IT’S THE BIG ONE
PARRY EXCITED BY T20 ROSES CLASH
LANCASHIRE slow left-armer Stephen Parry believes tomorrow’s game against Yorkshire could be the biggest shortform Roses match there has ever been.
The Pennine rivals go into the game tied on 11 points with both sides having played 11 games, but eight of the nine North Group teams still have a realistic chance of finishing in the top four and qualifying for the semi-finals.
And Parry reckons the always fervid atmosphere at Headingley will be heightened by what is at stake.
“It’s always a big game but where we both are in the table puts a bit more on it,” he said. “And I didn’t think that was possible!
“It’s great to play in front of a crowd because that makes it like international cricket. You have to enjoy it but there’s also the rivalry, the passion of the fans and I think Friday’s game will be the biggest T20 Roses game we’ve played in.”
However, Parry does not believe that defeat will end either side’s hopes of qualification.
“We both have tough games coming up but I think if Lancashire won two out of the three games we have remaining, we’d be unlucky to miss out because our run rate is good.
“Our form has been good. There’s only one match where we were outplayed and that was at Derby. The other games we’ve lost have been in the last over and we’ve won one in the last over too. It’s hard to gauge at times but the main thing is that we’re still in a position to qualify with three games to go.”
Lancashire go into tomorrow’s game having won four and lost four of their 11 games. Two have been lost to the weather and the Roses match at Emirates Old Trafford ended in a tie when it was curtailed by heavy rain.
“We have been hit and miss but that happened in 2015 when we won the T20 and hopefully we can get some momentum going into the quarter-finals,” said Parry. “That’s always better than winning early on and then going to a quarter-final after you’ve been losing games. This is a great time to start winning T20 games.”
Meanwhile, Lancashire and Hampshire were beaten by the weather yesterday as the title chasing counties saw their Specsavers County Championship match drawn.
No play was possible on days three or four as rain struck the Ageas Bowl to leave the outfield sodden, with no improvement forecast.