Lancashire out-Foxed in agonising T20 defeat
STEVEN Croft admits Lancashire made some bad decisions as they slipped to an agonising last-ball defeat to Leicestershire in the NatWest T20 Blast.
Defending 173-9, Lightning had Leicestershire needing two to win from the final two balls at Aigburth.
And in a dramatic finish, they ran out Mat Pillans off the penultimate ball, only to see Colin Ackerman smash a six off the final ball to give the Foxes a three-wicket win.
“It was very disappointing to lose the game,” said Lancashire skipper Croft.
“I thought we weren’t quite there in all disciplines.
“And we made some bad decisions at crucial times.
“We probably didn’t deserve to win that game.
“I thought we got a competitive total. Batting first we were unsure what a good total was having not played here at Liverpool for a long time.
“After the innings, we’d have liked 185. We fell short of that and didn’t have anyone set at the end. That’s the benefit of bowling first.
“If we’d bowled well, we still could have kept them down. But I thought we were a little bit off with the ball as well.”
Liam Livingstone hit 48 off 33 balls and Jos Buttler 39 off 21 for Lancashire as they shared a 72-run stand in 6.1 overs for the fourth wicket, but visiting captain Clint McKay impressed with 3-29 as Lightning struggled in the second half of their innings.
They lost three wickets in the power play, including McKay getting Arron Lilley and Steven Croft in the space of two balls to leave the score 40-3.
Pinch-hitter Arron Lilley had hit 30 off 17 balls from number three, and all-rounder Danny Lamb pulled Gavin Griffiths for six in the 17th over, but that was the only boundary from midway through the 13th over.
The Foxes chase got off to the perfect start as Luke Ronchi lofted the first ball from off-spinner Lilley for a straight six, and he shared 42 inside four overs for the first wicket with Cameron Delport.
The pair fell in the space of three balls but Mark Cosgrove and Ackermann put Lightning under more pressure with a 61-run stand.
Not even the loss of Cosgrove for 34 - caught at wide long-on off Lamb, who took 3-30 - Ned Eckersley and Lewis Hill could derail the Foxes as Ackermann finished on 62 not out.
Meanwhile, Lancashire are hopeful of having overseas player Junaid Khan available for Friday’s Roses clash with Yorkshire at Emirates Old Trafford after visa problems.