Match times, streaming information, tickets and travel, team news, weather forecast, form, prediction and everything else you need to know ahead of the latest round of the Vitality Blast...
Fixture: Lancashire Lightning v Durham
Venue: Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester
Dates: Friday, July 16, 2021
Start time: 6.30pm
What's the lowdown?
Lancashire Lightning returned to winning ways against Northants Steelbacks last Friday, Finn Allen scoring his third half-century of the season to help his side chase down 143 with 26 balls to spare. Despite enduring inconsistent white-ball form this season, Lightning are currently fourth in North Group with two matches remaining and sit one point ahead of Durham and Birmingham Bears.
Durham, meanwhile, are in a torrid run of form. Starting the season brightly with four wins from their first six matches, Durham have only picked up points in one of their past six games and are without a win in three. Most recently, they suffered an agonising final-ball defeat at the hands of Derbyshire Falcons, losing by six wickets.
Separated by just one point, this is a must-win game for both Lancashire and Durham, who face Yorkshire Vikings and Notts Outlaws, respectively, in the final round of group fixtures. When they met at Chester-le-Street in June, Durham won by six wickets.
Who's in form?
As mentioned, New Zealander Finn Allen scored his third half-century of the season for Lancashire against Northants, scoring 66 runs from 37 balls. The young opener now has 311 runs in his debut Blast campaign, including 33 fours, 10 sixes and a strike rate 145.32. Keaton Jennings also impressed in that fixture, scoring 54 runs from 41 balls as Allen's opening partner to record his second 50 of the season.
With the ball, Tom Hartley continues to shine in the absence of Matt Parkinson, Saqib Mahmood and Liam Livingstone, and now has 10 wickets and a team-leading economy of 6.32 from his 40 overs. Liam Hurt was a surprise star against Northants, taking 3 for 27 in his first appearance of the season while Danny Lamb and Luke Wood have also impressed, taking 15 wickets combined.
For Durham, only Cameron Bancroft (266 runs in 11 matches) and David Bedingham (225 in 11) have passed 50 on more than one occasion. However, Sean Dickson continues to impress with the bat, scoring 37 runs off 31 balls against Leicestershire to move onto 239 runs for the season.
With the ball, Matty Potts remains Durham's runaway wicket leader, with 14 wickets in 38.2 overs. However, they could be boosted by the return of Brydon Carse for Friday's fixture. The 25-year-old, who has six wickets in nine appearances, played three ODIs for England against Pakistan, taking career-best figures of 5 for 61 at Edgbaston, but hasn't been included in the T20I squad.
What's the team news?
Glen Chapple has named an unchanged Lancashire squad to take on Durham and Yorkshire.
Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone, Matthew Parkinson and Saqib Mahmood are with England.
Lancashire Lightning squad: Dane Vilas, Finn Allen, Jack Blatherwick, Josh Bohannon, George Balderson, Steven Croft, Alex Davies, Tom Hartley, Liam Hurt, Keaton Jennings, Rob Jones, Danny Lamb, Jack Morley, Luke Wells, Luke Wood
Brydon Carse is back in the squad after his spell with England. Liam Trevaskis and Alex Lees also return to the squad. Ben Stokes and Mark Wood are not expected to play for Durham in the Blast again this season.
Durham squad: Graham Clark, Brydon Carse, Alex Lees, Ned Eckersley, David Bedingham, Sean Dickson, Liam Trevaskis, Paul van Meekeren, Luke Doneathy, Harry Crawshaw, Matthew Potts, Ben Raine, Cameron Bancroft*, Scott Borthwick
Last five T20 matches (most recent first)
Lancashire Lightning: WLWLL
Durham: LLLWL
Head-to-head T20 record
Total matches: 33
Lancashire Lightning wins: 22
Durham wins: 9
Tied: 1
No result: 1
Abandoned: 4
Latest Lancashire Lightning news: Click here
Latest Durham news: Click here
What's the weather forecast?
Hot and sunny is the forecast over Old Trafford, with temperatures expected to peak around 23 degrees Celsius.
Keep up to date with the MetOffice's rolling forecast for Manchester: Click here
How do I follow the match?
TV/stream: The ECB are offering a streaming service which can be found here.
Radio: BBC Local Radio and the BBC Sport website will carry ball-by-ball radio commentary of the game.
Digital: The Cricketer will carry live scorecards and daily updates from every Vitality T20 Blast match in 2021, as well as the latest breaking news from around the counties and exclusive features. Visit our County Hub for more.
Going to the game?
Tickets
Lancashire versus Durham will be played in front of a reduced crowd in line with the government's most recent Covid-19 guidelines. Tickets for this fixture are sold out.
Click here to visit the Lancashire box office.
Travel
Address: Lancashire Cricket Club, Emirates Old Trafford, Talbot Road, Manchester, M16 0PX
By car
From the North: Follow the M6, then M61 (signposted Manchester) to the junction with the M60 ring road. Join the M60 at junction 15, following signs for M60 ring road (West & South)/Trafford Park. Continue along the M602 to junction 3 and exit following signs for A5063 Salford Quays/Trafford Park. Continue along A5063, swinging left towards White City and continue along A5063 (White City Way), following brown signs for Old Trafford cricket ground.
From the South: Exit the M6 at junction 19 (Knutsford) onto A556 and keep following signs for M56/Manchester. Join the M56 at juntion 7 (signposted Manchester). At the end of the M56, the road becomes a dual carriageway (A5103 Manchester). Keep straight ahead for half a mile and then enter the left-hand lane to join the M60 ring road (following signs for Stretford). Continue along the M60 ring round (South) to junction 7 and then exit, following signs for A56/Stretford. Join the dual carriageway A56 Chester Road, following signs for Stretford and Manchester, and follow the brown signs to Old Trafford cricket ground.
Parking: The current Gatehouse at the Talbot Road entrance is no longer manned although there will still be a security presence between the hours of 7pm and 7am stationed within the Pavilion reception.
Unless you have bought a permit with a membership, parking will now be paid for from pay on foot machines that have been installed by the main entrance on Talbot Road and within the Trafford Cricket Centre reception, entrance located on Car Park 4.
This system may be suspended for certain matches where parking may be limited, and different matchday charges may apply. Spectators should check the Lancashire website prior to travel.
By train: Manchester Piccadilly, Deansgate Castlefield and Victoria all have access to tram stops, which will take you directly to the ground.
By tram: Metrolink runs every few minutes so you don’t need a timetable, you can just turn up and travel anytime from early morning til late in the evening.
For those visiting the region from further afield there is free parking for Metrolink customers at park and ride sites across the network.
Buy tickets at tram stops or by using the Get Me There app.
Nearest Tram stop: Old Trafford.
By bus: Manchester has a substantial bus network. Plan your journey to Old Trafford by clicking here.
Prediction?
Neither side has been particularly consistent this season but on home soil, Lancashire are the favourites.
FRIDAY'S OTHER MATCH PREVIEWS
North Group
Birmingham Bears v Worcestershire Rapids
Leicestershire Foxes v Notts Outlaws
South Group
Hampshire Hawks v Essex Eagles
Hampshire Hawks v Sussex Sharks
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