Lancashire Lightning Surge to the Top of Vitality Blast North Group with Dominant Win over Birmingham Bears
Lancashire Lightning maintained their impressive home record at Emirates Old Trafford, defeating Birmingham Bears by eight runs to stay atop the embryonic Vitality Blast North Group table. All-rounder Luke Wells was the hero, smashing a career-best 66 off just 32 balls before returning tidy figures of 2 for 25 with his leg-spin.
Invited to bat first, Lancashire posted 176 for 8, with Wells providing the early impetus. The left-hander clobbered five sixes in the powerplay, including three off Pakistan pacer Hassan Ali in a 27-run over, to propel the home side to 73 for 1 in the first six overs. Wells’ blistering half-century came off just 22 deliveries, but the Bears fought back to restrict Lancashire’s scoring in the middle overs.
In reply, the Bears were never quite able to keep up with the required run rate, despite a fighting 59 from Sam Hain. Lancashire’s new-ball pair of Mitchell Stanley and Luke Wood reduced the visitors to 23 for 2 early on, and leg-spinner Wells then struck a crucial blow by dismissing Chris Benjamin. Saqib Mahmood also chipped in with a key wicket as the Bears slipped to 76 for 4 in the 11th over.
“The victory extends Lancashire’s unbeaten home record in the Vitality Blast to 23 matches, excluding those where no play was possible. Surrey did, however, manage to defeat them at Emirates Old Trafford in last summer’s quarter-finals.”
🔗 Source