[themaclad]

Somerset 321-5 wicket from last ball gives a better looking scoreboard, tons for Trescothick and Bartlett his first in the game, Jimmy 0-70

[themaclad]

Here#s the BBC view

Specsavers County Championship Division One, Emirates Old Trafford (day two):
Somerset 429: Bartlett 110, Trescothick 100, Abell 99
Lancashire 217-2: Jennings 91*, Vilas 83*
Lancashire 2 pts, Somerset 4 pts
Scorecard
Keaton Jennings finished unbeaten on 91 for Lancashire as the hosts replied well to Somerset's 429 on day two.

Jennings, who has played six Tests for England, batted patiently in a 169-run stand with Dane Vilas (83 not out) to turn around his poor early-season form.

Lancashire closed on 217-2, still trailing by 212 runs on first innings.

Earlier, Somerset captain Tom Abell fell for a fine 99 as the visitors moved from 321-5 overnight, with Jimmy Anderson (0-91) going wicketless.

Jennings began the campaign with scores of 11, 27, 2, 24 and 15 after moving to Lancashire from Durham, but the 25-year-old batted confidently and solidly against the Somerset attack to make the most of a good wicket.

He soaked up pressure expertly, hitting 14 boundaries in his 219-ball stay, while Vilas played the aggressor, at one point striking England spinner Jack Leach for successive sixes.

The two batsmen made the most of excellent conditions to leave the match evenly poised at stumps, after Alex Davies (23) and Liam Livingstone (6) fell early on.

It was a less enjoyable day for Anderson, with England's all-time leading Test wicket-taker not taking a wicket in a County Championship match when having bowled more than 25 overs for Lancashire for the first time since 2005.

Instead, Matt Parkinson (3-80) and Joe Mennie (3-82) did the damage for the hosts - the latter trapping Abell lbw when one run short of a century following a spell of pressure.

[themaclad]

Looks like a nailed on draw may be doing a bit of reading there tomorrow

Specsavers County Championship Division One, Emirates Old Trafford (day three):
Somerset 429 & 51-0: Davies 22*, Renshaw 20*
Lancashire 492: Villas 235*, Jennings 109, Clark 50; Abell 4-43
Somerset (5 pts) trail Lancashire (6 pts) by 12 runs
Scorecard
Lancashire's Dane Vilas hit an unbeaten double century against Somerset on day three at Old Trafford but the Division One match appears set for a draw.

Resuming on 217-2, trailing by 212 runs, Lancashire moved into a first-innings lead after Patrick Jennings reached his ton before falling for 109.

Vilas, who began the day on 83, made 235 from 363 balls, with 31 boundaries, but the hosts were all out for 492.

Somerset navigated 18 overs before the close, reaching 51-0, 12 runs behind.

Matt Renshaw and Steve Davies, deputising as opener for the injured Marcus Trescothick, will resume on 20 and 22 respectively for the visitors.

Steven Croft reached 50 for the hosts, from 102 balls, before being bowled by Tom Abell, one of four successive Lancashire wickets for the Somerset captain before the visitors were held up by a last-wicket 49-run stand.

Somerset head coach Jason Kerr:

"It looked like Lancashire were going to bat past us by a long way until that inspired spell by Tom Abell. He put the ball in the right place. There was a bit of swing there for him and he got on a roll.

"Tom's worked hard on his bowling. He's got some really good skills, he's built his confidence at this level and over the last couple of games, it's proved really vital for us.

"Vilas played superbly. I was particularly impressed with the way he played Jack Leach. He put him under pressure and manipulated him really well."

Lancashire's Dane Vilas:

"It's always nice to get a hundred and nicer to get a big one. It was what we wanted as a team. It's a really good wicket and it's nice to cash in when you can. The easiest time to bat is when you have a hundred.

"In the back of my mind I'm always thinking about the green seamers early in the summer when you think: 'Gosh, I wish to get even one run here'.

"It would have been even better if we had got a couple of wickets late on. But it's spinning out there and I don't think 50-0 tells a true story. If we get a quick burst of wickets, anything is possible."

[themaclad]

Disappointing result after having got Somerset into a difficult position, just after lunch, but Overton, Groenewald and Jack Leech batted well to deny us. Great afternoon session but just needed a bit of invention to break stubborn partnerships, Overton less than impressed with his decision and possibly a couple of others may have been sawn off as well. Good tanning weather anyhow here's the Beeb's view.

