[themaclad]

Keaton Jennings hit his sixth first-class century for Lancashire but Warwickshire fought their way back into the game with a flurry of wickets during the second half of the third day at Emirates Old Trafford which ended with the Red Rose 42 runs ahead in this LV= Insurance County Championship match.

Resuming on 127-0, Luke Wells and Jennings advanced their partnership to 166 during the first hour with Jennings quickly into his stride hitting some well-struck boundaries.

Wells had added ten runs to his overnight 70 before chipping a catch back to the bowler, Danny Briggs.

Josh Bohannon helped Jennings push the score along steadily to 241-1 either side of lunch with Jennings reaching three figures immediately after the break when driving slow left-arm spinner Briggs for four through extra cover.



It was a great effort from Jennings who confessed he had struggled to “get his feet going” during the initial stages of his first innings of the season yesterday.

But the left-handed opener’s resilience and experience paid off as he timed the ball nicely and prospered through the morning to post his 21st career century off 233 balls with 13 fours.

That meant Jennings had scored centuries in last two innings; his previous knock before being injured was the 132 he scored against Yorkshire at Headingley last July.



And he soon lost his batting partner when Bohannon edged Olly Hannon-Dalby to Rob Yates at first slip for 23 and Warwickshire hit back well with the second new ball from that point taking seven wickets for 94 runs.

Steven Croft was well caught by Chris Benjamin at gully off Craig Miles for a duck and Jennings quickly followed for 110 after edging Hannon-Dalby to Sam Hain at second slip.

Dane Vilas and Phil Salt played some good counter-attacking shots, taking 14 off one Briggs over with Vilas launching the spinner for six over long-on, to steer Lancashire to 296-4 in the 101st over.



That raised the prospect of an assault on reaching 350 by the 110th over and further batting points but those aspirations were dealt a savage blow by Nathan McAndrew.

The Aussie pace bowler, who had gone 0-100 on debut at Taunton last week, produced a great spell to grab his first wickets for the Bears, starting when Salt drove to Will Rhodes positioned at wide mid-off to be out for 26.

George Balderson helped Vilas take Lancashire into the lead by tea but succumbed to McAndrew soon after the break, fending off a sharply rising delivery to Hain in the gully.



Luke Wood edged a drive off Briggs to Will Rhodes at slip for 1 before McAndrew struck twice more; Vilas nicking to wicketkeeper Michael Burgess for 41 and Hassan Ali finding Yates at first slip for 4, the bowler’s fourth wicket in 47 balls.

Tom Bailey and Matt Parkinson held up Warwickshire’s push to end the innings with a last wicket partnership of 26 in 14 overs before Parkinson was last out for 9, lbw to Hannon-Dalby.

Fifteen overs were still to be bowled at that point, but only three were completed before bad light ended the day early with time for Alex Davies to move off a ‘pair’ by driving Bailey for four.

They were the only runs scored as Warwickshire closed 42 runs in arrears.



“Delighted and relieved,” was Keaton Jennings reaction to his century.

“It’s been a long time since I stepped onto a professional field,” he explained. “So I was delighted to get a good score today and get us into a position where we can push and try and get a result.

Jennings revealed he had struggled early yesterday.

“I was fairly uncomfortable,” he said. “Just trying to get the rhythms of playing again (was difficult).

“Today things just clicked a little bit better which was quite nice.

“Thankfully a ball or two hit the middle of the bat, so I was very thankful and very relieved!”



And Jennings was quick to praise the work of medical staff.

“Sometimes they are guys who don’t the praise they deserve,” he said.

“They are the guys who turn up here after 12-13 days away on the bounce at 8am.

“Sam Byrne has been working on my calves and I’ve got to thank those guys for putting the time in to me and get me into a space where I can go out and play.”

Looking ahead to tomorrow Jennings said: “we are 42 runs ahead, the ball is still in our favour but we’ve got a lot of hard work to do.

“But you saw when they took the second new ball, it did deviate.

“Hopefully the heavy roller won’t have too much an effect and hopefully we can strike with that new ball and create a bit of panic. If we get fire out a couple, who knows, it could be anyone’s game.

“Come the last session if we can have a bit of a run chase and put our foot on the gas. We are willing to do that. We want to win games of cricket.”

[themaclad]

Lancashire pushed Warwickshire all the way on the final day of this LV= County Championship match taking five wickets during a dramatic afternoon session before the visitors held out to ensure the game ended in a draw.

Taking all ten Warwickshire wickets and having time to chase a target looked to be a fairly difficult task on a good wicket at the start of the day and so it proved, but not before the Lancashire bowlers had caused some anxiety in the opposition ranks with that post-lunch burst.

Alex Davies was the one wicket to fall in the morning after receiving a lifting delivery from Tom Bailey that flew high off his bat to Keaton Jennings at second slip.



