Lancashire v Kent, Metro Bank One-Day Cup

ECB Reporters Network, supported by Rothesay. 

Lancashire 4 points, Kent 0 points.

England Lions past and present Matty Hurst and Mitch Stanley stood out with bat and ball respectively as Lancashire beat Kent by seven wickets in the first ever first-team game played at the Red Rose county’s new second home, AO Farington.

Stanley, a fast bowler on England’s radar and who toured with the Lions over the winter impressed with three for 43 from 10 overs as Kent were bowled out for 223. Their captain and opener Daniel Bell-Drummond top-scored with a determined 56.

Wicketkeeper-batter Hurst, a Lion in the 2024/25 winter, was similarly determined in steering Lancashire’s chase with 55 off 89 balls with only two boundaries.

Australian overseas Marcus Harris and Rocky Flintoff then helped finish things off with more expansive scores of 47 and 41 not out. Lancashire have now won two and lost one in Group A, while Kent have lost two and won one. 

Lancashire head coach Steven Croft said

“We took the momentum from the last game (Leicestershire, Sunday).

“It’s a new venue for us, but we have trained here a couple of times. The lads were up for the challenge, and to knock it off in style was nice.

“We’d probably have liked to chase 10, 15 or 20 less. There were quite a few extras in there. All in all, we were still confident of chasing those runs down.

“It was pretty hard (conditions). That was the reason for bowling first, to get a feel for it. It had a bit of bounce and carry. It was a bit of an unknown for both sides, and I commend the lads for adjusting and getting on with it.

“It's been great to see Mitch (Stanley) out there playing back-to-back games. I thought the batters then judged the whole chase really well.”