Jennings, Wells record stand puts Outlaws in the dock

Lancashire openers Keaton Jennings and Luke Wells shared 177 inside 16 overs - the highest ever partnership for any wicket in the Vitality Blast North Group - as Lightning beat Nottinghamshire Outlaws by 47 runs at Emirates Old Trafford.

Having elected to bat, Jennings crashed 95 off 49 balls and Wells 87 off 50 as Lightning totalled 216 for three to set up a second straight win to start their campaign.

The Outlaws, who replied with 169 all out, have now won one, lost one. Less than 24 hours earlier, they conceded 226 for five against the Bears at Trent Bridge but chased it easily.

This target was achievable even on a used pitch. But Lancashire returned a polished bowling display including a superb debut three for 23 from four overs for left-arm spinner Charlie Barnard. Moises Henriques made 60 off 32 balls for Notts.

Jennings and Wells shared 79 on the same pitch in victory over Worcestershire on Thursday, and the two left-handers excelled again.

They hit six sixes apiece and were dominant down the ground against both seam and spin. The 13 sixes in the innings equalled a Lightning record.

Jennings had actually been dropped off his first ball, getting a leading edge off the part-time spin of Matt Montgomery, who went one-handed diving to his right.

Dillon Pennington, Daniel Sams and the left-arm spin of Liam Patterson-White all claimed a wicket apiece for the Outlaws, but Montgomery was the pick of their attack, returning nought for 20 from four overs of off-spin.

Wells reached his fifty first off 34 balls shortly before Jennings got his second in as many games off 27 on Pride day at Emirates Old Trafford.

They bettered the previous North Group record stand - 175 between openers Graeme Hick and Vikram Solanki for Worcestershire against Northamptonshire at Kidderminster in 2007.

After Wells uppercut the pace of Pennington to short third man to end the partnership, Notts did well to drag things back. They could easily have been chasing more.

Henriques took a superb leaping catch at backward point to help Patterson-White remove his fellow Australian Ashton Turner as two wickets fell in the last 15 balls of the innings.

Bustling pacer Tom Aspinwall then struck twice in the third over of the Outlaws' chase - 21 for two - as captain Joe Clarke drilled to cover and fellow opener Lyndon James was bowled.

Jack Haynes and lead partner Henriques then settled things and advanced by sharing 61 inside six overs, the latter hoisting two big leg-side sixes in that time.

But when Haynes cut 20-year-old Barnard, who took the new ball, to cover for his first T20 wicket on debut, Lancashire were ahead again at 82 for three in the ninth.

Veteran Henriques reached a 21-ball fifty moments later, and you felt he had to be the match-winner.

So when he was trapped lbw by Barnard, shortly followed by Sams bowled later in the 15th over, it felt like game over at 131 for six. It proved true.

Like Barnard, Aspinwall was excellent with three for 26. So to was overseas off-spinner Chris Green with two for 28.