Lancashire's Jos Buttler set for Blast in Blackpool

England Men's limited-overs captain Buttler is in the early stages of a 10-group game run for Lightning. His first was Thursday’s Roses defeat at Headingley, and he will feature in five home games between now and July 2 - the other four at Emirates Old Trafford.

Buttler, fresh from two months at the IPL with Rajasthan Royals, has been with Lancashire for the past week and a half, training at Chester Boughton Hall before away matches at Yorkshire, Durham and Notts Outlaws.

“It’s been so nice to go and train at Chester after being in the IPL with all the razzmatazz and pressure, to almost go back to where you started your career,” he said.

“Club cricket has been such a big part of my development, it makes you feel quite comfortable and for it to just be about the cricket.

“Being able to take some of our games to outgrounds such as Blackpool, it’s great for the county. It will be a bit different (than the last couple of months at the IPL). But if it was the same every time, you’d get bored of it maybe. I’m really looking forward it.”

After Thursday’s Roses game, in which Buttler scored one opening the batting, Yorkshire captain Shan Masood said of Lancashire’s team for the Blast ‘could be an international side’.

Buttler is joined in the squad by Colin de Grandhomme, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Daryl Mitchell, Matthew Parkinson, Phil Salt and Luke Wood. It begs the question of how the Red Rose compare to an IPL team?

“It’s a tough question,” said Buttler. “There are limitations in terms of county cricket compared to IPL. You get the four overseas players over there, for example. But I certainly think we have a very strong team for this competition.

“There’s lots of international experience and some really talented guys who are on the cusp of pushing. We also have some experienced guys from around the franchise world. We have a nice blend of guys, and we should go well.”

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