Lancs hold on to prevail in last ball Blast thriller
LANCASHIRE prevailed by four runs in a tense last-ball thriller against Derbyshire in the Vitality Blast.
Alex Davies hit an impressive 82 in 56 deliveries as Lancashire recorded 178 for five batting first at Headingley.
Derbyshire, the ‘home’ side, got close in response largely thanks to a late onslaught by Matt Critchley, but after he was run out off the penultimate ball Harvey Hosein failed to hit the six needed to win the game.
Having chosen to bat first, Lancashire openers Keaton Jennings and Davies posted 54 runs in the powerplay, with Davies hitting three straight sixes.
Leg-spinner Matt Critchley had
Jennings caught at deep midwicket by Anuj Dal for 29 in the seventh over to end the 63-run opening stand.
But Davies powered on, reaching his second half-century in as many T20 innings with three fours off successive deliveries from Alex Hughes.
His second-wicket partner Steven Croft soon hit three sixes of his own, the second of which saw him become the first Lancashire batsman to hit a hundred maximums in T20 cricket.
He was ran out soon afterwards for 38 following some smart work from Critchley.
Captain Dane Vilas managed only eight before holing out to Luis Reece at long off and in the next over - the 19th - Davies also perished on the boundary, caught by Leus Du Plooy.
Derbyshire’s response began poorly when the experiment of opening with Mattie McKiernan ended after two balls when he skied Croft to Vilas at midwicket.
They suffered another blow three overs later when captain Billy Godleman was bowled for seven when swinging across the line at Croft.
Reece and Wayne Madsen rebuilt their side’s innings carefully but only 39 runs came in the powerplay and the introduction of Lancashire’s specialist spinners put a further break on the scoring rate.
Reece had made 39 when his attempted scoop off Danny Lamb only feathered a catch to Davies behind the stumps and his departure left the Falcons on 60 for three after nine overs.
Although Madsen revived Derbyshire’s spirits with a colossal six off Matt Parkinson, his side were 73 for three at the halfway point of their innings.
Madsen struck a badly-needed six and a four in the next over, the second boundary being an outrageous ramp shot from a Liam Hurt bouncer.
Madsen paid the price for his invention, however, by suffering a leg injury which compelled him to use a runner for the rest of his innings.
This did not stifle the run rate, though, with Du Plooy hitting successive sixes off Parkinson.
But he was caught at long off by Rob Jones for 29 two balls later when trying to clear the rope again.
That left Derbyshire needing 57 off six overs and their task was immediately made tougher when Madsen holed out at long off for 44 to give leftarm spinner Tom Hartley his maiden T20 wicket for Lancashire.
Critchley (32 off 20) took Derbyshire within touching distance but Tom Bailey held his nerve at the end to secure Lancashire victory.