Match times, streaming information, tickets and travel, team news, weather forecast, form, prediction and everything else you need to know ahead of the latest round of the Vitality Blast...
Fixture: Northamptonshire Steelbacks v Lancashire Lightning
Venue: County Ground, Northampton
Date: Friday, June 25, 2021
Start time: 6.30pm
What’s the lowdown?
After failing to win any of their opening six fixtures (five defeats, one abandoned), Northants Steelbacks stunned everyone when they thrashed Durham by nine wickets at Chester-le-Street.
Mohammad Nabi starred with the ball, taking 2 for 24, as Durham were restricted to 157 for 5 before brisk half-centuries from Ricardo Vasconcelos and Adam Rossington helped the Steelbacks chase down their target with 13 balls remaining. Their hopes of reaching the last eight remain alive!
Lancashire, meanwhile, head into this clash off the back of a thrilling tie against Notts Outlaws. Needing eight runs from the final two balls, Keaton Jennings crunched a six off the penulimate delivery to put Lightning in the driver's seat, only to be runout by Steven Mullaney as he searched for the match-winning run. Dane Vilas' side are now without a win in three.
Who’s in form?
Overseas signing Mohammad Nabi is looking good for Northants. The Afghan took his first wickets of the season against Durham and is currently his side's most economical bowler, having conceded just 83 runs in 12 overs. With the bat, he's scored 52 runs in two innings - a promising sign for the middle order.
However, the biggest boost for the Steelbacks is the performances of openers Vasconcelos and Rossington against Durham. They scored just under 40 per cent of their combined runs for the season at Chester-le-Street. The question is, can they repeat the performance?
In his first appearance of the season, Lancashire's Keaton Jennings scored 88 runs from 61 deliveries and looked very at home in partnership with Finn Allen, putting on 118 runs for the first wicket. Having lost Liam Livingstone and Jos Buttler to England duty, Jennings' performance will have eased a few selection question marks for Glen Chapple.
Danny Lamb was the pick of the bowlers against Notts, taking an economical 3 for 25 to take him to six wickets for the season, while Tom Hartley is once again at the heart of Vilas' spin tactics, bowling with an economy of 6.57 from his 21 overs.
What’s the team news?
Northamptonshire Steelbacks: Coming soon
Lancashire: Saqib Mahmood is back in contention after a lengthy spell out with an abdominal injury. George Balderson has also been called into the 14-strong squad. Richard Gleeson is still missing with a back problem.
Lancashire squad: Dane Vilas (C), Finn Allen, George Balderson, Steven Croft, Alex Davies, Tom Hartley, Liam Hurt, Keaton Jennings, Rob Jones, Danny Lamb, Saqib Mahmood, Matt Parkinson, Luke Wells, Luke Wood
Last five T20 results (most recent first)
Northamptonshire Steelbacks: WLALL
Lancashire Lightning: TALWL
Head-to-head T20 record
Total matches: 10
Northamptonshire Steelbacks wins: 3
Leicestershire Foxes wins: 7
Tied: 0
Abandoned: 3
No result: 0
Latest Northamptonshire Steelbacks news
Latest Lancashire Lightning news
What’s the weather forecast?
Rain is forecast during the early part of the evening but it is expected to have cleared by 8pm, meaning a reduced game should be possible.
Keep up to date with the MetOffice’s rolling forecast for Northampton: Click here
Going to the game?
Tickets
Season ticket holders can claim their seats now.
Click here to access the Northamptonshire box office.
Travel
Address: The County Ground, Abington Ave, Northampton NN1 4PR
By car: Take Junction 15 from the M1 Motorway onto the A508 (A45) towards Northampton.
Follow the dual carriageway for approximately 3 miles passing the Hilton Hotel, Marriott Hotel and Delapre Golf course on your left-hand side.
Keeping in the left-hand lane, take the next exit from the dual carriageway marked A428 Bedford and Town Centre.
Move into the middle lane as you approach the roundabout at the bottom of the slip road.
Take the second exit following signs for Abington / Kingsthorpe onto the Rushmere Road. Follow the Rushmere Road (A5095) across the junction with Billing Road and continue straight on through Abington Park to the traffic lights at the main junction with Wellingborough Road.
On foot
ENTRANCE VIA ABINGTON AVENUE
Cross the lights at the junction with the Wellingborough Road keeping in the left-hand lane.
Turn left at the traffic light filter into Abington Avenue.
The cricket ground entrance is approximately 300 yards along Abington Avenue on the left-hand side.
ENTRANCE VIA WANTAGE ROAD
Turn left at the traffic lights with the Wellingborough Road onto the Wellingborough Road itself.
Take the first right approximately 100 yards along into Wantage Road.
The entrance is approximately 500 yards along the Wantage Road on the right-hand side.
By bus: Buses are available from Northampton Bus Station every 10 minutes. The best services are either 1 or 16 – both head towards Weston Favell.
The bus stop is located by the Abington Public House, 30 seconds from the Wantage Road gates. The bus journey takes roughly seven minutes.
By train: Northampton Station sits on the halfway point of the London to Birmingham Line and enjoys frequent and speedy services to both cities.
Northampton Train Station is approximately a 30–40 minute walk from the County Ground.
Alternatively, there is a taxi rank outside the train station, the ground and is a five-minute drive.
How do I follow the match?
Northamptonshire will offer live coverage of the match via their website: Click here
All T20 Blast matches are also available via the ECB's central hub: Click here
The matches can also be viewed on mobile via the ECB app.
Radio: All Vitality Blast fixtures will be available on BBC Local Radio stations with extensive coverage also on 5 Live Sports Extra.
Digital: The Cricketer will carry live scorecards and updates from every Vitality Blast match in 2021, as well as the latest breaking news from around the counties and exclusive features. Visit our County Hub for more.
Prediction?
Despite Northants' impressive performance against Durham, Lancashire should be too strong. Away win.
OTHER T20 BLAST FIXTURES: FRIDAY, JUNE 25
North Group
Worcestershire Rapids v Durham
Derbyshire Falcons v Notts Outlaws
Leicestershire Foxes v Yorkshire Vikings
South Group
Sussex Sharks v Gloucestershire
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