Arav Shetty Shines as Lancashire End Nottinghamshire's Winning Streak in Metro Bank One-Day Cup

Arav Shetty produced a superb all-round performance to guide Lancashire to a thrilling 31-run victory over Nottinghamshire in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup, ending the visitors' unbeaten start to the season at AO Farington.

Shetty starred with both bat and ball, scoring a career-best 53 before claiming three wickets as Lancashire successfully defended a total of 220, bowling Nottinghamshire out for 189. The victory lifted Lancashire to the top of Group A, with both teams now recording three wins and one defeat.

After being asked to bat first, Lancashire made a promising start despite losing Matty Hurst early to James Hayes. Keaton Jennings (37) and Josh Bohannon (43) steadied the innings with a 78-run partnership, taking the score to 84 for 1.

However, Nottinghamshire's spin attack turned the match in the visitors' favour. Off-spinner Farhan Ahmed delivered an impressive spell of 3 for 26, while Liam Patterson-White also picked up three wickets as Lancashire lost four wickets for just 14 runs to slump to 98 for 5. Jennings fell attempting a sweep, Marcus Harris was caught and bowled, and Rocky Flintoff was beaten by an excellent delivery.

With Lancashire in trouble, the 22-year-old Shetty played a composed and aggressive innings, striking two towering sixes on his way to a maiden first-team half-century. His 53 from 57 balls provided the backbone of the innings before Patterson-White dismissed him at 183 for 8. Jack Blatherwick then added a valuable 31 lower down the order, helping Lancashire post a competitive 220.

In reply, Nottinghamshire's chase got off to a poor start when Tom Bailey trapped Freddie McCann lbw in the opening stages. Shetty soon struck with his off-spin, dismissing Ben Martindale, before George Balderson removed captain Haseeb Hameed with a delivery that stayed low, leaving the visitors at 64 for 3.

George Munsey (37) and Martindale had briefly steadied the innings with a 52-run partnership, but Nottinghamshire suffered another collapse as Munsey was bowled attempting a reverse sweep against Shetty, while Blatherwick dismissed Lyndon James to leave the visitors struggling.

Liam Patterson-White fought back with a determined 39, sharing a 66-run partnership with South African wicketkeeper-batter Kyle Verreynne, who top-scored with a resilient 61. The pair revived Nottinghamshire's hopes, with Patterson-White accelerating the scoring by taking 14 runs from one over.

Shetty, however, returned to break the partnership by bowling Patterson-White, effectively shifting the momentum back in Lancashire's favour. Bailey then removed Farhan Ahmed before Verreynne reached a hard-fought half-century.

Blatherwick sealed the victory with an outstanding spell at the death, first taking a caught-and-bowled dismissal of Sam Wood before removing Brett Hutton with the very next delivery. Verreynne's resistance finally ended when he played the ball onto his stumps, handing Lancashire a well-earned 31-run victory.

The result ended Nottinghamshire's perfect start to the Metro Bank One-Day Cup campaign, while Lancashire's third win in four matches saw them move to the top of Group A, thanks to standout performances from Arav Shetty and Jack Blatherwick.