Lancashire Lightning are through to Finals Day and, ten years after their debut, will have the opportunity to win a second Vitality Blast title next Saturday after defeating Kent Spitfires by three wickets chasing 154 in an exciting Emirates Old Trafford quarterfinal.
England’s peripheral fast bowler Luke Wood struck with the first delivery in a game that saw the Spitfires race to 153 all out in 20 overs, with the left-armer finishing with an impressive 3 for 29.
No Kent batter reached 30, and they were unable to prevent the Lightning, who included star players Liam Livingstone, James Anderson, and Phil Salt, from making their 10th Finals Day appearance.
Like Wood, Livingstone, an England international, was critical to Lancashire’s victory in front of a crowd of over 12,000 people. After returning 2 for 21 from four overs of spin, he helped rescue their chase from 5 for 2 with a magnificently destructive 85 not out from 45 balls, including seven sixes. The hosts triumphed with nine balls left.
Livingstone is the sole member of the Lancashire team who won the Blast in 2015.
Lightning got off to a great start when Wood caught Tawanda Muyeye at mid-off with the first ball of the encounter. This was the second time he had struck with the first ball of an innings this season.
Kent then scored at a reasonable rate, but lost wickets at critical stages. Daniel Bell-Drummond miscued Anderson to backward point, Zak Crawley was caught behind after making a pull at Jack Blatherwick, and Livingstone’s first delivery removed a sweeping Sam Billings caught at deep square leg, putting the score at 71 for 4 in the ninth over.
Joe Denly had started well, lofting Blatherwick’s first ball for six over long off. However, he also perished on 28 to help Lancashire reach 81 for 5 after 10 overs, miscuing a similar shot to long-off against Tom Hartley’s left-arm spin.
The trend persisted. Joey Evison hit sixes off the spinners but fell for 27 to a brilliant boundary catch at long-off by Wood off Livingstone with the score at 115 in the 15th over.
Grant Stewart also hammered two sixes in a quick 25 before handing over to Tom Aspinwall, who struck twice with his seamers. Kent had to try to bat out the overs, which they did. Nonetheless, Wood struck twice in the final over to remove Fred Klaassen and Nathan Gilchrist, both of whom were caught at deep midwicket. Their total felt far too low.
But the visitors’ hopes were raised when they reduced the Lightning to 5 for 2 inside two overs of the chase, with Stewart’s seam catching Salt at deep backward square leg pulling and Klaassen’s left-armers forcing Luke Wells to play off his thigh pad.
Klaassen was outstanding with 3 for 14 from four overs.
Livingstone, 15, top-edged a pull at Gilchrist into the back of his neck shortly after and was checked for a concussion before continuing.
He lost skipper Keaton Jennings to a scoop against Klaassen’s blistering speed (31 for 3 in the fifth over) before taking the sting out of the situation in dramatic way.
He took on former county teammate Matthew Parkinson’s legspin, slamming him over long-on three times for six in the ninth over to hit his first fifty of the season off 25 balls and bring the score to 84 for three.
Ashton Turner, an experienced Australian, holed out nearly quickly off Evison, but Kent sorely needed Livingstone’s wicket.
It did not occur, and Parkinson’s wickets of Michael Jones for 28 off 16 balls and Hartley in the 14th over, leaving Lancashire 118 for 6, were insufficient to swing the game.
Livingstone smashed Parkinson over long-on – and over The Point conference building – for six more runs, confirming Lancashire’s semi-final against Somerset or Birmingham Bears at Edgbaston.
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