But Dom Sibley and Rob Yates dropped anchor to steer the Bears safely to lunch on 85-1, the pair posting their fifty partnership off 129 balls although Sibley need treatment after receiving a blow from a sharp Luke Wood delivery.

At that point a draw looked to be the most likely outcome but Lancashire were rewarded for their persistence with five wickets in the afternoon to bring this game alive.

Matt Parkinson produced a lovely flighted delivery that Sibley nicked to wicketkeeper Phil Salt after making a stubborn 41 and Lancashire sensed an opportunity.



Hassan Ali followed that breakthrough with a fast yorker to have Sam Hain plumb lbw for 6 while Parkinson spun one delivery out of the bowler's footmarks to Yates that missed off stump by a fraction.

The left hander had just completed his first half-century of the season from 148 balls but departed moments later for 55 when Wood swung a fast delivery into his stumps.



Parkinson (3-64) backed that up with two more quick wickets having Will Rhodes taken by Keaton Jennings at leg slip for 9 and bowling Michael Burgess for a duck to leave Warwickshire on 138-6 and only 92 ahead with 39 overs left to play.

But Red Rose hopes of forcing victory from that point were dashed by dogged resistance from Chris Benjamin (22 not out from 72 balls) and Danny Briggs (28 not out off 70 balls) who calmly added 46 runs either side of tea before the players shook hands on the draw at 5pm.



It was a great effort from a Lancashire attack that once again put in a great shift to try and force a result.

Lancashire received 14 points from the game and Warwickshire 13.

“We played well and worked very hard,” said Head Coach Glen Chapple.

“We put in a good effort, produced our skills with the ball, but we lost over a session and a half to weather so coming in today a result was unlikely but we still believed there was a chance.

“And I thought we pushed Warwickshire hard.”

Chapple appreciated the effort put in by the bowlers to try and pull of the win today.

“The bowlers worked tirelessly and put Warwickshire under pressure on a reasonably unresponsive pitch,” he said.

“We were pleased how we bowled on that pitch but I thought they were a bit negative. As soon as the new ball had gone they were bowling to defensive fields.



“I think they made their mind up early on they were going to try and restrict the scoring and stop us getting a lead. That was my assessment of it, and that’s fair enough (if that’s what they want to do).

“I thought we pushed it and tried to win the game.

“They only thing we would normally do better is to extend a bigger first innings lead. We built a good platform and would normally want to get a bigger first innings score. Having lost that time we were mindful that we needed to increase the scoring rate a little bit and in trying to that we came a bit unstuck.”

Chapple was delighted for Keaton Jennings on his return to the team.

“Keaton was playing well last year and got a bad injury,” he said. “But he recovered from that and took a part in pre-season and is playing well. He’s just had 3-4 weeks where he’s had to come back from a small calf strain so we were confident he was in good nick.

“It’s obviously difficult in your first game back but you need to get up and running. He’s one of our best players and it’s great to have him back.”



Looking ahead to the Roses Match which starts at Headingley on Thursday, Chapple said: I think everybody is available for selection.

“The most important thing is that the eleven we pick to play are going out to compete and try and win a game against Yorkshire.

“They are always a good team and it’s always a big game.

“The last time we were there we were in a good position and if we can put in the first days like the last time we were there, then we’ll be in good stead

[themaclad]

Them from wrong side of the Pennines

Update re ground

Now rain for weeks so probably can expect Headingley to look like this tomorrow




Wonder what reason they will give for not playing this season

ere is all of the information ahead of your visit to watch the LV= Insurance County Championship match between Yorkshire and Lancashire at Headingley starting on Thursday.

GATES OPENING
9.30am – Access via both Kirkstall Lane and St Michael’s Lane

SEATING
Seating for this game is unallocated. The East Stand and Trueman Enclosure are members only areas and there are a small number of seats within the ground reserved by supporters.

Please note the Western Terrace will be closed for this game.

ACCESS TO THE LONG ROOM
Food and drink options will be available in the Long Room for Yorkshire and Kent Members.

WATER FOUNTAINS
Water fountains will be available around the ground for those wishing to refill their bottles throughout the game.

CASHLESS STADIUM
Headingley Stadium’s catering and retail outlets are operated as cashless to ensure that transactions are faster, safe, and secure.

FOOD AND DRINK
There are various food and drink outlets available around the ground including in the East Stand Long Room for Members, at the back of the North East Stand and in the Emerald Stand.

Headingley Cricket Ground is a cricket ground in the Headingley Stadium complex in Headingley, Leeds, England. It adjoins the Headingley Rugby Stadium through a shared main stand, although the main entrance to the cricket ground is at the opposite Kirkstall Lane end. It has hosted Test cricket since 1899 and has a capacity of 18,350.

