Joe Root in. And on the board with a single.

Interesting that Lancashire have opened the bowling with two spinners here.

Tom Hartley records the same figures as Steven Croft, the second over also going for five.

Gorgeous sunshine at Emirates Old Trafford, lots of punters enjoying this Saturday evening match.

A first four of the evening.

Adam Lyth dispatches Tom Hartley down to deep mid-wicket, one bounce before the boundary.

Then follows up with a single.

Nothing spectacular from the opening over from Yorkshire but still five runs, all via singles.

Adam Lyth and Mark Stoneman working themselves in.

Quick single off spinner Steven Croft for Adam Lyth off the opening ball.

Two more singles follow.

No chance of any more of those pesky rain interruptions in tonight's Roses derby.

Like the rest of the British Isles, it's sweltering up in Manchester.

And we're almost ready - the players are out, Yorkshire batting first, remember.

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

You can listen to radio commentary of the Roses Blast clash by clicking the audio icons at the top of the page.

There's the option of BBC Radio Lancashire commentary or BBC 5 Live Sports Extra - although the latter does not start until 17:15 BST.

Their words in your ears and my words in your eyes - what more can you ask?

No sign Yorkshire are taking this one easy despite their qualification already being secure...

Yorkshire skipper Joe Root has won the toss and elected to bat first.

Lancashire are unchanged from the team that beat Durham just 24 hours ago - but they are, of course, missing one of their big T20 threats in Liam Livingstone, who impressed in England's defeat by Pakistan last night.

Livingstone is fifth in this season's Blast averages with 63.50. Who's top? Yorkshire's Harry Brook on a whopping 92.60 - and it was his unbeaten 91 that proved decisive in the reverse fixture earlier this month.

England Test skipper Joe Root is in for a rare T20 outing, just his fourth of the summer for Yorkshire - he will be aiming to improve of scores of 15 and one in his past two appearances, although he did hit 49 against Derbyshire before that.

Lancashire: Allen, Jennings, Davies, Vilas, Croft, Jones, Well,s Wood, Lamb, Hartley, Hurt.

Yorkshire: Stoneman, Lyth, Root, Brook, Ballance, Fraine, Thompson, Bess, Waite, Duke, Fisher.

It was an eventful Friday night of T20 action just 24 hours ago, not least for Hampshire, who played two games in the same day - and won both.

Even now, they are still on the outside looking in when it comes to South Group qualification but England's James Vince - who top-scored in both games against Essex, then Sussex - has given them a chance.

Kent sealed top spot in the South Group by hammering Middlesex while Somerset also qualified for the quarter-finals as Devon Conway hit an unbeaten 70 against Glamorgan.

Half-centuries from Finn Allen and Alex Davies kept Lancashire's destiny in their own hands as they edged a North Group thriller against Durham by just six runs while a 106-run stand between Sam Hain and Carlos Brathwaite kept Birmingham Bears in contention as they beat Worcestershire at Edgbaston.

Read our full round-up of Friday's action here.

Image source, BBC Sport

The North Group standings have been complicated somewhat by Derbyshire's inability to play the final two games of their Blast campaign due to a Covid outbreak.

That means the ECB has employed a points per game (ppg) method to decide the standings because some sides will have played a match fewer than others.

It means Yorkshire - one of the teams scheduled to play Derbyshire this weekend - are guaranteed to progress even with defeat today because of their superior ppg to the sides below them.

Lancashire will go through with victory - but defeat could see them eliminated, should both Worcestershire and Bimingham Bears win their respective final group matches on Sunday.

Got all that? Thought not. Not sure I have either to be honest. Let's just enjoy the cricket then. My head hurts too.

This will be the sixth day this month that Lancashire and Yorkshire have faced off - well, sort of.

Last week's four-day County Championship encounter only saw a day-and-a-bit of action thanks to the inclement weather in Leeds.

An entire day was washed out and when the sides did reconvene, the game was abandoned with Lancashire on 411-2 after an injury to Yorkshire's Dom Leech as the surface was adjudged unsafe.

July's earlier encounter finished much more joyfully for Yorkshire as they edged the first T20 Blast meeting between the sides by nine runs thanks to an unbeaten 91 from Harry Brook and Lockie Ferguson's four-wicket haul.

Image source, Rex Features

Or is it?

Well, we'll know in about three hours' time.

Yorkshire are already through to the quarter-finals of the T20 Blast, qualifying without playing on Friday night.

Lancashire have it in their own hands to join them with a victory at Emirates Old Trafford tonight - but will their Roses rivals be a thorn in their side and put paid to those hopes?

Image source, Rex Features