Karl Brown optimistic Lancashire can go all the way in T20 Blast

The Bolton batsman, one of Lancashire’s most consistent performers in Twenty20 cricket in recent years, is set to line up alongside England stars Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone to form a particularly potent batting line-up.

Brown, aged 29, has had a mixed summer so far.

He has not been able to break into Lancashire’s County Championship team, but impressed in the early summer Royal London one-day Cup with 315 runs from eight matches, including three fifties.

If the Lightning lift the Blast title at Edgbaston on September 2, it will be their second in three years.

They would also become only the fourth county to ever win this competition more than once, joining Leicestershire, Hampshire and reigning champions Northamptonshire.

Ahead of today’s opener against Durham at Emirates Riverside, Brown said: “It’s looking really good for us. I feel like we can have a good crack at it.

"There’s a really good buzz around the squad.

“Coming into the T20s, there’s always a lot of excitement. I know the lads really look forward to it. It’s no different this year.

“It’s the type of competition where you need a little bit of luck, but with the squad we’ve got, there’s no reason why we can’t go all the way again.

“Over the last few years, our batting has been a strong point, especially with the lads in the lower order being able to clear the ropes.

“We have a lot of experience in there.

“I’ve played a lot of games, Steven Croft has, Liam Livingstone is coming through now and Jos speaks for himself.

“It’s going to be tough on some of the lads that miss out.

“It’s nice to have a big squad because it’s a long tournament. We have 17 games if we go all the way, and we’ll need a lot of players.”

On his own season, Brown said: “I’ve been disappointed not to have played in the Championship, but the lads who have played have played well.

“I can only keep doing what I can, which is scoring a lot of runs in the second team.

“I had a good season in the one-day comp. Although we didn’t qualify, personally I felt like I was playing really well. I’ll be hoping to take that into the T20s.”

Brown scored a century in a second-team T20 match against Northants at Wantage Road on Monday and was back in his home town on Wednesday playing at Westhoughton.

Coach Glen Chapple picked a near first-team squad for a double header against Derbyshire.

Buttler was not involved and neither was overseas Pakistani fast bowler Junaid Khan. Both men are available to face Durham in the North Group opener, however.

“It’s been nice to get a couple of games in before the first-team stuff starts,” added Brown. “With us not having a Championship game, it’s been a good week of prep for us.”