Lancashire Lightning are through to Finals Day and - 10 years on from their first - will get the chance to win their second Vitality Blast title at the weekend having beaten Kent Spitfires by three wickets chasing 154 in an engaging Emirates Old Trafford quarter-final today.
England fringe fast bowler Luke Wood struck with the first ball of a contest which saw the Spitfires scramble to 153 all out in 20 overs, the left-armer finishing with an excellent three for 29.
No Kent batter reached 30 and were unable to deny a Lightning side also including star man Liam Livingstone, Sir James Anderson and Phil Salt a 10th Finals Day appearance.
Like Wood, fellow England international Livingstone was key to Lancashire’s victory in front of a 12,000-plus crowd. Having returned 2-21 from four overs of spin, he helped recover their chase from 5-2 with a brilliantly destructive 85 not out off 45 balls with seven sixes. The hosts won with nine balls remaining.
Livingstone is the only member of today’s Lancashire team which won the Blast in 2015.
Lightning made the perfect start, as Wood had Tawanda Muyeye caught at mid-off with the first ball of the match. It was the second time he had struck with the first ball of an innings in this campaign.
Kent then scored runs at a decent rate but lost wickets at key moments.
Daniel Bell-Drummond miscued Anderson to backward point, Zak Crawley was caught behind having gloved a pull at Jack Blatherwick and Livingstone’s first ball ousted a sweeping Sam Billings caught at deep square-leg, leaving the score at 71-4 in the ninth over.
Joe Denly had started nicely, including lofting Blatherwick’s first ball for six over long-off.
But he also fell - on 28 - to strengthen Lancashire’s grip at 81-5 after 10 overs, miscuing a similar shot to long-off against Tom Hartley’s left-arm spin.
The trend continued. Joey Evison muscled sixes off the spin but fell for 27 to a smart boundary catch at long-off from Wood off Livingstone with the score on 115 in the 15th.
Grant Stewart also hit two sixes in a brisk 25 before playing on to Tom Aspinwall, who struck twice with his seamers. And Kent had to try and bat the overs out, which they did.
Still, their total had the feeling of being well short after Wood struck twice in the last over to remove Fred Klaassen and Nathan Gilchrist caught at deep midwicket.
But visiting hopes were raised as they reduced the Lightning to 5-2 inside two overs of the chase as Stewart’s seam had Salt caught at deep backward square-leg pulling and Klaassen’s left-armers forced Luke Wells to play on off his thigh pad.
Klaassen was superb for 3-14 from four overs.
Livingstone, on 15, top-edged a pull at Nathan Gilchrist into the back of his neck shortly afterwards and underwent a concussion check but carried on.
He lost captain Keaton Jennings caught on the scoop against the outstanding pace of Klaassen - 31-3 in the fifth over - before taking the sting out of the situation in dynamic fashion.
He took on the leg-spin of former county colleague, former Heaton CC star Matthew Parkinson, three times smashing him over long-on for six in the ninth over as he reached his first fifty of this season’s Blast off 25 balls and took the score to 84-3.
Experienced Australian Ashton Turner holed out off Evison almost immediately afterwards, but Kent desperately needed Livingstone’s wicket. And it did not arrive.
Even Parkinson getting Michael Jones for 28 off 16 balls and Hartley in the 14th over - 118-6 - was not enough.
Livingstone hammered Parkinson over long-on - and over The Point conference building - for six more, and Lancashire will play Somerset in the first semi-final at Edgbaston.
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