[themaclad]

It could be Jimmy Anderson v Joe Root, it could be Hassan Ali v Haris Rauf.

They are a couple of intriguing subplots in what promises to be a fabulous fixture between two arch-rivals who have started the season in encouraging fashion, both unbeaten.

Lancashire are better placed in Division One having won two of their four games to Yorkshire’s one. Both sides recorded high-scoring draws in last week’s round of games; the Red Rose at home to champions Warwickshire and the White away at Essex.

Lancashire sit third in the table on 72 points, nine clear of a Yorkshire side who are now coached by Ottis Gibson, the former West Indies fast bowler and ex-England bowling coach.

Surrey are top of the table on 89 points and Hampshire second on 81, both having played a game more.



Opposition
Ottis Gibson is in place as head coach, while ex-Lancashire fast bowler Kabir Ali is one of his two assistants and former Red Rose skipper Tom Smith is the county’s second-team coach. Darren Gough is their managing director of cricket.

Yorkshire have started the season encouragingly from their point of view.

They won their opening game at Gloucestershire before a trio of draws at Northampton, against Kent at Headingley and at Essex.

On each occasion, they have gone into the final day with a victory chance of varying difficulty and been thwarted.

Steve Patterson remains captain, and he will lead out a team with a top order line-up including current and former England internationals Joe Root, Dawid Malan and Adam Lyth.

There overseas player is Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf, who played three games before missing last week with a side niggle. He is with Yorkshire until June 3.

They expect him to be fit to play this week, but fellow seamers Ben Coad, Matthew Fisher and Dom Leech are all injured.



Opposing player to watch
Harry Brook has had a superb start to the season. In fact, the 23-year-old batter has enjoyed a memorable start to 2022, including title success with Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League and an England T20 debut in Barbados back in January.

23-year-old Brook is amongst a group of young batters who are being talked about for a potential England Test debut at some point this summer.

He has passed 50 in all six of his innings in this season’s Championship, including three hundreds, and is the leading run-scorer in Division One with 635 runs. He is averaging 158.75.

Previous meeting
After winning a thrilling late May fixture at Emirates Old Trafford - Lancashire's first home Roses Championship win in 21 years and their first at any venue since 2011 - the return clash at Headingley in July was a weather disrupted draw.

It was the final game of the Championship’s initial group stage, with both teams qualifying for Division One.

Only 119.2 overs were bowled in a game which did not progress out of Lancashire’s first innings, which amounted to a dominant 411-2.



Keaton Jennings led the way with a superb 132, while his opening partner Alex Davies made 84 followed by 97 not out for Luke Wells and an unbeaten 74 for Josh Bohannon.

A full opening day started with Yorkshire winning the toss and electing to bowl, with Lancashire making their way to 273-2 - both wickets for Jordan Thompson.

Rain meant no play on day two before a nasty third afternoon knee injury to Dom Leech - suffered as he thudded into the concrete base of the Western Terrace stand whilst trying to field a ball on the boundary - forced umpires Gould and Llong to take the players off the field due to concerns over a wet outfield.

No further play was possible, including on day four.

What they said
Glen Chapple is targeting a repeat of Lancashire’s performance during the early stages of last year’s Roses game at Headingley as the county look to impose themselves on Yorkshire.

As mentioned above, the Red Rose dominated a disrupted Championship game across the Pennines last July, only to get little reward for their endeavours.

“The last time we were there, we were in a good position,” said Lancashire’s coach. “And if we can put in the first few days like the last time we were there, then we’ll be in good stead.

“They are always a good team, and it’s always a big game.”

This game throws up a number of intriguing subplots, including close mates and fellow spinners Matt Parkinson and Dom Bess going up against each other.



Both are on the fringes of England duty and had similarly frustrating winters. Bess went to the Ashes without playing before Parkinson did likewise in the West Indies.

“Parky’s a very good bowler who is just going to keep going,” said Bess.

“In terms of his development, I think he’s going well considering what’s been put in front of him. He’s a pretty resilient character.

“He’s got a big future ahead, and I think he’s the best leg-spinner we’ve got at the moment (in red ball cricket).

“Rash (Adil Rashid) is obviously playing white ball at the moment, but Parky’s up there.”

How’s Stat!
Keaton Jennings could this week become only the second Lancashire player after Geoff Pullar to score three Roses hundreds in as many innings.

Pullar achieved the feat in 1959 and 1960 with hundreds at Old Trafford, Sheffield and Headingley. Jennings scored centuries in both of last year’s Championship games.

Steven Croft needs eight runs to reach 9,000 in his first-class career, while Dane Vilas needs 17 to reach 10,000.

[themaclad]

Jennings followed former England left-hander Geoff Pullar, who achieved the feat in 1959 and 1960.

