Wayne Madsen hit an unbeaten 76 from 49 balls but a Liam Livingstone ton powered Lancashire Lightning to victory in the opening Vitality Blast match at The 3aaa County Ground.
Lancashire captain Livingstone (100) hit a quick-fire century while Alex Davies also added an unbeaten 50 to help the visitors to a nine-wicket win.
Calum MacLeod impressed on debut for the Falcons to strike a well-made 44 in an 86-run partnership with Madsen, but ultimately it wasn’t enough as the Lightning reached the 161 total with 33 balls to spare.
After Lancashire won the toss and elected to bowl first, it was the visitors who struck first as Steven Croft was alert in the field to dismiss Ben Slater (1) from a direct run out in the first over.
Critchley was out for 12 and the loss of two early wickets saw Madsen and debutant MacLeod together in the middle and the pair set about rebuilding the innings to take the Falcons onto 62-2 at the halfway stage.
Madsen continued to accelerate and he brought up his fifty from 36 balls and MacLeod supported the all-rounder before the Scotsman fell for 44.
34-year-old Madsen showed why he claimed the PCA Most Valuable Player title in the competition last year as he helped the Falcons to hit 30 from the final two overs, including an audacious ramp shot for six over the wicketkeeper.
He finished with a classy 76 not out from 49 balls as Derbyshire set Lancashire 162 to win.
Lancashire opening batsmen Livingstone and Davies started strongly to get the visitors off to a quick start as the pair both hit boundaries to race the Lightning onto 67-0 at the end of the opening powerplay.
The pair raced to a 100-run partnership after 8.3 overs and Livingstone maintained his momentum throughout the innings, batting fluently to reach his century from 49 balls, including nine fours and seven sixes.
Pakistan international Wahab Riaz came back into the attack to take his first wicket for the Falcons and remove Livingstone for 100 as Gary Wilson took a diving catch at slip.
Arron Lilley hit the winning runs as the visitors claimed a nine-wicket victory with 5.3 overs remaining.
Vitality Blast is back! Derbyshire Falcons host seven Twenty20 games this July and August. Purchase your tickets in advance and save from £4. Buy online or call 01332 388 101.
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