[themaclad]

A marvellous century by Dan Lawrence put Essex firmly in charge of this LV= Insurance County Championship match at Blackpool after Lancashire were bowled out cheaply on the third day.
Lawrence hammered 9 sixes and 8 fours in a brutal assault on the Red Rose attack over the second half of the day that ended on 135 in the final over when he was caught at long-off by Keaton Jennings off Luke Wells with Essex 292 for eight, ahead by 429 runs.



No side has ever score more than 301 runs to win in the fourth innings of a match at Blackpool and realistically the equation tomorrow for Lancashire will be to try and bat out the day, the assumption being that the visitors will declare on their overnight score.

That will be no easy task with Essex confident, having bowled Lancashire out for 145, they can clinch a victory that will keep them on the heels of Championship leaders Surrey.

Lancashire suffered a batting slump during the morning, at one point losing seven wickets for 40 runs, during a truncated 24 overs session after rain had delayed the start until 11.45am.

Resuming the day on 37 for one, Jennings and Josh Bohannon had progressed steadily in adding 39 runs to that total before Jennings edged Sam Cook to Matt Critchley at second slip.



Without addition to the score Dane Vilas was run out attempting a quick single but beaten by a superb pick up and throw by Doug Bracewell.

Bracewell then produced a great delivery to have Rob Jones caught behind by Will Buttleman for 11 but the innings subsided quickly once Bohannon edged left arm seamer Paul Walter to Simon Harmer at slip for 44 with Lancashire 114 for five.

That was the start of a sequence where four wickets fell for two runs in a disastrous 13-ball spell immediately before lunch as Essex duo Walter and Sam Cook bowled an excellent line and length that brought reward.

Cook had Colin de Grandhomme lbw for 0 second ball pushing forward, while Walter (3-20) dismissed Tom Hartley first ball via an edge to Alastair Cook at first slip and then trapped Jack Blatherwick lbw for a four-ball duck to have the hosts 116 for eight at the interval.

Will Williams edged behind off Sam Cook for 3 three overs into the afternoon and it took two big blows from Phil Salt, who slog/swept Walter for six over midwicket and out of the ground, and Tom Bailey to help Lancashire avoid the follow-on.



Salt’s innings was the one bright spark for the Red Rose as the wicketkeeper/batsman batted purposefully in making an unbeaten 35 off 40 balls but nobody was able to stay with him.

Sam Cook, with four for 42, wrapped up the Lancashire innings by bowling Bailey for 13 with a full toss that the batsman, having hammered a six over point the previous ball, appeared to lose in the flight offering no shot.

Leading by 137 runs, Essex immediately lost two wickets without scoring a run with Bailey trapping Nick Browne lbw and Alastair Cook cutting Williams to Vilas at point.

First innings centurion Tom Westley had only made 5 when he edged Williams into the gloves of Salt, but Dan Lawrence, looking to boost his England prospects, and Matt Critchley prospered as conditions eased in the evening sunshine, the pair adding 95 for the fourth wicket.

Critchley was bowled by Hartley for 40 and Walter perished for 24 hitting out at Bailey as Essex pushed their advantage well beyond 300.



Their innings was underpinned by a marvellous century by Lawrence, who struck 9 sixes and 8 fours in making a brutal 135 off 125 balls, the Essex batsman reaching three figures with a six over midwicket off Hartley before going on to savage the Lancashire attack with some powerful hitting.

Lawrence was joined in the late evening assault by Bracewell who smashed an unbeaten 61 off 35 balls (with 4 sixes) in a 106-run partnership that arrived in a hurry from one ball short of 9 overs and included three balls lost over the boundary walls.

That leaves Lancashire facing a very tough challenge tomorrow if they are to extend their 15-match unbeaten Championship run.

"It was a tough day," said Carl Crowe, Lancashire's assistant coach.

"We haven't had too many of those this season. We've been on top for many days this season so it was going to happen at some stage and from our perspective it's now about how we respond and show some character.