The current Red Rose opener added this 280-ball 150 not out to last season’s scores of 114 at Old Trafford and 132 here and was superbly supported by third-wicket partner and fellow centurion Steven Croft - 104.

The pair, dropped three times between them, shared 237 to recover Lancashire from 12 for two to a close of play 288 for three from 96 overs.



Following two Jordan Thompson wickets, Croft’s eighth run took him to 9,000 first-class.

Yorkshire captain Steve Patterson won his fifth successive toss and opted to bowl under an overcast sky to begin a Division One clash involving Jimmy Anderson and Joe Root.

This was a day of Roses cricket filled with endeavour on a good batting pitch which looks like it will hold firm for four days.

Some of that went unrewarded, as Yorkshire gave Jennings two clear chances on two and 70 and one to Croft on five.

This was also former Durham man Jennings’ second hundred in as many games after last week’s 110 in the home draw against Warwickshire, his first appearance since the start of last August due to calf issues.

These are two counties producing a number of high-quality young players. Batters Josh Bohannon and Harry Brook, for example, are both chasing an England Test call-up under the newly appointed coach Brendon McCullum.

However, the two most experienced cricketers on show were at the heart of their respective fights.

Yorkshire’s Patterson and Lancashire’s Croft, aged 38 and 37 respectively, went at it hammer and tongs.

After Thompson’s early wickets, Croft was thrust into a recovery mission alongside Jennings, which Patterson attempted to halt with his miserly seamers (nought for 38 from 21 overs).

Thompson struck first in the ninth over (10 for one) when Luke Wells feathered behind to Harry Duke before he trapped Bohannon lbw for two with a yorker, leaving Lancashire in early peril inside 11 overs.

Jennings’ first reprieve came in between the two wickets, with Duke dropping him in Patterson’s first over.



His second came on 70 during the second half of the afternoon when he flashed at a cut at Dom Bess and offered a tough chance to Adam Lyth at slip.

Croft’s came when Brook failed to hold a low effort at third slip off Tom Loten’s seam.

Catching has certainly been an area which has blighted Yorkshire in 2022, though they remain unbeaten alongside their rivals.

Lancashire reached lunch at 53 for two from 30 overs, but more than doubled that in the opening 15 after lunch, advancing to 127 for two after 45.

By that time Jennings and Croft had reached their half-centuries, a century partnership had been recorded and Yorkshire’s bowlers had released the pressure valve as boundaries came with frequency.

Jennings was particularly strong square of the wicket on the off-side as he cut and guided with confidence. Croft was also strong square of the wicket, though he often pulled the pace of Haris Rauf away to the boundary.

Lancashire reached tea at 187 for two from 64 overs, with Jennings 87 and Croft 81.

Twenty-nine-year-old Jennings was stuck on 99 for 13 balls before tucking a leg-side single away to reach three figures off 207 with 16 fours.



Croft later reached his second hundred of the season, also with 16 fours, off 212 balls with a six over wide long-on off Root.

But he was trapped lbw by Rauf as Lancashire fell to 249 for three in the 86th over.

Jennings then reached 150 with his last ball of the day.

[themaclad]

Keaton Jennings completed a superb 238 to record Lancashire’s highest ever individual score in Roses first-class cricket during another dominant day against Yorkshire at Headingley.
The left-handed opener’s third career double century, his second against Yorkshire - the other was for Durham, underpinned his side’s mammoth total of 566 for nine declared on day two of this LV= Insurance County Championship fixture.

Having resumed on an overnight 288 for three from 96 overs, the Red Rose rubbed Yorkshire’s noses in it after they were hurt by a series of dropped catches, including Jennings four times.

Lancashire declared after tea with their highest ever Roses total on the board before Yorkshire reached closed on 53 for two from 22 overs.

Unfortunately for Jennings, he fell just short of the highest individual score for either side in Roses first-class cricket, Darren Lehmann’s 252 here in 2001. But he beat Graham Lloyd’s Lancashire record of 225 in a first-class friendly here four years earlier.



The 29-year-old, who hit 32 fours in 408 balls before being run out, clearly loves batting against Yorkshire.

His previous career best 221 not out came against them for Durham at the Riverside in 2016, added to two other centuries for his current employers last season.

A plethora of centuries have been scored up and down the land at the start of 2022 by county batters young and old. Many will have been spoken about as England possibles for this summer’s Test Matches.

It is likely Jennings, whose last of 17 Tests came in early 2019, will now be the subject of similar speculation following last week’s 110 versus Warwickshire at Emirates Old Trafford, his first innings since last August following calf issues.

He began the day on 150, was particularly strong square of - or behind - the wicket on the off-side with cuts and guides, though also drove handsomely during an innings which spanned nine hours.

Jennings and visiting captain Dane Vilas, who made 82 and with whom he completed a 177 stand for the fourth wicket shortly after lunch, started the day by taking few risks.



