THE LIONS are by no means certain of making the last eight in the Friends Provident T20, but it seems that will not stop them blooding some of their youngsters.

Two weeks ago, Jason Roy hit a hundred against Kent, and in their last two matches the Lions have drafted in another 19-year-old batsman, opener Tom Lancefield.

In last Sunday's clash with the Glamorgan Dragons, Lancefield, in tandem with Mark Ramprakash, handed the home side an excellent start.

Unfortunately, Surrey lost some momentum after Lancefield was brilliantly caught at deep mid-off in the sixth over. After the match, which Glamorgan won with three balls to spare, Lancefield said he was pleased with his own contribution.

He said: "We got off to a good start, but their spinners came on, took the pace off it well and made it hard for us to hit the boundaries in that middle period.

"It was one of those games where it could have gone either way, but I think Tom Maynard's innings was pretty special. Had we got him out I think we could have got through them.

"It was just unfortunate. We'll look back on it and try and see if could do things differently – keep on improving as we have been.

"Today was a blip. We'll put it behind us and move on to the next one. We probably need to win three of our last four group games. Hopefully we'll get those three wins and get through to the quarter-finals."

The defeat was especially disappointing for the Lions who had looked well placed at 67-1 after six overs but they were unable to convert their start into a huge score and could only manage 168-4 from their 20 overs.

In reply, Glamorgan looked up against it at 70-3 in the 10th over, but Tom Maynard had other ideas as he hit the accelerator at just the right time in his 43-ball knock to finish unbeaten on 78.

He was given excellent support by Jamie Dalrymple and also had a slice of luck in the 18th over, when Stewart Walters pulled off a superb diving catch at deep square leg off Chris Schofield, but could not prevent his momentum carrying him over the rope.

That let off proved crucial as Maynard and Ben Wright successfully knocked off the 10 needed from the final over.

However, the Surrey youngsters once again showed promise and Lancefield says he is ready to continue opening the batting as the competition reaches it's business end.

He said: "That doesn't bother me. I like the fight and I like going out up top. Trying to knock the runs as quickly as possible suits my game.

"That's what I've done all my life in one-day cricket. Obviously, it helps having Ramps at the other end.

"It's brilliant to bat with someone you've watched through your childhood. He knows when to speak to you. He let's me play my way, but he also knows when it's right to come down the wicket and have a little intervention.

"I've had a good stint in the second team, getting a lot of runs, which has also helped me come into this environment and feel confident that I can perform."

Surrey face Middlesex at the Oval today before travelling to Glamorgan on Friday and face Sussex at Arundel on Sunday.