Specsavers County Championship Division One, Emirates Old Trafford (day four):
Somerset 429 & 269-8d: Leach 66, Davies 54; Parkinson 5-101
Lancashire 492: Vilas 235*, Jennings 109; Abell 4-43
Lancashire (11 pts) drew with Somerset (10 pts)
Scorecard
Jack Leach made a first-class best of 66 as Somerset recovered from a wobble to secure a draw against Lancashire in County Championship Division One.

Lancashire sensed the possibility of a win when leg-spinner Matt Parkinson (5-101) reduced Somerset to 145-6.

But England spinner Leach stood firm with Craig Overton and Tim Groenewald (36 not out) to help his side to 269-8 and handshakes at 16:50 BST.

Lancashire claimed 11 points from the draw, while Somerset take 10.

Somerset began the final day at Old Trafford on 51-0, but Lancashire started well when Parkinson had Matt Renshaw (20) caught and Jimmy Anderson pinned George Bartlett lbw to claim his only wicket in the match.

Parkinson dismissed Steven Davies (54), James Hildreth (26) and Tom Abell to gut Somerset's batting order, but the hosts were then frustrated by the tail end as time and overs ran out.

Leach struck 10 fours and a six in his 131-ball stay to push the score on in vital partnerships with Overton and Groenewald before becoming Parkinson's fifth victim.

Despite his late dismissal, Leach had done enough to dispel any thoughts of a run chase for the hosts, leaving last year's runners-up Lancashire without a win from their opening four games, while Somerset are unbeaten and in second place in the early Division One table.

Lancashire spinner Matt Parkinson:

"It was obviously frustrating. It was a big ask to try and get 10 wickets in one day on quite a placid track when only 20 had fallen in the first three.

"For Dane to get a double hundred was fantastic and for us to have a glimmer of hope at tea on day four was fantastic.

"When we got Abell and then we got Craig Overton we had hopes of forcing something but fair play to Leachy. For a number nine or 10, he did very well."

Somerset skipper Tom Abell:

"We were a little bit twitchy there at a few stages. It was a tough four days of cricket and we had to work really hard. From the position we had during the first innings we were a bit disappointed to finish in the manner we did.

"We were under pressure and the wicket started to spin. The pressure built but I have to pay tribute to Jack Leach and his partnerships with Tim and Craig. We've asked for character and fight so to see him step up in the way he did was fantastic.

"Marcus Trescothick was prepared to bat with a broken foot. That tells you everything you need to know about Tres."

[jjamez]

Think jimmy left his bowling at the hairdressers

[themaclad]

He's a bit vain

[themaclad]

Lancashire travel to Trent Bridge in need of a win as this fixture takes us to a third of the way through the season in respects of the four day game, next to bottom in the league we again play a side at the top of the table in Nottinghamshire.
Having already beaten us by 4 wickets in the first game at Old Trafford, Lancs will be looking for a positive result in the East Midlands. Wont be easy with the home sides seam attacks which this time will have Stuart Broad leading the attack.
Somehow suspect the Championship has already gone but hope springs eternal

Trent Bridge

After a disappointing start to the season, losing their first two Specsavers County Championship matches, the Red Rose have had the better of the last two against Surrey and Somerset at Emirates Old Trafford, making final day bids to win.

Unfortunately, in both cases, the visitors held on for draws.

It means Lancashire head to Trent Bridge to face Division One leaders Nottinghamshire tomorrow still searching for their first win.

But the signs are good, and you wouldn’t bet against them getting it, even though Notts are in excellent form at the moment.

They have won three and lost one following promotion last season, including victory at Old Trafford in the season’s opening week last month.

This clash sees England’s Test Match new ball pair Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad go head to head before the two-match series against Pakistan later this month.

TEAM NEWS:

Anderson plays his second and final match prior to the start of England’s international summer, while Broad plays for the third and final time.

Alex Davies’s thumb injury should not prevent him playing, although he may hand wicketkeeping duties over to Dane Vilas as a precaution.

Vilas took the gloves for the majority of last weekend’s Somerset draw.



That means Lancashire could well field the same team.

Notts captain Steven Mullaney, the former Red Rose all-rounder, says he should be fit enough to bowl if required having recovered from a side injury which has ensured he has played the last three games solely as a batting skipper.

OPPONENTS:

Notts have enjoyed a superb start to the new season.

Promoted last year under coach Peter Moores, he stepped up from a coaching consultancy role to also help them win the two white ball trophies in 2017.

And they have maintained that momentum to set the pace in Division One, sparked by some excellent form for England fringe seamer Jake Ball.

He is the division’s leading wicket-taker with 25 from four matches, two ahead of Yorkshire’s Ben Coad.