Vilas, whose 17th run took him to 10,000 in his first-class career, was the one who upped the tempo before the break.

He pulled Haris Rauf for a huge six over long-leg to reach his fifty and lofted Dom Bess over the ropes much straighter.

The first of them sailed out of the ground over the doubled tiered stand in Headingley’s North East Corner.

Yorkshire at least regained some respectability with four wickets during the afternoon and two after tea.

Off-spinner Bess (three for 151 from 39 overs) led the way and trapped both Vilas and George Balderson lbw and had Phil Salt caught at slip for 37 as Lancashire fell to 504 for seven in the 155th over.

In amongst that, Jennings was sent back by Phil Salt and run out at the non-striker’s end by Jordan Thompson from midwicket.

Tom Loten claimed a superb one-handed return catch to remove Tom Bailey after tea and secure his maiden first-class wicket. He added his second when Luke Wood picked out deep backward square leg for 39, signalling an immediate declaration.



After conceding their third highest first-class score against anyone on this ground, Yorkshire then lost opener Adam Lyth lbw offering no shot to a Bailey in-swinger in the second over of their reply - 11 for one.

Dawid Malan later fell to an excellent diving catch by Matt Parkinson at midwicket off Balderson’s seamers, leaving Yorkshire 48 for two in the 17th.

George Hill and Loten, the nightwatchman, ensured there were no further alarms and reached 15 and three respectively. Jimmy Anderson bowled eight overs across two spells for 27 runs.

[themaclad]

Essex OT 4 days starts 19/4/2022


Make the mot of this last 4 day game on native soil until July

www.essexcricket.org.uk/

Make the most of this man in a rare countty visit to OT

[themaclad]

Lancashire v Essex
LV= Insurance County Championship, Division One
Emirates Old Trafford
Thursday May 19 - Sunday May 22, 2022, 11am

The latter one of those was the Bob Willis Trophy in the shortened Covid summer.

Essex, who had a week off last week, have drawn three, won one and lost one from their opening five games and sit 31 points behind Lancashire, who have 85 from five in second place having won two, drawn three.

Lancashire have played some excellent cricket so far this season, including in the draw at Yorkshire last week - a game which they dominated from after the first hour onwards.

Another such performance against Sir Alastair Cook and company will hopefully end this early season six-game spell of Championship cricket with a bang before the start of the Vitality Blast next week.

Hassan Ali plays the last game of his short-term overseas spell at Emirates Old Trafford. Hassan is the Division One leading wicket-taker with 24, one ahead of Matt Parkinson.



Opponents:
Essex have had a quiet start to the season. They missed out on Division One of the Conference based Championship last season before ending the campaign by winning Division Two.

Coach Anthony McGrath remains in charge at Chelmsford.

Their overseas players are prolific South African off-spinner Simon Harmer and Australian seamer Mark Steketee, who could play the last game of a short-term overseas spell which is similar in length to Hassan Ali’s, though has been without the same success.

Queenslander Steketee, the leading wicket-taker in the most recent Sheffield Shield season Down Under, has taken 10 wickets in five appearances.

However, he has only taken one wicket in the last two games.

Essex have drawn their last two games, both at home, against Northamptonshire and Yorkshire. They were in with a chance of losing both on the final day.

Sir Alastair Cook leads their runs chart with 481, including three hundreds. He posted two of those against Yorkshire the week before last - the first time he has scored two hundreds in the same first-class game.

Current England batter Dan Lawrence is expected to feature for the first time since late April following a hamstring injury.

Seamers Sam Cook and Shane Snater have both taken 15 wickets apiece, while Harmer hasn’t quite had the impact he would have hoped for with only six wickets in four games so far in 2022.

Opposing Player to Watch:
New ball seamer Sam Cook, otherwise known as Little Chef - due to the presence of Alastair in their squad, has started the season encouragingly.

The 24-year-old Chelmsford-born quick toured Australia with the Lions over the winter and has a very respectable 177 wickets in 52 first-class appearances to his name.

He was the joint third leading wicket-taker in last season’s Championship with 58 from 13 games,

Not a bowler with express pace, he does possess excellent skills - the ability to move the ball both ways and with excellent control to boot.

Previous meeting:
These two sides haven’t met in four-day cricket since 2018 when, whisper it quietly, Essex completed the double.

They won by 31 runs at Chelmsford in April before winning by five wickets at Emirates Old Trafford in June.

The visitors chased 105 to win inside three days after a third-innings collapse from the Red Rose proved costly.

The first innings saw Lancashire, invited to bowl, make 301 early on day two thanks to half-centuries from Shiv Chanderpaul (58) and Jordan Clark (79).



In reply, Sir Alastair Cook’s 58 was the top score in his side’s 302, which included four wickets for Tom Bailey.

