[themaclad]

Vitality County Championship Division One, Stanley Park, Blackpool (day one)

Lancashire 350-9: Jennings 115, Bruce 46; Raine 3-67

Durham: Yet to bat

Lancashire 3 pts, Durham 3 pts

Ben Stokes took his first wickets of the summer, finishing the day with two for 70 from 17 overs, while Keaton Jennings scored his 28th first-class century as Lancashire made a competitive 350 for nine after being put in to bat by Durham on the opening day of the Vitality County Championship match at Blackpool.
Stokes last featured in a four-day game for Durham in May 2022. And with Lancashire going well on 163 for one, the England Test Match captain showed he still retains the knack of taking a wicket when his team needs it by luring Josh Bohannon (39) into a taking on a short delivery that the batsman top-edged into the hands of Callum Parkinson at deep backward square.

That wicket started a determined Durham fightback after Jennings and Luke Wells had equalled their best opening partnership of the season, posting 87 runs before Wells edged Matty Potts to slip for 27, with Jennings and Bohannon combined to add a further 76 to steer Lancashire into a strong position.



Stokes, who had struggled for a consistent line and length in his first two pre-lunch spells and had kicked the turf in frustration at times, then struck with the first ball of his ninth over. That wicket presumably brought some relief to Durham captain Scott Borthwick following his decision at the toss, as home skipper Jennings produced a brilliant century off 137 balls that included 15 fours.

From that point the Durham attack continued to make further inroads with Paul Coughlin having George Bell caught behind for eight before Callum Parkinson took the key wicket of Jennings, caught at mid-on attempting to hit over the top. Potts was finally rewarded for a fine afternoon spell when George Balderson edged behind for 14 to leave Lancashire on 255 for five.



The day was very much in the balance at that point, but Tom Bruce pushed the score with a careful and determined innings. The Kiwi overseas batter was going along nicely on 46 until Stokes struck again in a faster, more accurate fourth spell after tea, banging in a short delivery that found a leading edge with the ball ballooning gently back to the bowler.

Ben Raine backed up that breakthrough with the next three wickets to even up the day, having Tom Aspinwall caught at second slip for two, Matty Hurst brilliantly caught for 20 by wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson diving away to his left to take a quite magnificent catch, and then Will Williams lbw for nine.

A late onslaught by Saqib Mahmood, who thumped a six off Raine and a further five fours in a Lancashire-best 40 not out off only 48 balls meant the hosts ended the day the happier camp.

Keaton Jennings said:

“At the start of the day seeing the movement we had to face, I’d have taken 350.

“You need a bit of luck in those conditions. I thought Luke Wells played beautifully, and the same with Josh (Bohannon).

“I thought the way we got through this morning, and the way we ran, was good.

“Hopefully we can knock them over with the new ball tomorrow.

“It was good fun but it wasn’t my most enjoyable knock in terms of fluidity.

“We’ve spoken a lot this week about trying to compete. Thankfully today I’ve made a contribution that can move us towards competing in the game.

“Hopefully we can keep them out there for a bit tomorrow morning and frustrate them. Saqib played beautifully, counterpunching and smacking the ball around.

“The guys in the dressing room loved it and were really engaged and bouncing around during his innings.”

“We’ve got to back up today for the rest of the match. There are some high class international cricketers playing against us.”

[themaclad]

Vitality County Championship Division One, Stanley Park, Blackpool (day two)

Lancashire 357: Jennings 115, Bruce 46, Mahmood 46; Raine 3-67, Potts 3-100 & 91-2

Durham 236: Bedingham 101; Aspinwall 5-41, Lyon 4-59

Lancashire (6 pts) lead Durham (3 pts) by 212 runs with 8 wickets remaining

Tom Aspinwall took a five-wicket haul in just his second first-class match to help bowl Durham out for 236 in reply to Lancashire's 337 in this Vitality County Championship match at a sweltering Blackpool.
David Bedingham, the South African batter who is having such a good start to the season, backed up his 144 against Hampshire last week with a vital 101 to counter the efforts of Nathan Lyon who took four for 59 while Aspinwall, who did not bowl in his debut due to rain, twice broke important Durham partnerships on his way to impressive figures of five for 41.

Leading by 121 runs, Lancashire were 91 for two in their second innings by the close with Keaton Jennings 38 not out and nightwatchman Will Williams 0 not out having significantly extended their advantage to 212 runs with two days left to play.



