Match times, streaming information, tickets and travel, team news, weather forecast and everything else you need to know ahead of the latest round of the County Championship...
Fixture: Lancashire v Sussex
Venue: Emirates Old Trafford
Dates: Thursday, April 8, 2021-Sunday, April 11, 2021
Start time: 11am
What’s the lowdown?
Lancashire will be hoping to make a strong start in the County Championship after a mediocre showing in the 2020 Bob Willis Trophy. They were forced to field a youthful squad last season due to a mounting injury list and England commitments, and won just two of their five red-ball outings. However, there are no such concerns this season with Dane Vilas lauding his squad’s depth during the club’s media day
The location also works in Lancashire’s favour. Due to leatherjacket larvae damaging the outfield at Hove, the fixture was moved to Emirates Old Trafford. Lancashire couldn’t play at home last season due to England’s bio-bubble but won all five of their matches at the stadium when they won the Division Two title in 2019.
Sussex, meanwhile, will be hoping to get back to winning ways after losing four consecutive matches to finish bottom of the South group in 2020.
Following the departure of Jason Gillespie at the end of last season, they have a new head coach in Ian Salisbury, but will have a tough season after being placed in a group which also includes Yorkshire, Glamorgan, Kent and Northants.
What’s the team news?
Lancashire have named their 14-mans squad to face Sussex on Thursday, with both Saqib Mahmood and Matt Parkinson included for what would be their first red-ball appearances since September 2019.
George Balderson misses out with an abdominal strain while seamer Richard Gleeson (back) and new signing Luke Wells (hamstring) are also injured. Jimmy Anderson and Jackson Bird are unavailable until later in the season while Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone are absent due to IPL commitments.
Lancashire squad: Dane Vilas (c), Tom Bailey, Josh Bohannon, Steven Croft, Alex Davies, Tom Hartley, Liam Hurt, Keaton Jennings, Rob Jones, Danny Lamb, George Lavelle, Saqib Mahmood, Matt Parkinson, Luke Wood
Meanwhile, Sussex could hand Championship debuts to Sean Hunt, Jack Carson, and Henry Crocombe while Will Beer and new signing, Ali Orr, have travelled to Manchester as cover. However, Phil Salt misses out after injuring his foot while riding his bike before Sussex's pre-season friendlies.
Sussex squad: Ben Brown (C), Ollie Robinson (VC), Jack Carson, Tom Clark, Henry Crocombe, George Garton, Tom Haines, Sean Hunt, Stuart Meaker, Delray Rawlins, Aaron Thomason, Stiaan van Zyl
Cover: Will Beer, Ali Orr
Who’s said what?
Lancashire captain Dane Vilas hopes his team will take advantage of having back-to-back home fixtures while also praising his squad's pre-season preparations.
"We're as strong and as fit as we've ever been," he said. "It's always good to be back here [at Emirates Old Trafford]. We missed it a lot last year given we weren't able to play as much cricket as we wanted at Emirates Old Trafford. We love playing here, so hopefully they are two good games to start."
He also confirmed his side are focused on four-day success, continuing: "We always want to compete in every format we play in. But this is the real important competition for us, and the guys are excited and keen to do well in it. We want to do as well as we can, and realistically we have a good chance. But it’s going to be tough because we have a couple of good teams in our group.
"Every player will tell you that this is the hardest competition to win or do well in.You have to play well for six months to do that. If you look back at the end of the summer and know that you’ve put a good stint in and you’re up there, it’s hugely rewarding and satisfactory.
"That’s the target for us, but we’re a long way away from that. First of all, we have five weeks of hard cricket to contend with."
Meanwhile, Sussex head coach, Ian Salisbury, is excited for his first competitive match in charge: "There’s nothing like the first game of a season. I’m hugely excited and genuinely optimistic about this group of players. I couldn’t have asked for more from the guys over the winter. There’s a great team ethic and lots of good conversations around the group as they look to help each other.
"James [Kirtley] and I have talked about winning off the pitch, and they’ve certainly been doing that. Now it is time to turn our attention to winning on the pitch as well.
"The signs from our pre-season games were really encouraging. We’d had fantastic net facilities in the marquee thanks to Ben Gibson and his team but hadn’t had the chance to practice in the middle, so to go straight from nets into those two matches and do well was brilliant.
"I remain humbled and honoured to be in the position I am in and absolutely can’t wait for the season to get underway."
What’s the weather forecast?
Expect hand warmers and plenty of jumpers at Emirates Old Trafford.
A short period of rain is expected early on Friday morning but conditions are otherwise forecast to be dry. Temperatures may reach a balmy 10 degrees on Thursday but that’s as warm as it will get.
Keep up to date with the Met Office’s rolling forecast for Emirates Old Trafford: Click here.
How do I follow the match?
TV/stream: Lancashire offer a live stream facility via the Match centre on their website. Click here.
Radio: BBC Local Radio and the BBC Sport website will carry ball-by-ball radio commentary of the game.
Digital: The Cricketer will carry live scorecards and daily updates from every County Championship match in 2021, as well as the latest breaking news from around the counties and exclusive features. Visit our County Hub for more.
Going to the game?
Tickets: This match is to be played behind closed doors owing to Covid-19 restrictions.
Travel: Not applicable owing to Covid-19 restrictions.
Prediction
Lancashire look infinitely stronger than the youthful squad which still produced two wins last season and should be too much for a Sussex side in transition to handle. Home win.
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OTHER MATCH PREVIEWS
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
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