Then, the game was decided on day three when Lancashire were skittled for just 105 inside 33 overs, including five wickets for new ball quick Jamie Porter and four for Simon Harmer.

Essex fell to 41-4 in their chase, three wickets for Graham Onions, before Ravi Bopara’s 36 not out saw his side home.

What they said:
Matt Parkinson has hailed the contribution of Pakistan star Hassan Ali, who is this week set to play the final game of his short-term overseas spell with the county.

Fast bowler Hassan, 27, is the Division One’s leading wicket-taker with 24 in four games, just one ahead of leg-spinner Parkinson, who has 23 from the same tally of appearances.

Hassan was rested for the Roses draw at Headingley last week.

“Hassan has been brilliant, absolutely brilliant,” said Parkinson.

“He’s a fantastic lad who has fitted in perfectly. He’s tried his nuts off for four games, and that’s been amazing to see because you don’t always know that with some overseas players when they come over.

“The reports of Hassan were fantastic, and he’s definitely delivered.”



Parkinson has also been speaking about his own start to the season, which has seen him bowl a whopping 245.5 overs - more than any other bowler in the country.

“To bowl the overs that I’ve bowled and we’re only in the middle of May, it’s been great,” he added. “If you’d have said I would bowl 200 overs or something like that by now, I’d have probably laughed.

“To have the backing of Dane (Vilas) has been great and to bowl well enough to be able to stay on for that amount of time has also been great. It’s a good sign for me.

“Hopefully I’m showing I can hold an end up in April and May.”

How’s Stat!
Keaton Jennings could achieve a new Lancashire batting record of four hundreds in as many innings if he scores one in his next innings this week.

In his last three innings, dating back to last July, the opener has scored 132 versus Yorkshire at Headingley, 110 versus Warwickshire at Emirates Old Trafford and 238 versus Yorkshire at Headingley last week.

Only Ernest Tyldesley has achieved this feat before, but his second century was for Players v Gentlemen at Lord’s. In 1926, he scored 131, 131, 106 and 126.

ESSEX VIEW

After a week without a game, Essex make the journey to Manchester to play a high-flying Lancashire team.

Essex’s last game finished in a draw against Yorkshire in a match where the batters once again flourished at Chelmsford. A debut first-class hundred for Paul Walter and twin centuries for Alastair Cook were the highlights of a game that left Essex on 54 points.

While Essex remain unbeaten at home this season, fortunes on the road have been mixed with a remarkable victory at Somerset and defeat at Warwickshire.

SQUAD:

Lancashire Squad

Dan Lawrence has made a full recovery from the hamstring injury he sustained in Essex’s last away game at Warwickshire. He returns to the squad alongside Aaron Beard, who impressed during his short loan stint with Sussex.

Mark Steketee will miss what was scheduled to be the final game of his spell with the Club due to an injury he picked up in Essex’s last game against Yorkshire.

THE OPPOSITION:
Lancashire enjoyed an excellent start to the 2022 campaign, winning their opening two matches in convincing fashion. They have drawn each of their three fixtures since, despite being in a strong position last time out against Yorkshire. Their early season form has left them sat second in the LV= Insurance County Championship Division One table on 85 points with only Surrey in front of them.

They have benefitted from strong batting performances from the likes of Keaton Jennings (348 runs at 174), Captain Dane Vilas (362 runs at 72.40) and Josh Bohannnon (308 runs at 61.60). While their bowling unit, at it’s strongest, comprises of James Anderson, Hasan Ali, Saqid Mahmood and the legspin of Matt Parkinson.

Saqid Mahmood, however, has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2022 season with a stress fracture to his back.

LAST TIME OUT:
Somewhat surprisingly, Essex haven’t played Lancashire in first-class cricket in 4 years.

The last time these two teams met was at Manchester in June 2018. Essex ran out winners by 5 wickets thanks to 7-wicket match hauls for Simon Harmer (7/69) and Jamie Porter (7/98).

Batting first, Lancashire managed 301 all out in their thanks to half-centuries for Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Jordan Clark. Wickets for the Essex bowlers were spread between Sam Cook (3), Simon Harmer (3), Jamie Porter (2) and Neil Wagner (2).

Essex one-upped Lancashire’s first-innings effort with a score of 302 all out. Alastair Cook top-scored with 58, but there were contributions from Tom Westley, Ryan ten Doeschate, Adam Wheater and the Lancashire bowlers, who added 42 in extras.

It was in Lancashire’s second-innings when Porter (5/30) and Harmer (4/34) sprung into action, routing their batting line-up for 105. This left Essex requiring 104 to win, which was managed for the loss of 5 wickets.

HOW TO WATCH:
Our hosts will provide a live Stream service that will be available across all four days of this game from 10:30am, which also includes player stats, scorecards and clips throughout the day.