Ben Stokes could only made brief contributions to his second day of action, scoring two runs in his seventeen minutes at the crease and taking one wicket from four overs when Lancashire batted a second time.

The match up that everyone at Stanley Park was looking forward to today duly arrived at 2.15pm when Stokes faced his first ball from Lyon.

The Australian off spinner had just taken his second wicket courtesy of a great one-handed reflex catch by George Bell at short leg to dismiss Ollie Robinson for a duck at the start of his 16th consecutive over.

Stokes pressed forward to the first seven deliveries he faced from Lyon but played back to the eighth, fatefully as it turned out, that found an edge nicely snapped up by Tom Bruce at second slip.



Lyon gave a little punch of delight as Lancashire celebrated the success in a good passage of play for the hosts that had Durham in trouble on 145 for five at the halfway stage of the day.

Bedingham and Graham Clark countered impressively with a 108-run stand that looked to be putting the visitors in striking range of matching the Lancashire total. Bedingham reached his century from 142 balls just before tea having hit two sixes, one of which sailed out of the Stanley Park ground, and eight fours.

But Durham lost their last five wickets for 23 runs after the break at the hands of Lyon and Aspinwall, the latter bowling Bedingham for 101 via a bottom edge two balls into the session and the former trapping Clark lbw for 24 playing back.



Aspinwall then cleaned up the tail, taking the final three wickets of Ben Raine caught at second slip for a duck, Matty Potts bowled for six, and Callum Parkinson lbw for 0, to march off holding the match ball.

At the start of the day, Lancashire could only add seven runs to their overnight score, with Saqib Mahmood left still looking for a maiden first-class fifty when last out for 46 in the hosts total of 357.

Alex Lees made a positive start with three driven fours before two wickets in two balls dented the Durham reply after the opening pair had made 34. Lees edged behind off George Balderson for 24 at the end of the bowler’s first over while fellow opener Scott Borthwick was smartly caught at slip by Jennings off the very next ball bowled by Lyon via an edge deflected by wicketkeeper Matty Hurst.

And on a wicket that continues to interest all the bowlers, Bedingham and Ackermann fought with great determination to steer their side through the remainder of the morning session before prospering in the afternoon, building a 94-run partnership in the Blackpool sunshine.

A great leaping catch at first slip by Jennings broke that alliance, giving twenty-year-old all rounder Aspinwall his maiden first-class wicket as Ackermann departed for 44 followed quickly by Robinson.



We then briefly had the Stokes v Lyon contest, but after that it was the Bedingham show before Aspinwall and Lyon took centre stage.

Tom Aspinwall, Lancashire bowler, five-wicket haul, said:

“That was a good day,” said Tom Aspinwall. “It was all a bit of a blur, but I definitely enjoyed it.

“There were a few butterflies at first,” he admitted. “I tried to run in too quick and it took me a while to get used to it.

“After three overs I felt calm and found my rhythm a little bit.



In his first bowl in first-class cricket Tom found himself bowling in tandem with Nathan Lyon and then bowling to Ben Stokes.

“I was trying to keep the runs down while I was bowling with Nathan so he could keep going,” he said.

“When Ben came out it was a bit of a shock that I was bowling to him. You grow up as a kid watching him and everyone my age – he’s their favourite player!

“To be bowling to him was special.”

Colin Ackermann was Tom’s maiden first-class wicket, but he said: “My first wicket was probably the worst one I bowled - but it was still special.

“Leading the boys off at the end, I couldn’t believe it.”

And Tom revealed his dad was at Blackpool to see him get his five-for.

“He came over to say well done, and then spoke a little bit about my batting!” he laughed.

[themaclad]

Vitality County Championship Division One, Stanley Park, Blackpool (day three)

Lancashire 357 & 353-9 dec: Jennings 155, Bruce 43; Stokes 5-98

Durham 236 & 134-3: Lees 40, Borthwick 39, Bedingham 31*; Aspinwall 2-27

Durham (3 pts) need another 341 to beat Lancashire (6 pts) with 7 wickets standing

A magnificent 155 by Keaton Jennings steered Lancashire into a commanding position against Durham after three days of this Vitality County Championship match at Blackpool.
And the Red Rose bowlers struck three times during the evening session to significantly boost their chances of a first win of the season with Durham 134 for three in their second innings and needing a further 341 runs to win.

Skipper Jennings led from the front before declaring Lancashire’s second innings on 353 for nine to set Durham a victory target of 475 runs from a minimum of 129 overs.

