Blast Insight: Lancashire Lightning

Lancashire Lightning are our first visitors to Edgbaston for the 2021 Vitality Blast. Here's some key points on the opposition.

Coach: Glen Chapple

Captain: Dane Vilas

Last year’s performance: Semi-finalists

2020 Leading Runscorer: Alex Davies (299 @ 29.9)

2020 Leading Wicket Taker: Matthew Parkinson (15 @ 20.66)

Overseas players: Dane Vilas (South Africa - whole tournament), Finn Allen (New Zealand - whole group stage, knockouts TBC)

Key man: Matthew Parkinson - England leg-spinner with 75 wickets in the last four Blast campaigns combined. Lightning’s leading wicket taker in each of those. Loves bowling at difficult times, including at the death.

Flies under the radar: Alex Davies - England players Livingstone, Mahmood and Parkinson get the headlines, but the diminutive wicketkeeper batsman (opener) is a star performer. Lightning’s leading runscorer for last three years, including 534 in 2018.

Best player under 24: Finn Allen - Explosive batsman, 22, who made T20 debut for New Zealand in March. Tall opener similar to Tom Banton. Could break up longstanding opening partnership between Alex Davies and Liam Livingstone.

Blast expectations: Lancashire are desperate to add to the solitary title they won in 2015 under the guidance of current England director of cricket Ashley Giles. Beaten semi-finalists in 2018 and 2020, they were beaten in the quarters by 2019 champions Essex.

They have all the tools at their disposal. Power and nous with the bat, plenty of pace and spin with the ball. Especially strong on home turf at Emirates Old Trafford, where they push the boundaries out to suit their spinners. With the bat, they have more than enough power to clear those boundaries.

It would be a big surprise if they didn’t reach the quarter-finals. Then it is just about being better in those pressure moments which come in knockout games. Only current champions Nottinghamshire have won more matches (119) than Lancashire (118) since the start of the Vitality Blast in 2003.