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[themaclad]

An unbeaten century from Dan Lawrence and a good fightback by Lancashire have left this LV= County Championship clash evenly poised after the first day’s play at Emirates Old Trafford which closed with Essex 280-7.

Lancashire enjoyed an early success after Essex had won the toss and opted to bat when Sir Alastair Cook nicked a good delivery from Tom Bailey to wicketkeeper Phil Salt for 2.



And the Red Rose attack, with Hassan Ali returning for his final game in place of George Balderson, could consider themselves unfortunate not to add to that tally with the quartet of Bailey, Hassan, James Anderson and Luke Wood beating the bat on several occasions without further success during the first session.

Once settled Browne and Tom Westley played steadily to reach lunch without further damage on 74-1 and had added 28 to that total before Westley tried to sweep a Matt Parkinson delivery that was perhaps just too far wide of off stump for the shot. The resultant top edge went straight up in the air and was easily caught by Salt next to the stumps.



Browne, who showed excellent judgement in leaving the ball throughout his innings, had earlier reached his half century off 101 balls and looked to be well on his way towards a century until he fell to a stunning catch having made a steady 71.

The left-hand opener fiercely drove an Anderson delivery off the back foot that smashed into Dane Vilas at silly point and somehow the Lancashire captain clung onto the ball.

It was an incredible catch and Browne stood for several seconds in disbelief and disappointment while Vilas was mobbed by his jubilant team-mates with Essex 136-3 just over halfway through the day.



But any Red Rose joy was soon dissipated by another good partnership of 97 across 30 overs between Lawrence and Paul Walter either side of tea.

Lawrence, returning from injury for his first innings in a month, eased his way to 100 not out off 178 balls, reaching three figures in the penultimate over of the day, and he found great support from Walter in the afternoon sunshine.

The Lancashire bowlers mostly bowled some good lines on a wicket that offered little either off the pitch or through the air and forced them into trying to restrict the scoring rate.



Their woe at this point was encapsulated by a beauty of a delivery from Wood just before tea that that brought Walter forward onto the front foot before narrowly beating the outside edge. It was that sort of day.

But the bowlers stuck to their task with Bailey finally finding reward with the second new ball, bowling Walter with a pitched-up delivery for 34 and four balls later finding extra bounce and movement to have Matt Critchley caught behind for a duck.

That left the visitors on 233-5 and it could have easily been six moments later as both Lawrence, on 77, and Adam Rossington were missed in the slip cordon, Lawrence dissecting first and second slip and Rossington put down twice, all off an extremely unfortunate Anderson.



But there was late drama as further wickets fell in the 94th and 95th overs of the day.

First Lawrence, on 99, called for a quick single but Rossington was well short of his ground when sub fielder Balderson’s throw reached Salt at the wickets.

And Wood produced a snorter that Simon Harmer gloved to Salt to considerably improve the mood in the home dressing room at the close.



Lancashire bowling Coach Graham Onions hailed a great effort by the bowling unit on a fairly even day against Essex.

“We hung in, bowled consistently and got our rewards towards the end,” he said.

“It’s a bit of a cliché but tomorrow morning is going to be very important.

And Onions praised the way the bowlers’ had stuck to their task today.

“You have to try and control the run rate, get into your spells right away and bowl as well as you can,” he added.

“Try to only go for 2.5 to 3 runs per over and I think we did that beautifully.

“I thought Woody in particular, who hasn’t had his rewards over the last few weeks, turned up today. That wicket towards the end was an absolute snorter to get rid of Harmer who is a dangerous player in the lower order.

“Now we’ve got to back it up tomorrow morning.

Onions is enjoying the good pitches that have been produced so far this season.

“These pitches are brilliant. It’s unheard of in April and early May (to have these types of pitches). It’s what we want.

“The short ball was a good ploy (today) and it was a fantastic catch by Dane,” he said. “I’ve never seen one like that before.”

“I feel we are in a position in the game where we’ve done the hard work and it’s a case of finishing off (tomorrow).

This is Hassan Ali’s final match of his stint with Lancashire and Onions was full of praise for the Pakistan international who received his Lancashire Cap at the start of play.



“He’s been an absolute joy to have him around,” he said.

“I’ve not done that much work with him. He’s a highly skilful quick bowler but what we love here is that he brings so much energy.

“On fairly tough days he’s still laughing and joking but he’s still got that energy that he wants to put into match-winning spells.

“He’s took loads of wickets and we’d love to have him back.”

[themaclad]

Lancashire 32 for 5 trail Essex 391 (Lawrence 120, Snater 72, Browne 71; Bailey 3-61) by 359 runs

Perhaps it was for the best that the two thousand schoolchildren invited to watch today's cricket at Emirates Old Trafford had gone home by three o'clock. They might well have been puzzled why a succession of Lancashire players were walking out to the middle of the lovely green field with bats when it seemed inevitable that they would have to walk back again only a few minutes later having not used them. After all, the other team's batters had stayed there for simply ages in the morning and had kept hitting that hard ball very hard indeed.

