Watch Lancashire Vs. Yorkshire T20 Blast Cricket Live Online: Bitter Rivals Battle At Leeds

Cricket fans can watch England’s oldest and fiercest rivalry play out live online as Lancashire visits Yorkshire in a NatWest T20 Blast match at Headingley Stadium in Leeds Friday, June 5. The already intense contest features a quartet of England National Team stars — on opposite sides.

To find out how to watch live online for free and get a taste of Lancashire Lightning vs. Yorkshire Vikings in the T20 version of the greatest English county cricket rivalry, see the information at the bottom of this article. First ball is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in Leeds — that’s 1:30 p.m. United States Eastern Time, 10:30 a.m. Pacific.

Early in the NatWest T20 Blast campaign, both sides could use a victory, making Friday’s “Roses” match — as the Lancashire vs. Yorkshire cricket rivalry is called — even more heated. The Lightning sit in ninth place on the North Group table at 1-2 for two points, while Yorkshire have the opposite record, which at this stage is good enough for third position.

Called the “Roses” because the rivalry between the two counties dates back to the 15th century, the cricket rivalry serves as a continuation of the era when the houses of Lancaster and York fought the War of the Roses for control of the English throne.

Ultimately, the Lancasters won that one, with the King Richard III, the last York king, being killed in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 by forces led by Henry Tudor of the House of Lancaster, who took over as King Henry VIII.

Starting in 1849, the Yorkshiremen have been seeking revenge on the cricket oval, and doing pretty well at it, winning 83 of the 264 First Class matches played, to 53 for Lancashire with 127 draws. In the relatively new T20 game, Yorkshire holds a slight edge of 9-8 with one draw and one no result.

While the cricket rivalry may have lost some of its luster from the days when players were required to actually have been born in the county for which they played, tickets for Friday’s T20 match have been sold out for at least three weeks, proving that there’s still plenty of heat remaining on the Roses.

Friday’s match will feature four stars of the England side fresh of their Test series 1-1 split against New Zealand.

Wicketkeeper Jos Buttler takes the field for Lancashire, with England teammates Adam Lyth, Gary Ballance, and Joe Root going into battle for Yorkshire.

The two sides will also pit two teammates from Australia’s World Cup winning one-day side against each other. Bowler James Faulkner takes the pitch for Lancaster while all-rounder Glenn Maxwell features on the Yorkshire side.

To watch the Lancashire vs. Yorkshire T20 cricket showdown live online free and legally, visit ESPN3, the online-only service of ESPN, which will stream the match at this link. ESPN3 is free to subscribers of almost any major internet service provider and dozens of smaller ISPs. For a complete list, check this link, or try the instructions at this link if you do not have an account with an ISP that carries ESPN3.

[Image: Chris Brunskill/Getty Images]