The visitors made an excellent start to their quest with Alex Lees and Scott Borthwick making an enterprising 83 off 96 balls in the evening sunshine at Stanley Park.

A two-wicket burst from Tom Aspinwall, who continues to make a big impact in this match, dented those ambitions as the all rounder removed Lees for 40 courtesy of a good diving catch by wicketkeeper Matty Hurst and then bowling Colin Ackermann with a superb delivery that nipped off the pitch to hit middle and off stumps.



Nathan Lyon backed up that breakthrough by bowling Borthwick sweeping for 39.

First innings century maker David Bedingham is unbeaten on 31 and Ollie Robinson 13 not out when play resumes tomorrow.

It was Jennings who dominated the third day, the Lancashire captain resuming on 38 and playing with a mixture of caution and aggression on a wicket that is still offering bounce and spin with the odd delivery keeping low.

Jennings soon reached his fifty, which came off 92 balls, upped the scoring when taking a further 55 balls to reach three figures and another 59 to go to the 150 landmark.



His innings contained two sixes, both hit straight off left arm spinner Callum Parkinson, and 18 fours, and was a vital contribution as Lancashire hunt their first victory of the season. There was only one blip in the innings, and one Durham and Stokes in particular might come to rue, and that was the no-ball the Durham international bowled to Jennings on 75 who edged to second slip.

How costly that chance was will only be known tomorrow. But Stokes struggled with the front foot line, overstepping ten times during the match.

It was Jenning’s seventh score of 150 plus for Lancashire and the first time he has scored centuries in both innings of a match for the Red Rose although the second time he has achieved this feat.

It was also the first time a Lancashire batsman has made two centuries in a match at Blackpool.



While Jennings was going along nicely at one end, there were mixed fortunes for his batting partners at the other.

Nightwatchman Will Williams held up Durham for twenty minutes at the start of play before trapped lbw to Ben Raine for 1 and George Bell went the same way to Stokes for 17.

Tom Bruce made a nice 43 in a partnership of exactly 100 off 109 balls but had a big swing at Parkinson and edged behind, while George Balderson gave Jennings brilliant support in adding 61 for the sixth wicket until he edged behind off Stokes for 17.



Jennings innings came to an end after five hours and 10 minutes at the crease when the Lancashire skipper hit his 213th delivery to deep mid-off and was well caught by a diving Scott Borthwick to give Stokes his fourth wicket.

That left Lancashire on 313 for seven and 434 runs ahead, and Jennings called a halt after Matty Hurst (30), Tom Aspinwall (4 - a fifth wicket for Stokes) and Saqib Mahmood (12 not out) had added 38 more runs.

Now seven wickets remain between Lancashire and a first victory of the season.

Double centurion Keaton Jennings was more focussed on the result tomorrow than his record breaking exploits with the bat today.

“There’s not many days where you get two hundreds in a game, so from a personal point of view it does feel great,” he admitted.



“We’ll feel even better if we get seven wickets for less than 340 runs,” he quickly added.

“You want to win games of cricket and put your team in the best position to do that. Hopefully we can come out tomorrow and get some more poles.

“We’ve spoken as a group about somebody putting their hand up. Recognise moments and be the guy to get the team over the line. Try to be the guy that’s there at the end of the game.

“This week is my week. Hopefully next week it’s somebody else’s ball.



A first win would be an important step tomorrow, but the Red Rose skipper isn’t taking it for granted.

“It’s been a tough four of five weeks,” said Jennings. “No wins, a couple of losses so it’s been hard.

“The motivation and desire in the camp has been there all the way through to try and win a game of cricket.

“We need to come out tomorrow and execute the way we have done over the last three days.

“They have players with serious Test hundreds still to come in, first-class hundreds down to number ten.

“We have a job to do. It’s not going to be as easy as arriving tomorrow and taking seven wickets.

“We’ll go until as late as it takes. If that means we jab away all day that’s the way we are going to it.”

[themaclad]

Lancashire 357 & 353-9 dec: Jennings 155, Bruce 43; Stokes 5-98

Durham 236 & 414: Robinson 171*, Bedingham 103, Lees 40; Balderson 4-52

Lancashire (22 pts) beat Durham (3 pts) by 60 runs

George Balderson led a magnificent fightback as Lancashire completed a memorable 60-run victory over Durham at Blackpool to record their first victory of the season in the Vitality County Championship.
The Red Rose were staring down the barrel after superb centuries by David Bedingham and Ollie Robinson looked to be steering the visitors to a famous record-breaking run chase at Stanley Park.

