MATCH PREVIEW: Lancashire v Surrey, Metro Bank One Day Cup
Lancashire v Surrey
Metro Bank One-Day Cup, Group A
Tuesday July 21, 2026, 11am
Sedbergh School
The third competition of the county schedule begins, and Lancashire are confident of silverware.
The Red Rose side have been placed in Group A alongside Kent, Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Surrey and Warwickshire. Eight group games, four at home and four away.
Lancashire have struggled over the last couple of seasons in 50-over cricket, but they’ve had to deal with a host of players being away at The Hundred. This summer, that’s not quite the case.
Unavailable are Tom Aspinwall, Jos Buttler, Tom Hartley, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt and Luke Wood.
All-rounder George Balderson has been appointed as the county’s captain for this campaign, the former England Under 19s skipper who has gained plenty of leadership experience at various levels growing up.
Lancashire face a Surrey side who have struggled recently in the One-Day Cup for similar reasons.
This is the first of four matches through until the end of July, with three of them at home, including two at Farington on July 28 and 30.
Lancashire are targeting their first major List A trophy since winning the CGU League in 1999.
A reminder of the format.
The top three teams in each of the two groups advances to the knockouts. The top team in each qualifies directly for a home semi-final on Sunday August 16. The second and third teams play off in effective quarter-finals on Friday August 14, the second-placed teams at home, for the right to advance to the semis.
The final is at Trent Bridge on Sunday September 20.
Worcestershire Rapids are the defending champions.
Opposition
Surrey will have to deal with a host of Hundred absentees once again.
Gus Atkinson, Jordan Clark, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Laurie Evans, Matthew Fisher, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Tom Lawes, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Jason Roy, Jamie Smith, Ollie Sykes, Reece Topley and Dan Worrall are all involved in The Hundred.
Lancashire finished eighth in Group B last summer with one win, six defeats and a No Result. Surrey, meanwhile, finished sixth in Group A with three wins and five defeats.
The likes of Rory Burns, Ben Foakes and Ryan Patel were involved as senior players last year, but Foakes has not played a game in any format this season since the end of the April because of injury.
Surrey last won a List A trophy in 2003 when they triumphed in the National League.
Opposition player to watch
Wicketkeeper-batter Josh Blake, 27, has only played one first-team match this season – in Championship cricket – but he has been in decent form with the bat for Surrey’s second team in 2026.
He has scored one hundred and one fifty, added to a number of other useful contributions for the Surrey twos.
He was an ever-present in last season’s One-Day Cup and totalled 257 runs, including a best of 72. The right-hander was Surrey’s second leading run-scorer behind Ollie Sykes (338).
Sykes captained Surrey in this competition last year. But, as aforementioned, he’s unavailable because of The Hundred. He’s been selected by Oval-based side MI London.
Blake made his senior debut for Surrey in this competition in 2022, and the majority of his first-team exposure has come in this format. He has one century to his name, a run-a-ball 100 not out in a 2024 win over Essex at Chelmsford batting at number five.
Previous meeting
These two counties haven’t met in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup since 2023, when Lancashire were 10-wicket winners at Guildford.
New Zealander Will Williams took 4-30 from seven overs of seam having taken the new ball, with Surrey bowled out for just 153. Josh Blake top-scored with a middle-order 34 for the hosts.
Tom Aspinwall and George Balderson also chipped in with two wickets apiece for the Red Rose and Jacks Blatherwick and Morley struck once each.
In reply, Lancashire chased their target inside 23 overs without losing a wicket thanks to a dashing 78 not out from 59 balls for George Bell and a more measured 76 off 74 from Keaton Jennings, who is set to feature for the Red Rose this term.
What they said
George Balderson has been speaking about his appointment as Lancashire’s captain for the duration of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup.
Balderson, 25, is not short on previous captaincy experience, albeit not at first-team level.
He has led various teams growing up – the Cheshire age-group sides, for example – and also teams such as the England Under 19s and Lancashire’s second team.
Balderson is also confident of Red Rose success in this season’s 50-over campaign.
He said: “It’s an honour to captain the club, and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.
“I haven’t done a lot of captaincy in the last sort of five years, but I’ve done the England Under 19s stuff previously, and we’re constantly searching for new leaders within the group to help Jimmy, Keats, the other senior players.
“It’s nice I’m going to have some other senior lads around me, so that should hopefully make my job a little bit easier, and they can steer me in the right direction to start with.”
Balderson added: “This is a great challenge for everyone.
“The last couple of years in this competition, we’ve sort of felt like we’ve been starting the young side that hasn’t been able to compete with other teams necessarily. We’ve had no choice but to treat it as a development comp.
“This year, you look at the other teams across the board, you look at our own squad ,and I think it carries a little bit more weight. So, hopefully, we can go out and put some performances in.”
How’s Stat!
Lancashire have won their last three List A matches against Surrey, dating back to 2013. Two of those have been at Guildford, the other at Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground.
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