Lynn looking forward to 'great challenge' as leaders Lightning come to town

Chris Lynn will be looking to maintain his fantastic form for the Steelbacks when they play Lancashire Lightning on Friday night

Second-placed Northants have emerged as the main challengers to the Old Trafford side for top spot in the North Group, having claimed five wins from their eight matches to date.

Lancashire are two points clear of the Steelbacks with six matches to go, but they will arrive at Wantage Road off the back of suffering their first defeat of the campaign.

They were beaten by two wickets at Durham, with their powerful batting line-up for once failing to fire as they were bowled out for 130.

Lightning will also be without a trio of key players, with Liam Livingstone, Phil Salt and Luke Wood all away with the England ODI team, with Eoin Morgan's side taking on the Netherlands in a three-match series in Amstelveen.

But Lynn insists the Red Rose county will still be a major force to be reckoned with thanks to the rich resources at their disposal.

"They have been the benchmark for the past few years now, and obviously they have plenty of power in that batting line-up," said Lynn, who certainly knows all about batting power!

"They also have quality spin and pace, so they are probably the all-round best outfit in the line-up, and that is a great challenge for our young squad to take them on in our home ground.

"They might be missing a couple of players, but the depth in that Lancs line-up is very strong."

And it's not just the Lightning ability that has impressed Lynn, who missed the Steelbacks’ last-ball two-wicket defeat when the sides met in Manchester two weeks ago due to a tooth infection, but also their strength of character.

That is something he believes the Steelbacks can learn from.

"It's not only about the players, their self-belief is second to none and that is something we are trying to instil into our team to follow," said the 32-year-old Queenslander.

"You know, some days you don't bowl the best or bat the best, but you have to have that self-belief. You need to be able to puff your chest out, and a bit of fake noise always helps in a game of T20 cricket."

Lynn is expected to have shaken off the calf strain he suffered during his scintillating innings of 113 not out against Worcestershire Rapids last time out.