"We're behind in the game and we need to show character and fight and see where it takes us. We've made a habit this year of coming back when we've been under the pump so I expect us to do the same thing tomorrow.

"We'll probably be batting very quickly tomorrow and it's one of those grounds where you can score very quickly - once you get going it's very hard to stop scoring. But we're nowhere need there yet - we need to get in, play well and see where we're at."


Absolutely freeing there yesterday

[themaclad]

Rob Jones’ fine century led a great Lancashire run chase at Blackpool, but Essex held on to win a thrilling LV= Insurance County Championship match by 46 runs with just ten balls left.
This was a game where the outcome was very much in the balance for the first two sessions as Lancashire chased what would have been a record 430 runs to win after Essex declared on their overnight 292 for eight.

The visitors still needed six wickets at tea with Lancashire on 274 for four with Jones and Phil Salt going well.

But Essex struck two quick blows after the break and then steadily worked their way through the Red Rose batting with Jones standing resolute before being last out for a valiant 111.

It was a thrilling denouement, but the result ends Lancashire’s unbeaten 15-match run in the competition while the win keeps Essex hot on the heels of leaders Surrey.



Setting off in pursuit of their 430 target, the Red Rose enjoyed a good morning, reaching lunch on 140 for one.

Keaton Jennings and Luke Wells made a bright positive start with an opening partnership of 58 but having made 30 Jennings flashed hard at a short, wide delivery from Doug Bracewell only to nick it behind where Will Buttleman took an excellent flying catch.



Wells and Josh Bohannon responded positively with an attacking alliance either side of lunch that included both hitting sixes off Simon Harmer.

Wells was the first to reach a half century (83 balls, 1 six, 8 fours) cutting Sam Cook for four thirty minutes before the break, while Bohannon hit that landmark off 55 balls (3 sixes and 4 fours) soon after the afternoon resumption.

Red Rose hopes off getting a positive outcome from the day increased when 15 runs came from the two overs after lunch before those aspirations received a setback when Matt Critchley took two wickets in one over.



Wells was the first, cutting to Paul Walter at backward point for 75 followed by Dane Vilas bowled five balls later by the off spinner leaving Lancashire 155 for three.

And Essex next struck a big blow when Bohannon top edging a pull off Paul Walter to Jamie Porter at fine leg to depart for 68.

Jones and Phil Salt steered Lancashire to the halfway point of the day on 215 for four, exactly half of the runs required, and the pair compiled an excellent risk-free partnership that had both added 79 priceless runs by tea and frustrated the Essex victory push.



But with Lancashire needing 156 runs and Essex six wickets from the final 32 overs, it was the visitors who struck the early post-tea blows with two wickets.

Having made 41, Salt top edged a sweep off Critchley to Sam Cook at backward short leg and Colin de Grandhomme fell for 9 after pulling a short ball from Walter down the throat of Porter at long leg.

Jones held the innings together brilliantly, reaching his half century off 98 balls when driving Critchley to the long-off boundary and twice driving Harmer for four to keep the momentum of the innings going.



Tom Hartley joined forces with Jones to add 65 for the seventh wicket and take the match into the final hour.

But Essex plugged away, having Hartley caught behind for 17 off Sam Cook after a 65-ball innings of defiance, followed quickly by Jack Blatherwick caught and bowled for 1 by Porter moments later.

Jones reached his third first-class century from 149 balls (11 fours, 2 sixes) but lost partner Tom Bailey to a brilliant diving catch by Harmer for 8 leaving Jones and Williams to see out the remaining 44 balls.

They so nearly did it, with Jones agonisingly the last out after glancing Bracewell to Dan Lawrence at leg slip with Lancashire’s total of 383 their ninth highest fourth-innings score.

Lancashire take 3 points from the game and Essex 20.



"It's a bit bittersweet - I'm gutted we couldn't get over the line for draw,” said a disappointed Rob Jones.