But after Nathan Lyon had removed Bedingham for 103 soon after lunch and Luke Wells accounted for Ben Stokes cheaply, the Durham innings fell away from 350 for five to 414 all out during an astonishing collapse brought about by a fine four-wicket burst from George Balderson with the new ball.



Balderson took three wickets in seven balls to have Graham Clark caught behind, Paul Coughlin caught at second slip, and took a superb diving catch off his own bowling to dismiss Ben Raine.

Matty Potts and Robinson then got into a dreadful mix-up with Potts run out by George Lavelle leaving Durham dizzy on 388 for nine.



Robinson blasted away, hitting four sixes and 18 fours during his fine innings, but was left stranded on 171 when Balderson switched ends to remove Callum Parkinson from an edge to first slip, appropriately caught by skipper Keaton Jennings.

Balderson finished with four for 52, with his spell with the second new ball being a superb four for 16.

The win sees Lancashire gain 22 points and Durham take 3 points from the game.



Resuming the day on 134 for three and needing a further 341 runs Bedingham and Robinson started positively and kept the scoreboard ticking along as Lancashire set attacking fields in the hunt for an early breakthrough.

It was also a fine batting performance under pressure that prospered as the morning wore on with both batters reaching their half centuries in quick succession and the hundred partnership arriving from 25 overs.



The pair rode their luck at times, edging over or wide of the slips and one chance brushing the fingertips of a diving Luke Wells when Robinson was on 54.

Lancashire were also hampered by the loss of Saqib Mahmood to injury after the pace bowler pulled up midway through his third over of the day, before completing it but then leaving the pitch for the rest of the match.

That brought Lyon into the attack and although he caused the batsmen no end of problems, the Aussie spinner had no luck despite beating the bat on a regular basis.



Bedingham and Robinson batted through the morning, the latter going to his eighth century just before the break with the 200 partnership coming from 46 overs early in the afternoon.

It was Lyon who finally made a deserved breakthrough when Bedingham, having just reached his century, played back and edged behind for 103 with Durham 313 for four needing 163 runs.

Two centuries in the match by both Bedingham and Keaton Jennings is the first time a game involving Lancashire has contained double century makers on each side.

Bedingham’s dismissal brought Ben Stokes to the crease and we had another Stokes v Lyon duel to savour.

After 21 balls without scoring Stokes had had enough, reverse sweeping Lyon for four and slog sweeping Luke Wells for a couple of boundaries.



But it was reverse sweep that proved Stokes’ undoing not, as you might expect, against Lyon but against Wells as the England Test skipper completely missed with his shot to be bowled for 18.

At that point Durham were 350 for five and looking favourites, just 125 runs away from their target.

Balderson and co made sure they didn’t make it.

“Over the four days it’s been a brilliant game,” said Head Coach Dale Benkenstein.

“Not only the last day, but the position we’ve been in this season – having lost three games in a row – and we were in a really strong position here, only to see two batters make the pitch look very easy.



“We’ve got a lot of young players in the team and for them be part of this win after what we’ve been through is a huge step in their careers.

“We went through a whole lot of chat in the changing room and to see the players really believe we were one wicket away, that belief obviously showed at the end.”

Benkenstein was delighted with the contribution of the younger players in the side.

“Giving chances to a talented cricketer like Tom (Aspinwall), he doesn’t complicate his game too much, but he changed this game, (on the second day)” he said.

“He’s got something different about him. He bustles in, he’s a real character and we’ll see a lot more of him with the bat.

“It’s great that he took his opportunity and he’ll be a great addition to the side if he keeps performing like that.



“George Balderson makes things happen. He’s a great cricketer.

“Not just his skills but his character. He’s very quiet but incredibly determined and has a really intelligent cricket brain.

“There were no guarantees when he came on, but he just made it happen with that second new ball.

“We’re just relived to have got a win.”

[themaclad]

Vitality County Championship Division One, Emirates Old Trafford (day one)

Warwickshire 89-3 (39 overs): Davies 47*; Bailey 3-25

Lancashire: Yet to bat

Lancashire 1 pt, Warwickshire 0 pts

Tom Bailey made an impactful return to the Lancashire side taking all three wickets to fall on a rain-shortened opening day in this Vitality County Championship match against Warwickshire with the visitors making 89 for three from the 39 overs bowled.
It was a slow and, at times, attritional day as the visitors – having won the toss – made steady progress, with just 40 scoring shots coming off the 234 balls bowled.