Ball took nine in the match when Notts won at Old Trafford last month, putting a frustrating winter behind him when he played in the first Ashes Test at Brisbane in November, took one wicket, was left out and didn't feature again.

Mullaney hit a second-innings 130 in their most recent win over Hampshire, with Broad taking three wickets in each innings.

Notts have won 10 of their last 18 Championship matches dating back to start of last season, losing only two.

LAST TIME OUT:

Notts best Lancashire by six wickets at Emirates Old Trafford last month, chasing only 10 on the final morning



As aforementioned, Jake Ball was their star in tandem with fellow seamer Harry Gurney, who claimed 6-25 in the second innings as Lancashire were bowled out for just 73, losing all 10 wickets for 24.

Twelve wickets fell for 25 runs on day four, with Notts losing four as they chased, in a quite remarkable finish.

We have to go back to early July 2016 for the last time these two met in the Championship at Trent Bridge.

Lancashire were bowled out for 276 in the first innings, including Tom Smith’s 70. Notts then replied with 474 as Jake Libby, Samit Patel and Riki Wessels all scored half-centuries.

Thankfully, the Red Rose were able to nullify the hosts’ victory bid with a second-innings 304-7, with Haseeb Hameed’s 122 marking his second four-day century in three matches as part of a stunning breakthrough campaign.

WHAT THEY SAID:

No doubt about it, Lancashire have Jimmy Anderson in their ranks at one of his favourites venues.

Anderson has an impressive record at Trent Bridge, taking 67 first-class wickets at just 18.58 apiece, his best average at any ground where he has taken more than 25 wickets. That haul includes eight hauls of five wickets or more with two 10-wicket match hauls.

Sixty of those wickets have come in Tests at Trent Bridge, while his Test best score of 81 came there against India in 2014.



When reminded of that record, Lancashire coach Glen Chapple smiled and simply said “Good” before going on: “Jimmy got a game in against Somerset, got plenty of overs in and bowled pretty well. It takes a bit of time to get right back to your best in match conditions, and hopefully that sees him back to where he wants to be.”

On the game in general, he added: “We go into it with confidence that we’re playing good cricket.

“Notts were a good team when they went down (in 2016), let’s be honest about it. Everyone knows good teams can go down. They came up strongly and are playing good cricket. But that doesn’t mean there’s anything more to be scared of than against anybody else.

[themaclad]

Notts 133
Lancs 151-4
Jennings still in with 50 plus, Davies also made 50 Hameed made 0

---

Specsavers County Championship Division One, Trent Bridge (day one):
Nottinghamshire 133: Libby 34; Onions 3-22, Bailey 3-28
Lancashire 157-4: Jennings 52*, Davies 50; Fletcher 2-25
Lancashire (3 pts) lead Notts (3 pts) by 24 runs
Scorecard
County Championship leaders Nottinghamshire were bowled out for 133 as Lancashire enjoyed the better of the first day at Trent Bridge.

Lancashire's pacemen shared the wickets around as Tom Bailey and Graham Onions both claimed three and England's James Anderson took 2-27 from 15 overs.

Notts were well set at 80-3, but after Jake Libby fell on the stroke of lunch, the hosts collapsed in the afternoon.

Alex Davies and Keaton Jennings hit fifties as Lancashire closed on 157-4.

However, the form of Haseeb Hameed - who returned to the side after he was dropped against Somerset - remains a concern, as he was out for nought.

The 21-year-old came in at three, but glanced his 13th delivery from Luke Fletcher down the leg-side to the wicketkeeper to leave him with just 35 runs in six innings this season.

It was one of the few negatives on an otherwise fine day for the Red Rose county who are yet to win in Division One this season.

Their seamers were supported by some excellent catching, although Nottinghamshire contributed to their own downfall when Samit Patel was run out after a mix-up with Tom Moores.

Lancashire opener Davies struck nine fours in his rapid innings, but was bowled by Fletcher the ball after bringing up his half-century off 39 balls.

Hameed and captain Liam Livingstone went in quick succession before Jennings (52 not out) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (23) saw out most of a tricky period in fading light.

But 43-year-old Chanderpaul was pinned lbw late on by Steven Mullaney to give the hosts a late boost.

[themaclad]

A good day for the Red Rose

Specsavers County Championship Division One, Trent Bridge (day two):
Nottinghamshire 133 & 106-5: Libby 38*; Onions 3-37
Lancashire 338: Jennings 126, Davies 50; Broad 4-41
Nottinghamshire (3 pts) trail Lancashire (6 pts) by 99 runs
Scorecard
Keaton Jennings' second successive century and a fine performance from Lancashire's seamers put them on the verge of beating County Championship leaders Nottinghamshire.