“Obviously we were in a good position at one point to go on for the win until we lost a couple of wickets.

"We said at the start of the morning that a win would be an epic performance and we were right on track to do that, scoring at four and five an over for most of the day but we didn't quite get there.

"It was never the plan to do anything stupid but to stick to the game plan - the out field was pretty quick and the wicket was good and the sun was out so it was case of getting behind the ball and scoring when you could.

"There were a few areas in this game where we got it a little wrong but that's the way it goes and we've just got to bounce back as a team next week and look to put in a strong performance.

"I'm personally proud of this performance but the team didn't win and that's the most important thing."

[themaclad]

George Balderson bailed out Lancashire’s top order on his return to the team for the LV=Insurance County Championship clash with Warwickshire at Edgbaston.
Back in the side in place of the departed Colin de Grandhomme, Balderson struck a correct and composed unbeaten 94 (202 balls) to lift his side to 295 for seven on the opening day at Edgbaston.

The 22-year-old went in with Lancashire in deep trouble at 91 for five and showed the concentration and shot selection required on a slow pitch which was used for Vitality Blast Finals Day last Saturday.

He received excellent support in the last session from Tom Bailey (a career-best 75 not out, 134 balls) as the eighth-wicket pair added an unbroken 145 against an attack which lacked the sustained incision to press home their early advantage. It was a hard-fought cricket as a pitch which, four days earlier, had delivered 821 runs, 71 fours and 23 sixes, surrendered runs grudgingly as it aged.



Balderson, Daryl Mitchell, George Bell, Jack Morley and Danny Lamb came in for Colin de Grandhomme Dane Vilas, Rob Jones, Tom Hartley and Jack Blatherwick. Lamb was called up late after Luke Wood and Blatherwick reported injuries in the warm up.

Warwickshire chose to bowl first on the experienced pitch and soon broke through when Luke Wells feathered a leg-side catch to wicketkeeper Michael Burgess off Chris Rushworth. Josh Bohannon’s fluent 33 (43 balls), in a stand of 47 with Keaton Jennings, ended with an inside edge to the keeper off Ed Barnard before the pressure increased either side of lunch with the loss of three wickets for 16 runs in 27 balls. Phil Salt dragged on a loose drive at Olly Hannon-Dalby, Jennings edged debutant Mir Hamza to second slip and Bell edged Hannon-Dalby to third.

Mitchell and Balderson added 58 in 19 overs, the former striking Danny Briggs and Rushworth for sixes, before another two wickets fell in eight balls. Mitchell (35, 56) top-edged a sweep at Briggs and Lamb, drawn into playing away from his body, edged Barnard behind.



With Lancashire 150 for seven, the home side looked well-placed to build on last week’s crushing of Kent, which has had some in the West Midlands talking of a surprise title push, but Balderson and Bailey dug in deep. The Red Rose know how to fight back against Warwickshire and the eighth-wicket pair invoked the spirit of Southport, 1982, when the Bears declared their first innings on 523 for four…and lost by ten wickets.

Balderson passed 1,000 first class runs and Bailey surpassed his previous career-best (68) as the new ball failed to inflict damage. Hamza’s first day as a Bear - one for 89 - was one to forget but Balderson’s day was one to remember with pride, especially if he acquires the six runs he requires to complete his maiden century in the morning.

[themaclad]

On a grey morning, Lancashire all-rounder Balderson extended his overnight 94 to 116 (235 balls) out of his side’s 327 all out before the home side replied with 179 for five on a grey afternoon.

On a slow pitch, diligence has been required throughout from batters and Balderson showed plenty of it, spending 44 balls in the nineties before reaching his richly-deserved ton. Warwickshire captain Will Rhodes then showed similar resolve to compile 82 (168 balls) on a grey evening.



After resuming on 295 for seven on the second morning, Lancashire lost Tom Bailey (75, 136 balls) to the second ball, lbw to a big inswinger from Hamza Mir. That concluded a partnership of 145 in 45 overs between Bailey and Balderson and when Will Williams quickly fell the same way, Balderson still required five runs for his maiden ton with just last man Jack Morley for company.

