Flintoff was soon among the wickets at Wantage Road

Andrew Flintoff showed no rustiness in his first appearance of the season as Lancashire hammered Northamptonshire by eight wickets in the C&G Trophy.

Flintoff took 3-30 and claimed a catch as the hosts made 172-9 after rain reduced the match to 45 overs per side.

Lance Klusener boosted the total with 63 but, despite the loss of two early wickets, it failed to trouble Lancs.

Brad Hodge hit 67 and Stuart Law 63 off as many balls as they made it three wins out of three in the competition.

Interview: Andrew Flintoff

Proceedings did not start well for Flintoff who spilled Usman Afzaal at second slip in only the third over.

But he soon made amends by having him caught behind before removing Chris Rogers and Bilal Shafayat.

Dominic Cork then took over by bowling Riki Wessels, trapping Ben Philips lbw and dismissing Matthew Nicholson for a duck.

Klusener was typically brutal as he edged his side towards respectability but their total was never likely to prove challenging even though Mal Loye and Mark Chilton fell cheaply.

Hodge bludgeoned a succession of boundaries and Law provided admirable support as Lancs cantered home.