Well we are now over half way through the Lancashire CCC pre-season tour to Barbados and its been great trip for the squad so far. After months of training in the gym, indoor cricket centre and putting in the hard yards freezing up Rivington Pike and Abbey Village, it has been fantastic to get outside and play some cricket.

All the players have been training hard with Alex Horn and getting some good cricket against quality opposition. We played a Twenty20 tournament over the weekend and picked up what will hopefully be our first piece of silverware in a successful season to come.

We beat a spirited Barbados Select team on Saturday, who played in true calypso style with plenty of big hitting and short pitched bowling! This qualified Lancashire Lightning for a Twenty20 Finals Day set up on the Sunday. Another good win against County rivals Essex in the 2nd Semi Final, and then a powerful batting display of 183 against the tournament surprise packets, The University of the West Indies to win the Final.

Most importantly all the players in the 19 man squad have had a chance to get some important time in the middle and bowl some overs outdoors in preparation for the upcoming county season. In other promising signs, a youthful Lancashire line up beat Derbyshire yesterday by 6 wickets in a Pro40, and look set to back it up today against Essex at the 3W’s Oval.

Looking forward to the coming season and let’s hope its a successful for the Lightning!