Unlike at Lord’s in 1895, when Sammy Woods generously served up a deliberate leg-side full toss so that WG Grace could reach his hundredth hundred, Balderson was made to earn every run towards his milestone before he edged Olly Hannon-Dalby to the third man boundary to cheers from the Red Rose balcony.

Morley stuck around while 30 were added and doubled his previous first class run tally of nine before nicking a slog at Danny Briggs.



In reply, Warwickshire’s openers fell in the first seven overs, both deciding too late to leave the ball as Alex Davies played on to Williams and Rob Yates edged Bailey behind. Rhodes and Sam Hain then added 68 in 28 overs either side of a rain break, Hain arriving into double-figures after 69 balls before falling, strangled down the leg side off Balderson, for 15 off 79.

At 82 for three, further quick wickets would have moved Lancashire into a strong position, but Rhodes and Dan Mousley batted watchfully to add 77 in 22 overs. Bailey continued his impressive match by trapping Rhodes lbw and Ed Barnard tickled Balderson down the leg side to the keeper but Mousley, after a skittish start, settled to play with an authority of which WG Grace would have been proud to reach the close unbeaten on 45 (92 balls).

[themaclad]

An incisive burst of spin-bowling followed by patient batting has engineered a strong position for the Red Rose.

After bowling the home side out for 212, for a first innings lead of 115, Lancashire closed a rain-shortened third day on 182 for six - 297 ahead as Keaton Jennings constructed an unbeaten 64 (174 balls).

On a slow pitch which has never been easy for batting, the visitors are poised to put Warwickshire under pressure on the final day but need the grim weather forecast to be wrong. The dark clouds ever present at Edgbaston this week remain likely to have the final say.



That would be frustrating for Jennings’ side who forced the match forward in its seventh session after the preceding six had advanced at various degrees of slow. After Warwickshire resumed on the third day on 179 for five, the Red Rose deployed their spinners, partly because the light was so poor, and it proved a highly productive move as the last five wickets fell for 29 runs in 88 balls.

The catalyst for the collapse was an indiscrete reverse-sweep by Dan Mousley (47, 97 balls) straight to slip off Jack Morley. The left-arm spinner followed that by having Michael Burgess adjudged caught at leg slip before Luke Wells removed Danny Briggs, caught off the face of the bat at short leg.

Warwickshire squandered their last two wickets as Olly Hannon-Dalby was run out pursuing a single that didn’t exist and Chris Rushworth, batting with a runner due to a hamstring injury, charged at Wells and was stumped by yards. Suddenly, after two finely-balanced days, Lancashire had seized a meaty lead 115.



Batting remained tricky when they went in again and Wells’ hitherto happy morning took a dive when he fell lbw to Hannon-Dalby’s third ball. Josh Bohannon came closest to fluency in a 40-ball 25 which ended when he chipped Hannon-Dalby to substitute fielder Marques Ackerman at mid-wicket but Jennings dropped anchor deep, going into lunch with just a single from 42 balls.

The skipper remained entrenched throughout the afternoon while partners came and went. Phil Salet nicked a pull at Ed Barnard. Daryl Mitchell skied Mir Hamza to give Ackerman his second catch. When George Bell nicked Briggs behind it was 83 for five and Warwickshire, despite the absence of Rushworth, were fighting back hard.

Still the Jennings anchor remained and first innings century-maker George Balderson settled alongside him to reassert the Red Rose. Jennings posted a 163-ball half-century in a partnership of 92 in 26 overs which looked ready to grow much further until Balderson (46, 94 balls) self-destructed. He set off for a single when his drive was parried by bowler Briggs and, rightly sent back by Jennings, was beaten by Sam Hain’s throw from extra cover.

