Byas' commanding performance eases Lancashire home

Leicestershire 163 for 8 Lancashire 164 for 6 Lancs won by 4 wickets

It could be argued that Lancashire scarcely deserved to be in the quarter-finals of the Benson & Hedges Cup, let alone have a sniff of a seventh trip to Lord's in the competition's final year. Knock-out cricket remains their forte, however, and Leicestershire's expectations of progress were stifled, in the event, quite comfortably.

Winning by four wickets with 14 balls to spare, they owed a considerable debt to a Gold Award-winning 91 by the former Yorkshire captain, David Byas, who comfortably outscored his team-mates on a slow pitch where few batsmen prospered. That is not to say that Lancashire's five-seamer bowling attack does not deserve credit for a highly-disciplined performance, in the face of which only Michael Bevan posted a worthwhile score.

Lancashire had qualified from the North Zone as one of the two best third-placed sides, much to the disappointment of Northamptonshire, who picked up one point more in the Midlands/West/Wales section, but finished only fourth. Leicestershire, having won by 17 runs when the sides met at Old Trafford in a zonal game and with a 100 per cent record in completed one-day games before this one, started favourites.

But after captain Vince Wells trusted the pitch enough to put Lancashire in the field, his faith in a normally reliable batting line-up proved misplaced. Frustration began to reveal itself quickly, as Leicestershire's innings struggled for early momentum, Trevor Ward and Iain Sutcliffe edging catches as Peter Martin struck two early blows.

Darren Stevens began brightly, but his progress was halted when John Wood had him caught by Andrew Flintoff at slip. Wood, who has been Lancashire's leading wicket-taker in the competition, uprooted Wells' leg stump in his next over.

That left Leicestershire at 52 for 4, but still with scope for a decent total had support for Bevan been forthcoming from a strong middle-order. However, Darren Maddy, having faced 19 balls without scoring before crashing Kyle Hogg for four, lost his off stump to the next delivery.

Hogg then yorked Neil Burns, Flintoff removed Phil DeFreitas in similar style and Bevan's gallant 67 was ended when Wood claimed his third wicket, the former Durham powerhouse finishing with 3 for 33 for the third time in this season's competition.

Though Lancashire reached the target comfortably, it might have been a much different story had Byas not made such an impact – and he did enjoy a lucky moment on 40 when Maddy ought to have run him out after Stuart Law called for a risky single. Two wickets for Maddy shortly after that escape prompted a momentary wobble at 78 for 4, Law and Flintoff departing in the space of three balls, but Byas grew in stature, driving impressively to record his highest score since his change of county before being bowled off his pads attempting to pull Matt Whiley.

* An unbeaten 94 from the Australian all-rounder Andy Bichel helped Worcestershire seal their place in the semi-finals of the Benson & Hedges Cup with an eight-wicket win over Gloucestershire with 8.2 overs to spare.