Lancashire Lightning | T20 Match Preview - 14/06/2024

It’s double-header day at Uptonsteel County Ground on Friday, as Leicestershire Women take on rivals Notts Outlaws (1:30pm start), before the Foxes’ Men face table-toppers Lancashire Lightning in the evening (6:30pm start).

Peter Handscomb’s side are seeking a third straight win after beating Durham by ten runs in a low-scoring thriller in the North East on Wednesday, while Becki Brooker’s Foxes are ready to ignite their T20 campaign against their East Midlands counterparts.

The day will also give a sneak peak into Leicestershire’s 2025 Vitality Blast look as part of our dedicated Lionheart Trust-themed fixture. Fans will be able to vote for the Foxes’ fiercest new strip - created by the Trust’s students - with the final five designs now revealed. Have your say HERE.

FAMOUS FIXTURE:

A savage showing of 86 not out from only 32 balls by Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi helped secure a breathtaking five-wicket win for the Foxes at Old Trafford in 2018.

Coming to the crease with the side precariously placed on 92/5 in the 11th over and still needing another 99 runs to win the game, Nabi tore the Lancashire attack apart, hitting eight sixes and four fours in a sensational display of power-hitting.

The overseas star cleared the boundary ropes by over thirty yards in some instances, as he whacked five of his final 11 deliveries for six.

Nabi obliterated all kinds of Club records. His 86* remains the highest knock by a number seven for the Foxes, as well as Leicestershire’s highest individual total against Lancashire “ while his unbroken 102 with Ateeq Javid is a Foxes record for the sixth wicket.

DECISIVE DUEL:

The low-scoring thriller at Durham on Wednesday evening shows T20 isn’t always a batters’ game. With that in mind, Scott Currie could once again prove pivotal to Leicestershire’s fortunes on Friday.

A clinical penultimate over yielded just three runs and brought two wickets, showing his ever-improving skills at the death. The right-arm quick is still learning in T20 cricket, but with 34 wickets at 20.85, Currie is one to watch tomorrow evening.

His toughest battle may come against Luke Wells. The left-hander has started well in this year’s Blast, scoring 160 runs at 40 for Lancashire at the top of the order, hitting at a mighty rate of 161.61. If Currie can strike first against Lighting’s talisman, the Foxes will be in business with the ball again.

SQUAD:

An unchanged 14-strong squad is named for Leicestershire Men, while Australian bowler Piepa Cleary returns for second stint with Leicestershire Women.

Leicestershire Men: Ahmed, Budinger, Cox+, Currie, Goldsworthy, Handscomb*, Holland, Hull, Kimber, Mike, Mulder, Patel, Swindells, Walker.

Leicestershire Women: Bennett+, Brooker*, Cleary, Colquhoun, Davies, Francis, Herathge, Paramjothy, Pearson, Rehman, Thanawala, Weston, Wright.

Tickets to guarantee entry to both matches can be purchased HERE.