With the lead approaching 300, Lancashire had just started to seek acceleration when rain arrived to lop off the last 20 overs. That lost time, with probably more tomorrow is likely to thwart the Red Rose victory bid.

[themaclad]

No play day 4

[themaclad]

Emilio Gay struck a fine century and Luke Procter made 75 in a double-century partnership that helped Northamptonshire recover from a poor start of 59 for three to close the day in the ascendency on 302 for five, with George Balderson taking 3 for 29.
The partnership of 207 between Gay and Procter set a new Northamptonshire fourth-wicket record against Lancashire, eclipsing the 158 between Mushtaq Mohammad and Jim Watts at Liverpool in 1972, and having enjoyed that early success, the day turned into one of toil for the Lancashire bowlers on a good batting track.

With little preparation time after the Test Match that finished just 48 hours earlier, the match is being played on the same wicket used on four of the days of the Ashes contest and Lancashire made early inroads after visiting skipper Procter had won the toss.



Three early wickets fell, with all the batters partly culpable in their own downfall.

Having weathered the opening nine overs from Tom Bailey and Will Williams, Ricardo Vasconcelos launched a fierce drive at Balderson’s first delivery but only succeeded in finding Steven Croft at backward point having made 9.

Balderson was soon celebrating again, six balls later in fact, when Justin Broad clipped the first ball of his second over straight to midwicket where Jack Morley took a good low catch.

And the third wicket in this sequence followed thirty minutes before lunch when Sam Whiteman, Northamptonshire's overseas left-hand bat from Western Australia, gave Morley the charge but was beaten by a delivery, pushed wider, that spun through to Phil Salt who completed a neat stumping.



All the while Gay had produced some dogged resistance to counter Lancashire’s early successes and he finally found support from Procter in a partnership that steered the visitors safely through to lunch on 74 for three, before blossoming across the afternoon and evening.

It was the first time Northamptonshire have negotiated a session without losing a wicket since May 2022, with 117 runs added in 34 overs, and the only chance offered was a sharp one when Gay, on 60, edged a drive off Morley that flew very quickly to slip where a diving Keaton Jennings could only parry the ball.



Otherwise, Gay and Procter batted with great composure to move steadily through to tea and beyond, Gay reaching his fourth first-class century – and first since last September – from 191 balls when driving Bailey for his tenth boundary.

Procter was solid at the other end until he was beaten by Williams, armed with the new ball, to be lbw for a determined 75 from a delivery that nipped back.

And Gay fell agonisingly one run short of equalling his career-best when the Northamptonshire opener edged behind to Salt for an excellent 144 to give Balderson his third wicket.



Saif Zaib, dropped on 12 at gully off Balderson, and nightwatchman Dom Leech – signed this week on a short-term loan from Yorkshire – reached stumps on 17 and 2 respectively with Northamptonshire claiming just their second and third batting points of the season.

“It was a tough day. I thought we stuck in there really well,” said George Balderson.

“Sometimes you just have to take it on the chin and say they probably had the best of the day, but it doesn’t mean we can’t fight back over the next three.” he added.



“There’s still a little bit in the pitch with the new ball,” was Balderson’s assessment of this used pitch. “Once the ball gets old it’s very slow. It’s tough for the seamers, without a lot of movement in it.

Lancashire bowled 48 overs of spin on this first day – half of the day’s allocation – and Balderson said: “The spin is only coming when you land it right in the footholds. If you don’t land it there, it’s nice to bat against the spinners as well.

“We will have to see how the pitch deteriorates over the new few days. You think it would, with the fact it now has five days’ cricket on it. But you never know.



“I’ve played on pitches here where you get to day four and it’s the flattest it’s been all game. We will just have to play what’s in front of us.”

Balderson had pretty decent bowling figures on a tough day and he admitted: “It was a relief to get those wickets towards the end. They (Gay and Procter) both played very nicely and made it hard for us.

“They were very disciplined and when a batter is disciplined on a pitch like that, it’s hard to make a breakthrough. We’re relying on trying to be patient and wait for an error. If they are disciplined and don’t give us a lot, it’s a tough battle.”

