Brown: ‘Lightning loss taught us all a lesson’
IF Lancashire go on and win this summer’s Vitality Blast, they may well look back at one game in particular as a defining moment in their campaign.
No, not either of the Roses wins over Yorkshire at Emirates Old Trafford or Emerald Headingley, games which will be remembered for some time by the Red Rose faithful.
But their clash Durham at Old Trafford earlier this month when, chasing a target of 155, they required just six off the final over with four wickets in hand and lost.
It was a Sky TV game, and part-time left-arm spinner Liam Trevaskis bowled a stunning final over, taking three wickets and only conceding one run.
It really was a ‘How did that happen?’ moment and left the Lightning with an uphill battle to qualify, especially as it looked like they were on their knees.
But they bounced back brilliantly to win three out of their next four games, including against Yorkshire at Headingley just two days later, and qualify for the quarter-finals.
Tonight, they take on Kent at Canterbury in a repeat of the 2015 lasteight tie which Lancashire won and went on to claim their maiden Blast crown. Fingers crossed, the same happens again. “You can probably imagine the sort of stuff that got said (after that Durham game), and it wasn’t nice,” explained opening batsman Karl Brown. “But I think it might have given us the kick up the backside that we needed. “Everybody was absolutely gutted after that. We all knew it was a game we should have won and didn’t, which hurt us a lot. But we bounced back. It was a quick turnaround between that game and winning at Yorkshire, which probably helped. We didn’t have any time to dwell on it. We just had to go out there and perform.
“The best thing you can do is learn from games like that. There’s no point hiding. We just had to get back on the horse, and we’ve done it.”
Brown did not start the Blast campaign, but was drafted in when Liam Livingstone went down with a broken thumb last month.
The 30-year-old has played the last seven games and impressed, posting scores of 49, 29 51 and 61 at the top of the order alongside in-form Alex Davies.
Brown is in the last year of his contract and last month revealed that he did not expect to play again this season so was determined to make the most of a second chance in the first team.
“My main thought has been just to enjoy it,” he added.
“Liam was playing unbelievably well before he got injured, and it was going to be a tough act to follow.”
I think it might have given us the kick up the backside that we needed Karl Brown