Jennings was bowled by Stuart Broad (4-41) for 126 as the Red Rose county moved from 157-4 to 338 all out.

Facing a deficit of 205, Notts' second innings saw Steven Mullaney, Chris Nash and Ross Taylor all out for nought.

Notts recovered slightly from 1-3 to reach stumps on 106-5, trailing by 99.

England contenders impress with the bat
Pope hits 158 not out for Surrey against Yorkshire
Clarke hits another ton for Worcestershire
Bad light ended play early at Trent Bridge, with opener Jake Libby unbeaten on 38 and Tom Moores having just started his innings.

Nottinghamshire's dramatic collapse in the afternoon session was triggered by some fine seam bowling from veterans James Anderson and Graham Onions.

England's Anderson removed captain Mullaney in the first over, chopping onto his stumps, before fellow 35-year-old Onions bowled Nash and trapped Taylor lbw with consecutive deliveries.

Samit Patel survived the hat-trick ball but nicked Anderson behind for 16 and Riki Wessels (35) gave Onions his third wicket just before the close.

Earlier, opener Jennings followed up his 109 against Somerset with his 16th first-class century off 214 deliveries to strengthen his chances of adding to his six England Test caps.

The squad for the first Test against Pakistan will be announced on Tuesday.

Nottinghamshire head coach Peter Moores:

"We've had a tough two days, we certainly haven't played well enough so we haven't got any complaints. We batted poorly in the first innings - although, like most things you shouldn't generalise because we all didn't bat poorly - but we made too many mistakes.

"And as a bowling unit we didn't get two people ever bowing well at the same time; Stuart Broad was the pick of them.

"Sport is funny, we prepped well for this game, we went into it as the last of a mini-series of five matches with a chance to really push on and cement our place at the top of the division but we just haven't bowled well enough."

Lancashire opener Keaton Jennings on his hundred:

"I'm really pleased because it was a good attack, my first hundred at Trent Bridge, which is really nice.

"It's always a nice feeling to get your first hundred at any ground, it sort of gives you a reassurance but I'm just really pleased and really happy to think that I've pushed us into a position where we can go and push for the win."

[themaclad]

Victory the boys done well

Specsavers County Championship Division One, Trent Bridge (day three):
Nottinghamshire 133 & 138: Libby 46; Onions 6-55, Anderson 4-26
Lancashire 338: Jennings 126, Davies 50; Broad 4-41
Lancashire (22 pts) beat Nottinghamshire (3 pts) by an innings and 67 runs
Scorecard
Lancashire took just over an hour to finish off Nottinghamshire as they beat the County Championship Division One leaders by an innings and 67 runs.

Seam bowler Graham Onions took three of the wickets at Trent Bridge to finish with 6-55 and match figures of 9-77.

England's James Anderson warmed up for Test duty by taking two wickets in his 4-26 haul, for match figures of 6-53.

Lancashire's first victory of the season was their first top-flight away win since beating Northants in 2014.

Avenging their six-wicket defeat by Notts in the first week of the season at Old Trafford, it earned the visitors 22 points, while Notts, who remain top, took only three.

Resuming on 106-5, it was always a tall order for the home side to save the game, especially once their sixth-wicket pair of Jake Libby and Tom Moores were separated.

Onions had Moores caught behind, attempting to drive a wide delivery, before trapping Stuart Broad leg before.

Anderson then got in on the act, with Luke Fletcher lbw for a second-ball duck before he had opener Jake Libby caught at slip - he was again Notts' top scorer with 46, to follow his first-innings 34.

On the ground where he recorded his career-best 9-67 for Durham, 35-year-old Onions had another England pace bowler Jake Ball caught in the deep to finish it off.

The two counties will not have long to wait before renewing rivalries as they meet again at Old Trafford on Thursday, when Notts begin their defence of the One-Day Cup.

Lancashire fast bowler Graham Onions:

"There's been a lot of hard work for the last six weeks, so to get a win against a top side is pretty special.

"We were completely outplayed by Notts in April, so we came here wanting to show them how good we are.

"We put the ball in the right areas and also, obviously, a special mention to Keaton Jennings for putting the runs on the board."

Nottinghamshire assistant coach Paul Franks:

"If you don't play at your best then you get what you deserve. The frustrating thing from everybody's point of view is that we've not reached anything like the levels that we expect and certainly the levels that we produced last week against Hampshire.

"If there's anything that we need to realise after the first five games it's that our best we look very good but when we're not we get what we deserve.

"Ultimately, we've been outplayed over the course of a very short game and we have to take it on the chin."