Looking ahead, Balderson added: “I think it will be a key first session tomorrow.

“If we can take these five wickets rather sharply and set about trying to get a first innings lead, I think that will be crucial in this game.”

[themaclad]

A century opening partnership between Luke Wells and Keaton Jennings led a strong Lancashire reply after the Red Rose attack bowled Northamptonshire out for 342 on the second day of this LV= Insurance County Championship at Emirates Old Trafford.
After taking the last five Northamptonshire wickets in the morning session, Wells and Jennings combined to post their second century opening partnership of the season before rain arrived on the stroke of tea to end play early with Lancashire 121 for one and 221 runs in arrears.

The Red Rose opening pair, having negotiated eight overs safely before lunch, counter attacked successfully during the afternoon with Alex Russell a clear target, Jennings reverse sweeping the leg spinner successfully on several occasions and Wells also driving the bowler straight and through extra cover.



Jennings also benefitted from being dropped off Jack White - a fairly regulation catch to Justin Broad at third slip – when he was on 17, but otherwise the opening pair remained fairly solid as the visitors skipper Luke Procter rotated his bowlers, hunting a breakthrough.

As the day wore on, the odd ball did enough to suggest the pitch, now in use for the sixth day following the Test, might be deteriorating, albeit slowly.



Russell got the last ball before lunch to pop off a good length, while Wells was left shaking his head later when a White delivery hit a crack and scuttled sideways and low past the startled batter.

“It’s a really good surface,” said Wells, “but when one hits a crack like that and gets extravagant movement, there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s worse when the ball moves a little bit.

“You do your best to put it out of your mind and face up to the next ball.”

Jennings also endured a tough moment when on 42, receiving treatment for a blow to the arm from a Dom Leech delivery that reared up off a length, with the ball also deflecting onto his helmet.

Jennings responded positively driving the bowler for four moments later.



But these were isolated incidents as Wells and Jennings timed the ball nicely throughout their partnership, both hitting eight boundaries in reaching half centuries: Jennings from 78 balls and Wells taking 99 balls.

Having made 55, the Lancashire captain fell lbw reverse sweeping at the third delivery from Saif Zaib, the left arm spinner coming into the visitor’s attack in the 32nd over, to leave Lancashire on 114 for one.

Josh Bohannon (3 not out) helped Wells (61 not out) add seven runs to that total before rain brought proceedings to an early close just before tea.



At the start of the day, Lancashire had enjoyed just the sort of morning they desired, taking the last five Northamptonshire wickets for 40 runs during the first 80 minutes of the opening session.

Tom Bailey made the initial breakthrough when Zaib edged an indeterminate drive to wicketkeeper Phil Salt for 19.



And the visitors innings ended in a hurry once Jennings turned to spin with Jack Morley and Tom Hartley both picking up a brace of wickets as the last four fell for 13 runs in 28 balls.

Morley had Leech stumped by Salt for 13 after drawing the batter down the pitch, before producing a sharply turning delivery to bowl James Sales for 11.



Having pulled Morley for six, Lewis McManus attempted to hit Hartley high and straight but instead holed out to Bailey running back from mid-on, and the left arm spinner wrapped up the innings on 342 when White gloved a reverse sweep that was well caught by Salt diving forward to his left.

It was the ideal start for the Red Rose, who had the better of both sessions played today, and they will hope to capitalise further tomorrow, weather permitting.



“Batting was quite hard work, but it was nice to get a good partnership with Keats,” said Wells.

“We’ve haven’t had as many of those as we would have liked so far this season, so it was nice to get some runs on the board.”

And Wells described how this wicket is behaving.

“There’s a lot of rough, especially for us left-handers. It comes with the territory,” he said.

“When the spinners landed it there, especially Russell, it was hard work.



“We tried to put him under a bit of pressure and he started missing his length a bit more as a result which meant we could get a few scoring shots away.

