RLODC Preview: Yorkshire v Lancashire

RLODC Preview: Yorkshire v Lancashire

The first Roses battle of the new season comes in coloured clothing as Lancashire take the trip across the Pennines to face their old rivals at Headingley.

They do so off the back of a disappointing home defeat to Leicestershire on Friday. A total of 314 looked to be enough to see off the Foxes, but a combination of poor bowling and strong Leicestershire partnerships kicked off their campaign with defeat.

That game did bring with it the highlight of Haseeb Hameed’s one-day debut and it was an impressive one for the 20-year-old Test opener. He notched a classy 101-ball 88 and looked very at home against the white ball.

He will hope to continue his form as Lancashire look to improve their recent dismal record in the one-day competition. The Lightning haven’t progressed past the knockout stage since 2012 and will want to avoid consecutive defeats to kick off their campaign.

“It should be a really good game, they will have a strong side out which will make it challenging,” Hameed said after the Leicestershire defeat.

“It’s one we are looking forward to. Games like that bring out the best in us. The lads are looking forward to it and are relishing the challenge. The lads they have available make it even more difficult.

“If we can put in a good performance there’s no reason why we can’t beat them.”

Yorkshire began their Royal London One-Day Cup challenge with a thoroughly impressive win against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge. New England Test captain Joe Root got the better of younger brother Billy, posting an unbeaten 75 as the Vikings cruised to a seven-wicket win.

Andrew Gale’s side will want to capitalise in these early stages of the competition on the availability of their raft of England stars, with Jonny Bairstow, David Willey, Adil Rashid and Liam Plunkett all featuring in the win over Nottinghamshire.

Yorkshire walloped their cross-Pennine rivals in the group stages last season, completing a massive 242-run win at Old Trafford courtesy of the Duckworth-Lewis method – including bowling Lancashire out for just 84.

Glen Chapple’s men would love to exact a little bit of revenge on their old foes, as they seek to find a formula to end their woeful run in 50-over cricket.

Key Men

New recruit Peter Handscomb has made a solid, if unspectacular start to his Yorkshire career. He has one half-century to his name in six County Championship innings, but made a promising 46 from 54 balls against Notts to see his side to their target.

The 26-year-old Australian Test batsman surely has much more in the tank, and the signs are that he is starting to find his feet in county cricket. If he does so against Lancashire, the Lightning could be in for a difficult day.

It’s no secret that Liam Livingstone is a supremely talented batsman. He proved that to everyone last season, impressing immediately having made his first-class debut at the start of 2016. And he continued to prove it during an extremely successful winter tour with the England Lions.

But that tour also saw him emerge as a genuine bowling option. Livingstone now regularly gets through his allocation of ten overs and picked up two wickets on Friday with his off-breaks. Add to that he is a brilliant fielder, making Livingstone is pivotal to Lancashire’s hopes.

Team News

Yorkshire made two late additions to their squad, with Steven Patterson and Alex Lees joining the original 13-man list. There’s every chance that Yorkshire will remain unchanged from their win over Notts. Jonny Bairstow opened in that game alongside Adam Lyth. 19-year-old Matt Fisher made his first appearance of the season and is set to feature again.

Yorkshire Squad: Gary Ballance (c), Jonny Bairstow, Tim Bresnan, Matt Fisher, Peter Handscomb, Jack Leaning, Alex Lees, Adam Lyth, Steven Patterson, Liam Plunkett, Azeem Rafiq, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Matthew Waite, David Willey

Lancashire have named an unchanged squad and their lineup is likely to be the same as well. Alex Davies will hope to build on his fine start to the season, opening alongside Hameed, while James Anderson will spearhead a seam attack that misfired against Leicestershire.

Lancashire Squad: Liam Livingstone (c), James Anderson, Tom Bailey, Karl Brown, Jordan Clark, Alex Davies (wk), Haseeb Hameed, Simon Kerrigan, Ryan McLaren, Danny Lamb, Arron Lilley, Stephen Parry, Luke Procter, Dane Vilas

Weather and conditions

The forecast is for a dry day at Headingley with some cloud mixed with sunny spells. It can swing at Headingley under cloudy skies, especially with the new ball, but the pitch is also generally good to bat on.

Date: 1st May

Time: 11:00am

Ground: Headingley

Umpires: Graham Lloyd & Steve O’Shaughnessy

Odds (SkyBet): Yorkshire 4/7, Lancashire 11/8

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