The Warwickshire captain Alex Davies is unbeaten on 47 having hit 7 fours with Dan Mousley 1 not out.



Bailey, left out of the team at Blackpool last week, first struck in the eleventh over of a day in which rain prevented play until 2.10pm.

The tall Red Rose bowler angled the ball back into Rob Yates from around the wicket to bowl the left-hand batter for 19 offering no shot.



That was the only wicket of the session to fall with Davies and Will Rhodes reaching the break in a much better position of 73 for one.

Two wickets in 14 balls by Bailey soon after the resumption changed the complexion of the day.

Will Rhodes inside edged behind to Matty Hurst for 14 followed in identical fashion by Ed Barnard who rather fenced at a delivery outside off stump after making two.

Moments later rain arrived to take the players from the field and once it stopped bad light prevented any further action with play abandoned at 6.15 pm.



“I thought we started pretty well,” said Tom Bailey.

“Coming off a good win last week, we’ve taken that momentum into today,” he added.

Bailey revealed that Lancashire would have batted if they had won the toss, but said: “It’s a good pitch and I was quite surprised with the carry we had today.

“It’s a used pitch and I think our spinners will make the most of that.

“It will get harder to bat on as the game goes on.”



Three wickets today was a boost to the tall seam bowler who said: “It’s not been a great start for me.

“So it was nice for Benks to give me a break last week and work on a few things.

“It’s obviously paid off today.

“I knew I wasn’t bowling how I normally do. So we felt it would be better to go and work on a few things.

“Having that week off, being able to clear my head and come back refreshed has helped.”



And Bailey believes last week’s win could be a turning point in the season.

“The win last week was huge,” he admitted. “We feel (as a team) that we are in a good place. It the one percenters, the things have changed, because the team and coaching staff have changed completely.

“So it’s just getting used to all those changes, because we feel that we are in a good environment to be able to be successful. It’s just going to take a bit of time.”

[themaclad]

Vitality County Championship Division One, Emirates Old Trafford (day two)

Warwickshire 284: Davies 127*, Bethell 40; Bailey 3-49

Lancashire 66-3: Bell 40; Hannon-Dalby 2-19

Lancashire (3 pts) trail Warwickshire (2 pts) by 218 runs

Alex Davies scored an unbeaten 127, his tenth first-class century, to hold the Warwickshire first innings together superbly as the Lancashire bowlers combined to bowl the visitors out for 284 on the second day of this Vitality County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford.
In reply Lancashire had reached 66 for three at the close with Keaton Jennings 12 not out but George Bell falling for 40 in the final over of the day to trail by 218 runs.
It was a marathon effort by Davies, the Bears captain, who reached his fifth century for Warwickshire from 256 balls in six hours and 22 minutes as Lancashire whittled away slowly at the rest of the visitors batting on a fairly benign surface.



Resuming on 89 for three, the morning session was one where not a great deal happened after George Balderson had struck in the third over of the day when Dan Mousley edged a tentative drive into the hands of Keaton Jennings at first slip for two.

Davies dropped anchor to help rebuild the innings from 93 for four, reaching his fifty in one minute over three hours off 123 balls – the third-slowest half century of his career.

It nearly came to an end when the Warwickshire skipper had reached 54, after a running mix-up with Jacob Bethell saw Davies well short of his ground if the throw to the bowler’s end had been more accurate.



But on a pretty unresponsive surface the Lancashire attack produced some accurate bowling that coupled with Warwickshire’s careful approach meant the 33 over session produced just 77 runs.

It was the second over after lunch before Lancashire enjoyed another breakthrough when Jack Morley, on his return to the side from his loan spell at Derbyshire, trapped Bethell lbw for 40 with a ball that spun sharply and kept a touch low to end a 74-run partnership.



Michael Burgess played across the line to be lbw to Balderson for 24 and Jake Lintott gloved a reverse sweep off Nathan Lyon to ‘keeper Matty Hurst for 9 to leave the visitors on 231 for seven in the 98th over.

Some hearty blows from Hassan Ali, who hit 29 including one six and 4 fours, in a 40-run alliance with Davies helped put some momentum into the innings until Ali was well caught by Tom Bruce at long-on off Luke Wells from the first ball after tea.

