey at Old Trafford with a defiant innings of 91 from 234 deliveries, although this only delayed the inevitable, as Surrey lifted the Division Two title.

Lancashire's Director of Cricket, Ashley Giles, believes that his resilience at the crease will allow him to compete in the first division this summer and expressed his desire to retain young cricketers in the future.

Giles said: "He really impressed me in the four first-class games he played last year and he showed that he has an experienced head on young shoulders.

"We have now been able to retain a number of our young, home-grown cricketers on long-term contracts. This is hugely important to us as a club as they represent the future of Lancashire cricket."