Lightning Strikes Outlaws
Nottinghamshire Outlaws 179-7, Lancashire Lightning 181-4
County cricket returned to Blackpool’s Stanley Park on Sunday as the Vitality Blast T20 game between Lancashire Lightning and Nottinghamshire Outlaws attracted a healthy crowd in excess of 2500. And the majority of the spectators went away delighted as Lancashire won the game comfortably by six wickets, chasing down Nottinghamshire’s total of 179-7.
Dane Vilas won the toss for the Lightning and put the visitors in to bat and Alex Hales, who was later to become a crowd favourite as he engaged in friendly banter with spectators, got them off to a rapid start. He struck Tom Hartley’s first ball for six over mid-wicket and he added another six and two fours to his 12-ball innings of 22 before he was caught on the mid-wicket boundary by Josh Bohannon off Tom Bailey. He was dismissed with the total on 29 after 2.4 overs.
Joe Clarke was next to go, caught by Tim David off Richard Gleeson for six and it was 35-2 from 3.3 overs. Ben Duckett and Samit Patel took the total to 52-2 after six overs and it had reached 81 from nine overs when the former, 29 from 21 balls, attempted to sweep Hartley, got a top edge and Vilas made ground to take a good catch from behind the wicket.
Patel and Tom Moores added a rapid 45 in 5.1 overs before a misunderstanding cost Moores his wicket as he attempted a second run with Patel unmoved at the other end; Steven Croft’s perfect throw had Vilas removing the bails and Moores was gone for 16 at 126-4. And without addition, Patel, 45 from 31 balls with three fours and one six, was caught on the boundary by Luke Wells when sweeping Hartley.
At 132 the Outlaws lost their sixth wicket when Steve Mullaney was trapped leg before wicket by Wells’ leg spin for four before Calvin Harrison struck two successive boundaries off Matt Parkinson on his way to a speedy 17 off 11 balls. He fell to the first ball of the final over when he returned a catch to Danny Lamb, who was in the attack for the first time. Matt Carter took a single from his first ball and that left Dan Christian on strike and he took 18 runs off the final four balls that left the Outlaws closing on 179-7.
For Lancashire Wells’ much underrated leg spin earned him the most economical figures of 1-20 off his four overs; Hartley had the best figures of 2-27 and there was a wicket each for Gleeson, Bailey and Lamb for 24, 13 and 19 respectively.
The Lightning reply began in explosive style as Keaton plundered 24 in 13 balls including two fours and two sixes, both off Luke Fletcher. He then tried one huge shot too many and holed at mid-wicket to Mullaney to give Fletcher a modicum of revenge. Bohannon made seven before he was caught by Christian off Dane Paterson to make it 31-2 off 4.1 overs.
Then came the partnership that turned the match as local boy Croft and Vilas came together and more or less matched each other run for run. And they went along at a cracking pace, bringing up the 100 in nine overs. A massive six took Vilas to his half-century, his first for Lancashire in his 74th T20 game for the county but his 14th in T20 overall, made from 24 balls with seven fours and two sixes. He had moved on to 55 from 30 balls when he tried an inside-out shot that resulted in a catch to Clarke at deep backward point off Paterson and it was 145-3 after a partnership of 114 in 10.2 overs.
Croft continued on his untroubled way, reached his half-century off 34 balls with four fours and two sixes, and went on to finish on 61 not out from 44 balls before Wells, 18 not out off 11 balls, struck the last of his three fours to win the game for the Lightning at 181-4 with 10 balls remaining. South African Paterson had the best Outlaws’ figures with 2-27.
The game was a great success for Blackpool Cricket Club who had organised everything to perfection and it was great to see Lancashire back at Stanley Park and the crowd went away delighted but although it was pulsating cricket, there were those, myself included, who went away thinking, ‘Yes, but it is just not Test cricket!’
County cricket returned to Blackpool’s Stanley Park on Sunday as the Vitality Blast T20 game between Lancashire Lightning and Nottinghamshire Outlaws attracted a healthy crowd in excess of 2500. And the majority of the spectators went away delighted as Lancashire won the game comfortably by six wickets, chasing down Nottinghamshire’s total of 179-7.
Dane Vilas won the toss for the Lightning and put the visitors in to bat and Alex Hales, who was later to become a crowd favourite as he engaged in friendly banter with spectators, got them off to a rapid start. He struck Tom Hartley’s first ball for six over mid-wicket and he added another six and two fours to his 12-ball innings of 22 before he was caught on the mid-wicket boundary by Josh Bohannon off Tom Bailey. He was dismissed with the total on 29 after 2.4 overs.
Joe Clarke was next to go, caught by Tim David off Richard Gleeson for six and it was 35-2 from 3.3 overs. Ben Duckett and Samit Patel took the total to 52-2 after six overs and it had reached 81 from nine overs when the former, 29 from 21 balls, attempted to sweep Hartley, got a top edge and Vilas made ground to take a good catch from behind the wicket.
Patel and Tom Moores added a rapid 45 in 5.1 overs before a misunderstanding cost Moores his wicket as he attempted a second run with Patel unmoved at the other end; Steven Croft’s perfect throw had Vilas removing the bails and Moores was gone for 16 at 126-4. And without addition, Patel, 45 from 31 balls with three fours and one six, was caught on the boundary by Luke Wells when sweeping Hartley.
At 132 the Outlaws lost their sixth wicket when Steve Mullaney was trapped leg before wicket by Wells’ leg spin for four before Calvin Harrison struck two successive boundaries off Matt Parkinson on his way to a speedy 17 off 11 balls. He fell to the first ball of the final over when he returned a catch to Danny Lamb, who was in the attack for the first time. Matt Carter took a single from his first ball and that left Dan Christian on strike and he took 18 runs off the final four balls that left the Outlaws closing on 179-7.
For Lancashire Wells’ much underrated leg spin earned him the most economical figures of 1-20 off his four overs; Hartley had the best figures of 2-27 and there was a wicket each for Gleeson, Bailey and Lamb for 24, 13 and 19 respectively.
The Lightning reply began in explosive style as Keaton plundered 24 in 13 balls including two fours and two sixes, both off Luke Fletcher. He then tried one huge shot too many and holed at mid-wicket to Mullaney to give Fletcher a modicum of revenge. Bohannon made seven before he was caught by Christian off Dane Paterson to make it 31-2 off 4.1 overs.
Then came the partnership that turned the match as local boy Croft and Vilas came together and more or less matched each other run for run. And they went along at a cracking pace, bringing up the 100 in nine overs. A massive six took Vilas to his half-century, his first for Lancashire in his 74th T20 game for the county but his 14th in T20 overall, made from 24 balls with seven fours and two sixes. He had moved on to 55 from 30 balls when he tried an inside-out shot that resulted in a catch to Clarke at deep backward point off Paterson and it was 145-3 after a partnership of 114 in 10.2 overs.
Croft continued on his untroubled way, reached his half-century off 34 balls with four fours and two sixes, and went on to finish on 61 not out from 44 balls before Wells, 18 not out off 11 balls, struck the last of his three fours to win the game for the Lightning at 181-4 with 10 balls remaining. South African Paterson had the best Outlaws’ figures with 2-27.
The game was a great success for Blackpool Cricket Club who had organised everything to perfection and it was great to see Lancashire back at Stanley Park and the crowd went away delighted but although it was pulsating cricket, there were those, myself included, who went away thinking, ‘Yes, but it is just not Test cricket!’
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