IT remains, to some who saw it, the greatest one-day cricket cup tie ever played - certainly the longest and, in the circumstances, surely the most dramatic.

How the memories came flooding back when Lancashire were paired with Gloucestershire in the quarter finals of the Benson Hedges Cup.

Of a July day back in 1971 when the two clubs clashed at Old Trafford in a Gillette Cup semi-final which caused such an enormous stir that cricket has never been quite the same since.

It was a watershed in the game.

At the time, I recall that the Lancashire League were experimenting with limited overs.

Lancashire and Gloucestershire produced such an epic it became clear that overs cricket, rather than timed version, was the shape of the future at all levels.

Sure, Test matches would survive, prosper even in some respects.

But the game, already heading steadily down the road of limited overs cricket in the early 1970s, was pushed into a headlong plunge from which there was no return.

It was what the public wanted.

And, if any more persuasion was needed, Lancashire and Gloucestershire left no cause for further argument in the gathering gloom late on a Wednesday evening in front of a packed Old Trafford.

So full was the ground, they had been forced to close the gates earlier in the day.

But television captured the drama for those unable to obtain a ticket.

Thankfully, the heroics of David Hughes were taped for posterity. The panther-like fielding of Clive Lloyd - still the greatest exponent I have ever seen - and the familiar consistency with both bat and ball of "Flat Jack" Simmons were all main ingredients in a rich recipe of one-day cricket at its finest.

I came across Jack only last week, watching the county seconds, ironically on the Bentgate Ground where Clive Lloyd first thrilled Lancashire crowds, as professional for Haslingden in the late 1960s.

Both Lloyd and Simmons were key factors in that Lancashire cricket machine who went on to beat Kent in the final at Lord's.

The county have enjoyed much success in the one-day cup competitions.

But, for my money, the summer of '71 was their finest hour.

The result hinged around a sensational over delivered by John Mortimore and smashed into oblivion by Hughes.

With lights shining out through the darkness all around Old Trafford, it was virtually impossible for fielders, never mind spectators, to see the ball.

But Hughes had the eyes of a hawk, the strength of an ox and the timing to match as he took Mortimore apart with 24 runs from the six balls.

Relatively few moments are really worthy of being included in the over-used "Never-to-be-forgotten" category.

This game was one of them.

The greatest one-day cricket match ever? I wouldn't argue, but no doubt there are others who will.

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