Bopara shines against below-par Lancashire

LANCASHIRE CCC CHRIS OSTICK

LANCASHIRE returned a below-par batting display to spark a crushing seven-wicket defeat to Essex in Tuesday night’s one-day cup clash at Chelmsford.

Captain Steven Croft bemoaned losing a ‘vital’ toss, and Lightning could only manage 161-9 in favourable bowling conditions, with Ravi Bopara’s medium pace accounting for 4-31 in his 10-over spell.

No doubt, Lancashire got the rough end of the conditions, but the fact that seven batsmen got into double figures without anyone going beyond Alex Davies’s 37 was disappointing.

The Eagles comfortably knocked off the runs to leave their visitors with one point from their opening two Group B matches. Centurion Bopara led their chase and enhanced an enviable run of form in one-day cricket against Lancashire with his last four innings against them being 75 not out, 39, 130 and this 101 not out off 98 balls.