“The cracks have started to open up a bit more now. The seamers became harder work as it went a bit more up and down.

“Keaton got hit pretty hard from a ball that was just on a length. It reared up at him. That gets the heart-rate going when you see things like that.”

Nevertheless it was a challenge Wells clearly enjoyed.

“It was good fun,” he admitted. “You had to think about the way you were going to play, and luckily it came off so far.

“After a while I felt that I was able to trust my judgement of length.



“The pitch has spun a lot out of the rough, but it didn’t do a lot more than yesterday. If you throw the ball nice and wide there are some craters there where it will really jump.

“It’s probably doing a little bit more off the seamers now the cracks start to open up, he added.

Wells feels Lancashire are well poised in this game with two days left.

“We’re really pleased with the position we are in,” he said. “The ball is a bit softer now, which makes a big difference.

“If we can bat well tomorrow, bat all day and get any sort of lead, I’d back ourselves to bowl them out cheaply.”

[themaclad]

Fine centuries by Luke Wells, Josh Bohannon and Phil Salt led an astonishing and rapid Lancashire response against Northamptonshire to keep Red Rose hopes alive in this rain-hit LV= Insurance County Championship match.
Despite play not starting until 2pm, Lancashire scored 377 runs in 67 overs with Salt smashing a 75-ball century, to reach 498 for seven by the close and lead by 156 runs going into the final day of the match with renewed hope of forcing a result.

A quest for quick runs and a first innings lead was Lancashire’s stated aim going into the third day of this game and Wells and Bohannon delivered with an emphatic partnership once play started late after lunch following morning rain.

The pair signalled intent from the start, taking three off the first ball of the day as Lancashire resumed their first innings on 121 for one, and they doubled that total in the first 25 overs as Northamptonshire struggled to gain any sort of control.



Wells continued to play in enterprising fashion, surviving a drop by wicketkeeper Lewis Mc Manus when he had made 85, on his way to passing 2,000 runs for the Red Rose at an average of 40.80 and reaching his 23rd first-class century and fifth ‘ton’ for Lancashire.

Bohannon, who timed the ball beautifully throughout his innings, hit a straight six off Zaib during his eighth first-class century that arrived from 143 balls soon after tea.



By then, Wells had departed for a brilliant 119 after edging a drive off Jack White to Ricardo Vasconcelos at first slip to end a 142-run partnership in 31 overs with Bohannon.

But the fireworks of the day were provided by an amazing innings by Salt who destroyed the visitors attack during the evening session with a ferocious assault that took Lancashire racing past Northamptonshire’s first innings 342 all out.

Salt took 35 balls to reach his half century - helping Bohannon add another century partnership, the third of the innings – and going on to make one of the fastest centuries of the season from 75 balls that included three straight sixes, the last taking Salt to three figures in appropriate style.



Bohannon fell to an outstanding one-handed catch by Ricardo Vasconcelos at first slip off White for 128 having added 126 for the third wicket with Salt who perished for 105 (3 sixes, 11 fours) when caught on the backward square leg boundary attempting to go big once more against White.

George Bell (15), Steven Croft (25) and Tom Bailey (6) perished hitting out over the closing overs of a remarkable day that ended at 7pm with George Balderson (22 not out) and Tom Hartley (5 not out) at the crease.



Josh Bohannon hailed “a pretty special” innings by Phil Salt.

“It was a tricky pitch to come in and play like he did,” added Bohannon.

“Some of the shots he played, especially to their best bowlers, were incredible. I told him ‘I feel like you are playing on a different pitch’.

“It was one of the best innings I’ve seen. I was at the other end in awe of some of things he was doing.”

“That partnership, in terms of when it happened (after tea), was great for the team and important because of the position it has put us in the game. It adds value to the way Phil played.”



“I’d say it was one of my best innings,” was Phil Salt’s assessment.

