Prince hundred leads Lancashire victory

Lancashire 275 for 3 beat Glamorgan 271 for 4 by seven wickets
Scorecard

Ashwell Prince and Steven Croft shared their third century partnership of the summer to help Lancashire open their Clydesdale Bank 40 account at the expense of Glamorgan at Old Trafford. The Red Rose pair helped their side recover from 89 for 3 in pursuit of 272 with an unbroken 186 to win by seven wickets with 16 balls to spare.

Glamorgan seemed well placed to claim only their third 40-over win since September 2008 after Tom Maynard's 103 not out off 68 balls had boosted the visitors to 271 for 4. Tom Smith and Paul Horton got the Lightning off to a rapid response, bringing up their side's fifty in the seventh over, but James Harris picked up two quick wickets to rattle the hosts in the 14th over.

In fading light an asking rate north of seven an over through the last 20 overs was a tough ask but Prince and Croft continued their fine form together after two hundred stands in the County Championship. Prince brought up a majestic unbeaten 102 in 82 balls when he hit the winning runs off Harris and Croft finished 84 not out off 70 balls. They hit 16 fours and two sixes between them.

After Harris had forced Horton to scoop to mid-off and had Stephen Moore caught at mid-on, David Brown bowled Smith for 33. But South African Prince brought up his fourth half-century of the summer in all forms off 55 balls with only one four.

Croft has also been in imperious form this season and his fifth fifty came off 54 balls just before the pair took the four overs of batting powerplay at the start 33rd over with the score on 211 for 3. Croft crashed David Harrison for a six and four with the first two balls of the 35th over and this was the first time that the Lightning were on top at any stage in the match.

And when the 25 year-old was dropped on 73 by Harris in the same over at square-leg Glamorgan were down and out. Lancashire's batting powerplay yielded 41 runs. Maynard, who hit 108 in a 40-over game against Northants at Colwyn Bay last summer, earlier built on an opening stand of 86 between Mark Cosgrove and Jim Allenby. Allenby hit 40 and Cosgrove 50 off 53 balls.

Left-arm spinner Stephen Parry claimed the wickets of both on the way to figures of 2 for 41 from eight overs and he was the pick of the home attack. But Maynard and Jamie Dalrymple (31) shared 60 for the third wicket before the former and Brown shared a fourth wicket stand of 101 in 10 overs.

This was the partnership that really set the Dragons up for a competitive total. Maynard hit two sixes and two fours as he helped take 22 runs of Glen Chapple in the 37th over of the innings and Brown only scored 27 runs in the fourth wicket stand.