Result: Lancashire Lightning (192/6; Buttler 59; Weighell 3/28; 2 points) beat Durham Jets (140/7; Paul Collingwood 48; 0 points) by 52 runs
Durham Jets dropped to a disappointing 52-run defeat to Lancashire Lightning in the opening round of NatWest T20 Blast fixtures at Emirates Riverside.
James Weighell, on T20 debut, took three wickets & Paul Collingwood made a valiant 48, but the visitors’ score of 192/6 proved too much for the Jets to chase down.
England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler led the way with 59 off 39 balls as Lancashire cleared the rope seven times in their innings, to which Durham replied with 140/7.
Buttler hit two of the sixes as he accelerated the scoring alongside Karl Brown & Arron Lilley before appearing to be bowled by Ryan Pringle, with both the umpire & batsman unmoved.
In the second over Liam Livingstone sliced a drive off Weighell for Pringle to hold a low catch at backward point, but their experiment of sending in off-spinner Lilley at No 3 paid off as he took three boundaries off Chris Rushworth’s second over.
Brown repeated the dose off Weighell and when Coughlin came on Brown picked up his second ball over mid-wicket for six.
Durham needed a slice of luck to break the stand as Usman Arshad’s first ball was driven firmly back by Lilley and deflected into the stumps by the bowler, running out Brown for 35; Lilley went for a straight six off the next ball and was caught just inside the rope by Adam Hickey.
When Coughlin returned Buttler drove his second ball for a straight six as he dominated a stand of 92 in ten overs with Dane Vilas.
The England one-day wicketkeeper also proved adept at working the ball into space for twos, while a precise cut bisected deep gully and backward point.
Having hit Pringle’s second ball over extra cover for a big six, Buttler was then tied down by the off-spinner before skying a return catch.
Weighell also picked up two late wickets to finish with three for 28. as Lancashire stalled slightly with 29 off four overs before Ryan McLaren took 14 off the last.
Debutant Adam Hickey opened with Graham Clark, who raised hopes by taking 14 off the second over, including a six over backward point, but wickets fell in each of the next three overs.
Hickey fell lbw to Tom Bailey, Michael Richardson skied a catch to third man and Clark was run out for 23 attempting a risky single.
When Jack Burnham was bowled by Jordan Clark to make it 51/4 it was left to Paul Collingwood to keep the Jets afloat.
But he lacked support and Lancashire’s use of three spinners helped them to stay in control before Collingwood holed out at deep mid-wicket for 48 off Jordan Clark, who finished with three for 26.
The Jets return to Emirates Riverside on Sunday for the visit of Northants Steelbacks for our Family Fun Day.
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