Importance of Lancashire's out-grounds emphasised following start of County Championship clash at Blackpool

The importance of out-ground cricket has been emphasised following the first day of Lancashire’s County Championship meeting with Kent at Blackpool.

On the back of recent T20 outings for both the Red Roses’ men and women, the club will continue to make Stanley Park their home over the week in the four-day format.

Head coach Steven Croft knows the surroundings well, with one of his first tastes of professional cricket coming as a youngster in his home town.

“It’s really nice to get some four-day cricket here,” he said.

“It’s always exciting to come back home. As a club we really enjoy coming here, and on a personal note, it’s good to see family and friends.

“My first experience of county cricket was down here. I still remember the game - it was against Glamorgan. I’ve got very fond memories. It’s a very big county, and not everyone can get into Manchester, so it’s great to stretch the game out to here, Southport, and Liverpool - in the past.

“It’s brilliant for the game and our county. As a player it’s nice to be adaptable and play at these different grounds and on these different wickets.

“When Farington is up and running, it’ll be an awesome facility for us, but out-ground cricket still has a real part to play in county cricket as a whole.”

Croft is hopeful that the accessibility of cricket in different grounds across Lancashire will help to inspire the next generation of players.

“That’s what we all want - it’s within touching distance,” he added.

“Someone who made his debut today, Joe Moores, I remember seeing him as a 13-year-old, and that was only four years ago, so it can happen really quickly in this game.

“Cricket is a game where avenues can open up really quickly, and hopefully we’ll see the next Blackpool player take the step up to county cricket and international cricket.”

The first day of the Kent game saw Liam Livingstone make his red ball return, with the 32-year-old picking up five wickets in the first innings.

“I quite enjoy the atmosphere of playing here and playing at out-grounds - I like the vibe of having fans close to the boundary,” he said.

“It’s nice to see people come in, get their deck chairs out, and watch some cricket.

“I played here as a kid with my home club, so it’s kind of nice to come back somewhere pretty familiar. There’s still a few people around I used to play against. I actually played for Blackpool as a sub pro a couple of years ago.”