Wells then collected his 100th wicket in first-class cricket by having Michael Rae lbw for 0 and Morley wrapped up the innings by trapping Olly Hannon-Dalby in front for a duck, leaving Davies unbeaten on 127 and carrying his bat for the first time. It was however, a curiously slow innings that gained Warwickshire one batting point and Lancashire three bowling points.



But Lancashire started badly, Wells edging the second ball of the innings from Hannon-Dalby to second slip and, after scoring 12 runs, Josh Bohannon fell to the same combination to leave the hosts on 12 for two.

Jennings, who took 45 minutes and 32 balls before scoring a run, played a patient game in making 12 not out alongside George Bell who produced some attractive strokes as the pair steadied the innings, reaching their fifty partnership from 123 balls.

But in the last over of the day Bell, who had played so well top edged a sweep off left arm spinner Lintott that was well caught by a diving Hannon-Dalby at backward square leg for 40.



“I think we’ve bowled really well over the last two days,” said Jack Morley.

“I’ve not been around the dressing room that much, but from the talk in the changing room the lads are really happy; that’s how they’ve wanted to bowl.

“It was really good to hear that positive talk.”

Morley is back from a loan spell with Derbyshire, and he added: “After I got my first wicket, I gave Keats a hug and said, ‘it’s great to be back’.

“I was around the lads for a couple of days at Blackpool last week, went back to Derby because there was a chance of playing in their game, and then got a call from Mark Chilton to say ‘we want to play two spinners against Warwickshire on a used wicket’ – which was also nice to hear – so I came back.”



“Credit to Derbyshire, what they’re doing is really good, it’s a good environment and Mickey (Arthur) was really good with me.”

Looking ahead to the remainder of the game, Morley said: “It’s a decent pitch, there’s a little bit in there for everyone.

“The first hour today they were going at just over two (per over), and at Emirates Old Trafford where it can fly away as well, I think the bowlers, especially the seamers at the start of the day, did really well.

“Hopefully we can put some runs on tomorrow and then do the same when we bowl in the second innings.

[themaclad]

[img]Vitality County Championship Division One, Emirates Old Trafford (day three) Warwickshire 284: Davies 127; Bailey 3-49 & 96-3: Barnard 40* Lancashire 149: Bell 40; Bethell 4-20, Lintott 3-10, Hannon-Dalby 3-39 Warwickshire (4pts) lead Lancashire (3 pts) by 231 runs with seven second innings wickets remaining[/img]

Career-best bowling by both Jacob Bethell and Jake Lintott helped Warwickshire take charge of this Vitality County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford.
The pair combined to put the skids under the Lancashire batting during the first half of the third day, Bethell finishing with four for 20 and Lintott three for 10, as the last six wickets fell for 36 runs to bowl the home side out for 149 – the third time the Red Rose have been out for less than 150 in the first innings this season.

Warwickshire built on their 135-run lead to reach the early close on 96 for three to lead by a commanding 231 runs on a wicket taking increasing amounts of spin, with Ed Barnard 40 not out and Dan Mousley on 18.



Lancashire had resumed their first innings on 66 for three but lost Tom Bruce in the second over of the morning, bowled by Olly Hannon-Dalby for three.

Keaton Jennings and George Balderson steadily rebuilt the innings with a solid partnership of 44 runs, twice interrupted by short showers that took seven overs out of the allocation to add to the four overs lost after a delayed start at 11.15pm.



But in the fifteen minutes before the lunch the visitors struck two important blows.

First, Balderson was given out for 12 to a sharply turning delivery from Bethell that went on to hit the wicketkeeper’s pad and caught at slip by Will Rhodes.

And ten minutes later Bethell was celebrating again after his lbw appeal against Jennings was upheld to dismiss the skipper for 36 with Lancashire 120 for six at the break.

The remaining four wickets fell in rapid succession when play resumed, Tom Aspinwall slapping the fifth delivery of the afternoon from Bethell to Alex Davies at mid-off for 3, Tom Bailey stumped by Michael Burgess off Rob Yates for 4, Nathan Lyon well caught by a diving Will Rhodes at slip off Lintott for 7 and Jack Morley lbw to the same bowler for a duck with Matty Hurst left unbeaten on 20.



Warwickshire lost three early wickets themselves with Balderson producing a lifting snorter that took the edge of Rob Yates’ bat on its way to wicketkeeper Hurst, Alex Davies inside edged onto his stumps for 17 off Lyon and straight after tea Morley struck with his sixth delivery of the innings, when trapping Will Rhodes lbw for 5.

