Gary Ballance column: In the build-up to Wednesday’s Roses twenty20 match against Lancashire at Old Trafford, I have been posed a real teaser for this week’s column.

With there only having been two Roses fixtures a year for the last couple of seasons, with the two counties being in different divisions of the County Championship, I was asked the following question.

Do you want Lancashire to get promoted in order to resume rivalries in the Championship?

My answer: ‘Err, err... that’s a difficult question!’

In all seriousness, they are great occasions when the two counties get together, and this week should be no different.

The Headingley game was fantastic in front of a sell-out crowd. We got a tie in the end, which was a bit disappointing for us. We are definitely looking forward to going over there and getting a win this time.

Those kind of atmospheres, where the crowd is noisy, certainly helps to bring out the best in you as a player. And when matches against Lancashire come around, you’re always up for it.

My first Roses twenty20 was at Old Trafford a couple of years ago, and I didn’t get to field on the boundary. I managed to stay in the ring.

I’m sure Galey will be sending me out to long-on this time, and I’ll probably get some stick! As long as you can have a bit of fun with it though, it’s not a problem.

In terms of our Championship win against Derbyshire, on a good pitch to bat on, to win in three days was a great effort.

We obviously started well to get 600. Leesy and Jaquesy batted brilliantly before the bowlers did a fantastic job to bowl them out twice. Just like Dizzy said, it was ruthless.

It’s always good being top of the table. We always knew that if we won the game we’d go back top for a bit at least. It’s definitely a boost going into the last few twenty20s and the back end of the season. We’ve got six more cup finals to go now.

Alex Lees has done well for the seconds for a few years now, and he’s always been a very talented player. It’s great to see him transfer that kind of form into first-team cricket.

Getting two hundreds as an opener in five Championship games is not easy because there’s some strong bowling attacks around.

He’s definitely got the technique and temperament to go all the way, especially if he keeps churning out scores like 100 and 275.