“From the position we were in, we had to put our foot down in that last session. We were trying to go at fives and sixes and above for a period, which isn’t easy on that wicket.

“There was a period of about five overs where we didn’t have a dot ball.

“On a tough wicket where the ball is going up and down, I think they are the sort of important moments in the game.”

Lancashire have a lead of 156 going into the final day and Salt said:

“I think we will go on for twenty, thirty minutes tomorrow.

“Hopefully the pitch will break up even more. It’s noticeably deteriorated today, especially the little patch at the Brian Statham end. The plates are moving around quite a lot.

“Hopefully we can get around 200 ahead.”

“I think we are in a really strong position going into tomorrow.”

[themaclad]

Lancashire and Northamptonshire fought out a hard-earned draw in the LV= Insurance County Championship clash at Emirates Old Trafford as the visitors batted out most of the day to reach 213 for five.
George Balderson (49 not out) and Tom Hartley (24 not out) had thumped 46 runs in three overs at the start of the day to extend Lancashire’s lead to 202 before Keaton Jennings declared on 544 for seven.

That left the majority of the day for Lancashire to put Northamptonshire under pressure, but after losing two early wickets, the visitors rallied sufficiently to eliminate the runs deficit and reach the close safely with only a further three wickets lost.

After Tom Bailey trapped Ricardo Vasconcelos lbw for 2 with a ball that appeared to stay a bit low to claim his 350th first-class wicket, and Jack Morley had Justin Broad well caught by Jennings at slip from a beautiful turning delivery, Northamptonshire were in early trouble on 31 for two.



A determined, well-crafted, partnership of 96 runs between Emilio Gay and Sam Whiteman across 39 overs led the visitors fightback into the afternoon session.

The pair played steadily on a pitch that continued to be a good batting surface albeit with the odd delivery misbehaving as Lancashire bowled 62 consecutive overs of spin, mainly from Morley and Hartley with Bailey and Wells chipping in, until the new ball was taken just after tea.

It was Hartley who broke the Gay-Whiteman alliance by having the former caught at slip by Jennings for 61 followed by the latter, caught for 40 at short leg where George Bell pulled off a great one-handed grab just before tea.



When Luke Wells struck with his third ball early after the break, trapping Saif Zaib lbw for 18 offering no shot, Northamptonshire were still 40 runs in arrears at 162 for five.

But led resolutely by skipper Luke Procter who made 27 off a marathon 125-ball stay at the crease superbly supported by James Sales (35 off 92) in a 51-run partnership in 25.3 overs, the visitors were 11 runs ahead when the players shook hands on the draw at 5.30pm.



Lancashire take 12 points from the match and Northamptonshire nine.

“It’s been a frustrating week,” said Keaton Jennings.

“We bowled a side out on a fairly docile wicket on day one and then went at five and a bit per over with three guys getting hundreds.

“Today we pushed the game to where we thought we could win it. I don’t feel like we could have done any more.

“In that middle session we had balls going over guys shoulders, hitting guys on the head, and just going straight down.

“We lost two sessions to rain and it’s become a bit of a theme.”



And Jennings was delighted with the effort and skill from his team.

“I feel like the quality of cricket we have played this week has been exceptional,” he said.

“I can’t ask any more of the boys. Every single one of the lads have put up their hand at some period of play and made an impact.

“It was great to watch a group of lads play high quality cricket over the last few days and put pressure on the opposition.

“I think we’ve played some fantastic cricket.”



The Lancashire skipper was full of praise for the effort put in by both Tom Hartley and Jack Morley.

“The work from both Jack and Tom was top drawer," he said.

“The expectation level can be on you as a young spinner to go in and bowl a side out on a used surface.



“They bowled a really aggressive line, bowled nice and wide to the left handers and they were really fantastic.

“They held their length even when the ball wasn’t doing as much on day one, and their scoring rate at around two and a half per over, and the way they went about their business on what could have been a really tough week for them was absolutely great.

“I’m really proud about how the guys have gone about their work this week.”