JONNY Bairstow has pulled no punches in assessing Yorkshire’s performances in the first half of this season’s NatWest T20 Blast campaign ahead of their blockbuster clash with Lancashire.

The England limited overs star from York accepts the Vikings have not been good enough in claiming only three wins from their eight North Division matches.

Bairstow was particularly critical of his and his team-mates’ performance in only securing a tie against Leicestershire at Grace Road last Friday as they attempted to chase 143.

They failed to get five off the last over, and now their hopes of success are realistically on the line, if not mathematically, when they travel across the Pennines to a sold out Emirates Old Trafford.

“We're not playing well enough, simple as that,” said the wicketkeeper-batsman, who scored 37 off 22 balls against the Foxes before being bowled by Ben Raine at a critical stage in the run chase.

“Lancashire is going to be a tough game, we know that.

“But we need to sort ourselves out in this competition because we've got a wealth of experience and talent in our squad, and we're not applying ourselves well enough with the bat.

“That's what we need to do, and hopefully we will go out and do it.”

Although Yorkshire did not lose at Grace Road, it had the feeling of being the lowlight of their competition so far - on a par with their home defeat against Northamptonshire. It was certainly one point lost rather than one gained.

“Without a doubt,” agreed Bairstow. “You should be knocking 140 off every time. It was a fast outfield, and there's no excuses. To not get over the line on the last ball was disappointing.

“There were a couple of unfortunate decisions, but they should have been irrelevant. We should have knocked off that total in 17 overs.”

Yorkshire and Lancashire have been involved in some cracking Twenty20 matches down the years, with the two most recent meetings being last-over thrillers.

Last year, Yorkshire rode on Aaron Finch’s blistering 88 to chase down 180 in the last over, with Bairstow hitting an important 19 not out off 13 balls at the death before Rich Pyrah hit the winning six.

And last month, a superb unbeaten 71 from England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler, unavailable tonight. saw Lancashire home off the last ball chasing 186.

“Roses games are always good. Simple as,” added Bairstow.

“Tell me a bad Roses game in the last five to ten years. There isn’t one.

“Both teams always turn up, the crowd always turns up, and it’s a very special occasion. This one will not be any different.”

Yorkshire go into the match without Adil Rashid because of his call-up to England’s Test squad for next week’s Ashes opener against Australia at Cardiff. They have included spinners James Middlebrook and Karl Carver in a 14-man squad.

Lancashire are also in need of a victory having won four and lost five of their nine matches so far. They have lost three at home against Durham, Worcestershire and, most recently, champions Birmingham.

Yorkshire (from): Gale (captain), Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Carver, Coad, Finch, Fisher, Gibson, Hodd, Leaning, Maxwell, Middlebrook, Patterson, Pyrah, Rhodes.