As tea-time summaries go, it would not have been too shabby. More experienced, although not necessarily more intelligent, observers might have paid tributes to the powerful striking of Essex's Shane Snater before offering even warmer compliments to the new-ball bowling of Sam Cook and Jamie Porter, whose combined figures at tea read: 13-3-24-4. Neither had conceded a boundary or bowled a mediocre delivery. Before the Essex pair got to work, we thought this was a flattish pitch. It still is, but with Lancashire 32 for 5 in reply to Essex's 391, the value of the new ball was being extolled even as the evening rain set in.

Yet the child's assessment is just as valid and at the risk of giving that drum a bit more hammer, the best thing to happen at Old Trafford today was that primary-school pupils watched the morning's cricket. I say "watched" but a fair few probably divided their attention between Snater, their phones and their friends. Nevertheless, Matt Parkinson was mobbed during a break for rain and Hasan Ali happily acknowledged the hundreds of youngsters who were waving to him from the Brian Statham End.

If one per cent of those enjoying their first taste of the game today have been inspired to take their interest further at a local club, the annual Schools Open Day has been a success and Lancashire's Cricket Foundation should be warmly applauded for laying it on. Moreover, the news that Kings Rise Academy had joined with Warwickshire's Cricket Board to deliver the largest cricket lesson in history to 650 children aged 4-11 at Edgbaston offered a further reminder of the valuable work done by the first-class counties that rarely gets much notice.

That said, perhaps Dane Vilas's players took the educational theme a little too far. "Could have done better" might have been the Old Trafford coaches' assessment on the end of Essex's innings, and "Couldn't have done worse" their damning view on the start of Lancashire's reply.

Dane Vilas leads Lancashire through a guard of schoolchildren on the second day at Old Trafford, LV= Insurance County Championship, Division One, Lancashire vs Essex, 2nd day, Old Trafford, May 20, 2022
Dane Vilas leads Lancashire through a guard of schoolchildren on the second day at Old Trafford•Getty Images
Certainly the visitors had the better of a rain-interrupted first session, scoring 61 runs in 12 overs for the loss of Dan Lawrence. However, it wasn't much of a morning for Lawrence either. In addition to being caught at midwicket by James Anderson off Luke Wood for 120, he suffered a recurrence of the hamstring injury that had prevented him either playing for Essex or being selected for England.

Yet by the time Lawrence limped away from this game and towards the land of scans and specialists, Snater was already coping easily with the home attack. If Tom Bailey or Luke Wood pitched the ball up Essex's bowling all-rounder - it's hardly a flattering term on this evidence - hit through the line. When they dug it in, he occasionally heaved it away and even collected a six over the long-stop boundary when a top edge flew many yards above Phil Salt's head.

Snater continued in similar fashion after lunch and was only seven short of the career-best 79 he made against Northamptonshire last month when he was nailed plumb in front by a good ball from Hasan. Josh Bohannon's magnificent pick-up and direct hit from midwicket ran out Porter and thereby ended the innings three balls later but Snater's innings had given Essex the psychological advantage.


Less than an hour later, such abstract superiority had been made flesh and dwelt amongst us. Its conduits were Cook and Porter, whose use of the new ball was sixpence and spit away from perfect. Keaton Jennings came half forward to Cook in the fifth over; Peter Hartley didn't need to think for long. Bohannon played across the line to Porter in the eighth and Steve O'Shaughnessy was similarly swift. (Thus one alumnus of Bolton's Harper Green High School sent a fellow alumnus on his way.) Steven Croft edged the next ball low to Alastair Cook's left at first slip. It was eminently droppable but Cook has caught those in bigger matches than this. 8 for 3.

While partners came and went, Luke Wells had been defending grimly and notching singles plus a luxurious two. Then he played no shot to a ball from Cook that tailed back in. Snater replaced Porter and Vilas tried to take the bat away from his fourth ball. Instead, he inside-edged it onto the stumps. Simon Harmer came on to bowl a bit of off-spin from the Brian Statham End and Salt hit him for the first boundaries of the innings, thus sparking congas in the 1864 Suite. Well, it was either that or the case of Gewurztraminer.

Salt and Wood strolled in for tea with Lancashire's coaches perhaps reflecting that this might not have been the time to go into a game a batsman light. The umpires came in, went out and immediately came in again, not to return until the morrow. There were 46 overs to be bowled and they have trod the path to dusty death. But Essex rule the table and might even consider this game child's play. But cricket is not that important. Either way, they'll be whooping it up in Wormingford tonight.