Jennings leads from the front as Lancashire put Championship woes aside

Steven Croft got cricket's equivalent of the new manager bounce in his first game as Lancashire's interim head coach as the Lightning beat Worcestershire Rapids by seven runs in their Vitality Blast opener at Emirates Old Trafford.

Red Rose legend Croft, a Blast-winning captain in 2015, was elevated from his position on the coaching staff when Dale Benkenstein left the club on Wednesday following a winless first seven Championship matches.

Lightning captain Keaton Jennings top-scored with 66 off 38 balls in 176 for eight, while left-arm spinner Fateh Singh impressed with two for 23 from four overs on his career T20 debut for the Rapids.

England left-arm seamer Luke Wood, released from the ODI squad to play, then returned two for 39 from his four overs as Worcestershire, needing 15 from the last over, finished on 169 for seven.

Jennings and opening partner Luke Wells raced out of the blocks against a Worcestershire attack who failed to settle, sharing 79 inside the first eight overs.

Wells pulled New Zealand quick Jacob Duffy for one particularly big six over midwicket in 35 off 22 balls.

Jennings cut, pulled and slog-swept his three sixes, two of which came in a 30-ball fifty on a true pitch with sizeable boundaries.

Ethan Brookes took a superb catch at deep midwicket to help left-arm spinner Tom Hinley, on T20 debut, remove Jennings as the Lightning fell to 112 for three after 12 overs.

Brookes threw the ball up before going over the rope and catching it on the dive once he'd returned to the field.

Brookes - one for 26 from four overs - also impressed with his canny medium pacers. But Singh's spin was to the fore late on.

He had Chris Green caught and bowled for a golden duck and Jack Blatherwick caught at long-off in his last over as Lancashire reached 158 for six after 18 overs. Australian overseas Ashton Turner contributed 31 on his Red Rose debut.

Ed Pollock then skewed Wood high to cover in the opening over of Worcestershire's reply before Kashif Ali blasted three sixes in 39 off 21 balls. Two were off Mitch Stanley's pace, one gloriously arrow straight.

Kashif fell when he miscued at pull at the leg-spin of Wells to long-leg.

And that was the first of three wickets to fall for 22 inside four overs as the Rapids fell from 71 for one in the seventh over to 93 for four in the 11th. Blatherwick's pacy short ball had captain Brett O'Oliveira caught behind for 30 before, next ball, Adam Hose miscued a pull at Tom Aspinwall to short fine-leg.

From there, the Lightning squeezed.

Worcestershire failed to score a boundary between the first ball of the ninth over and the first of the 16th, where they reached at 125 for five, needing 52.

Gareth Roderick was smartly run out by a throw to the striker's end from Josh Bohannon at long-on.

Brookes hit the lion's share of 17 off Blatherwick in the 16th over as the Rapids got going again.

But he fell to Wood for 28 in the penultimate before seamer Tom Aspinwall (one for 25 from three overs) brilliantly defended that 15 off the last to boost Lancashire.