Barnard thumped a six and three fours, adding 62 with Mousley for the fourth wicket against a background of dark clouds and loud rumbles of thunder with rain eventually arriving just after five o’clock, with play abandoned for the day at 6pm.



They will be at the crease tomorrow when play resumes with the visitors in charge of this game.

“Realistically we’ve got to make sure we bat well when it’s our turn sometime tomorrow,” said Keaton Jennings.

“They will try and score quickly in the morning and try and put us under pressure.

“We need to make sure we are really disciplined in the way we go about things.



“There were a lot of dismissals that we need to try and eradicate. We have to come back tomorrow and have a higher standard for ourselves.

“I think we’ve done really good stuff in this game and done some poor stuff as well.

“Some things haven’t gone our way.

“It’s been a good game of cricket generally, but we need to make sure we get something out of the game.

The Red Rose skipper was delighted by the efforts of the two players back in the side this week.

“It’s been good to have Jack Morley back,” he said.

“He’s happy and been bouncing around and its been brilliant to see him learn from Nathan. It’s nice to see the effect a guy like Nathan has on the environment and also on the young lads’ cricket. It’s brilliant to have him around.



“I’m really happy too for Tom Bailey. He struggled in the first few weeks, so to watch the way he got himself into rhythm was absolutely fantastic.

“To go through a struggle like that, try to make things happen and it not working, and then take a week off – which is not a long time – and correct it so quickly was really impressive.

“I’m really happy for him, he’s put in a lot of hard work, so for him to come in and bowl the way he did was fantastic.”

[themaclad]

Vitality County Championship Division One, Emirates Old Trafford (day four)

Warwickshire 284 & 96-3 dec: Barnard 40*

Lancashire 149 & 89-4: Bruce 31*; Rae 3-39

Lancashire (11pts) draw with Warwickshire (12 pts)

Rain ruined the fourth day of this Vitality County Championship match as Lancashire and Warwickshire had to settle for a draw after the visitors declared on their overnight 96 for three, setting Lancashire 232 runs to win from a minimum of 44 overs.
But only 15 of those overs were bowled as rain, which had prevented play starting until 3.15pm, returned 75 minutes later to end proceedings early with the match eventually abandoned at 5.15pm.

The result means Lancashire gain 11 points and move off the foot of the Division One table while Warwickshire take 12 points to move up to seventh place.

The opening ten overs were a whirlwind of big shots and tumbling wickets as Lancashire went for their target in thrilling fashion.



Luke Wells fell early for one, pulling a short ball from Michael Rae straight to Jake Lintott on the square leg boundary.

Josh Bohannon drove his first ball for four and then steered a six over the third man boundary, both off Rae, but the visitors hit back with Jacob Bethell bowling Keaton Jennings attempting a reverse sweep for 18 and Bohannon launching Rae high but into the hands of Alex Davies at mid-on having made 15.

When George Bell fell in similar fashion, hitting Rae to Hassan Ali at mid-off for six, Lancashire were in a bit of trouble at 46 for four with 34 overs still to negotiate.

Tom Bruce and Matty Hurst steadied matters while still playing attacking shots, Bruce driving Bethell to long-on for four and then hitting the bowler for six to the same spot off the next ball.

The pair had added 43 runs off 34 balls to steer Lancashire to 89 for four when rain finally ended the game early.



Attention now turns to with Thursday’s double-header at Emirates Old Trafford with Lancashire Thunder playing Central Sparks at 1pm in the Charlotte Edwards Cup and Lancashire Lightning opening their Vitality Blast campaign against Durham at 7pm.

“It was a brave declaration in many ways, and very gettable,” said Director of Cricket Performance, Mark Chilton. “Certainly, from the start we fancied it.”

“I think it’s fair to say the start to the season has been mixed, and on the whole we are disappointed,” he reflected on the first two months.

“I don’t think we can hide behind the fact that over the course of the seven Championship games we’ve not played to our usual standard.

“I think we know for sure that there’s more in the tank.

“There’s clearly been some positives. I think it was a fantastic result at Blackpool with some really good individual performances.

“Keats stood up in that game and he’s really led well from the start. The encouragement around some of the younger players’ performances show they are clearly capable of putting in some decent contributions at this level.



