Women’s football fans across the country are in for a treat if Chelsea and Manchester City end up going head-to-head in the semi-finals of the SSE Women’s FA Cup, according to England legend Sue Smith.

Investment into grassroots football in Manchester since 2000 has seen it receive 30 fewer grants than Leicester, according to new figures released by the Football Foundation.

The Red Rose are in the relegation places going into the final round of fixtures and must beat Middlesex convincingly in order to escape the drop.

Brown scored the bulk of Lancashire’s runs, smashing 61 off 51 balls as his side posted what appeared a below par total of 133 before a stellar bowling effort.