“We know we’ve got a crop of good young players and we’re always keen to try and find them game time. That’s their best chance of learning. We will definitely benefit from that.

“But overall, as a team we know we’ve fallen short of our expected standards across the course of these couple of months.

“That’s been frustrating for everyone.

“It’s not through lack of effort. Everyone is working hard, trying to think about how we can continue to keep improving. But, for whatever reason, we just haven’t quite clicked yet.

“We’ve got a change of format coming now, and that might kick start some individuals into finding some really good form for the rest of the year.”

[themaclad]

Vitality County Championship Division One, Spitfire County Ground, Canterbury (day one)

Kent 244: Muyeye 59, Compton 55; Balderson 3-38, Lyon 3-62

Lancashire 38-1: Bohannon 22*

Josh Bohannon and Luke Wells were unbeaten on 22 and 14 respectively at stumps, after Beyers Swanepoel had bowled Keaton Jennings for a duck.

Earlier George Balderson and Nathan Lyon took three wickets apiece for second-from-bottom Lancashire, as they bowled out the division’s basement side for 244.

Tawanda Muyeye was Kent’s highest scorer with 59, while Ben Compton made 55.



The scoring rate soon slowed however. Will Williams found Marcus O’Riordan’s edge in the fourth over and although George Bell dropped him, he’d moved on to just 16 when Balderson had him caught at third slip by George Lavelle.

Bailey switched to the Nackington Road end and got Daniel Bell-Drummond for four but Joey Evison joined Compton and batted through to lunch, at which stage it was 102 for two.



Evison went for 25, edging Bailey to Matty Hurst, before Balderson claimed two wickets in the space of 10 balls. Harry Finch drove him to Josh Bohannon at mid-off for one and Compton fell to an ankle-high catch by Keaton Jennings at second slip.

That left Kent on 124 for five and it nearly got worse for the hosts as Muyeye was on 23 when he pulled Nathan Lyon to the mid-wicket boundary, only to be dropped by Jack Blatherwick.

Having dropped into the middle order after struggling as an opener, Muyeye responded with his first half-century of the season.

Debutant Charlie Stobo joined him and made an inventive 36 before he was bowled by Nathan Lyon, ending a stand of 82 and leaving Kent on 210 for six at tea.



Swanepoel made 19 before he top-edged Lyon behind and Matt Parkinson went for a nine-ball duck against his former county, lbw to Luke Wells.

Lyon then bowled George Garrett middle-stump for three and although Muyeye was dropped again, this time off Lyon by a sliding Williams, he was lbw to Wells in the next over, denying Kent a single batting point and leaving Lancs to face 14 overs before stumps.

Swanepoel sent Keaton Jennings’ off stump flying for an eight-ball duck but he was the only victim, with Wells just surviving a dicey penultimate over from Stobo.

[themaclad]

Lancashire 402 for 4 (Bohannon 182*, Wells 150, Swanepoel 2-61) lead Kent 244 (Muyeye 59, Compton 55) by 158 runs

Josh Bohannon and Luke Wells put on a record stand of 312 for Lancashire as they pummelled Kent on day two of their Vitality County Championship game at Canterbury.
Bohannon was unbeaten on 182 while Wells hit exactly 150 as the visitors closed on 402 for four, a first-innings lead of 158.

Lancashire batted through two full sessions without losing a wicket before Kent finally took a mini-cluster after tea. Beyers Swanepoel had their best figures with two for 61.

The crowd for the second day of the Canterbury Festival was swelled to 3,414 by around 1,600 school children from 44 schools, attending as part of a county initiative.

They all witnessed a horror show first session, with Wells and Bohannon battering a callow bowling attack.

Lancashire resumed on 38 for one and the closest Kent came to a wicket was when Wells lofted O’Riordan to mid-off and Jas Singh couldn’t reel him in.



Their only international-class bowler, Matt Parkinson, wasn’t used until the final over of the morning and by then the game seemed to have drifted away from the hosts. It was 168 for one at lunch, after which the batters enjoyed a race to three figures, which Bohannon won when he cut George Garrett for four through backward point.

Wells reached the landmark in less satisfying fashion, swishing Parkinson through the vacant slip cordon for two, but they soon overtook the biggest stand for any wicket between these two sides, eclipsing the 229 between Rob Key and Ed Smith at Tunbridge Wells in 2004 and taking Lancashire to 305 for one at tea.

It was tough for the home crowd: temperatures were so hot some of the natives in the supporters’ marquee even removed their blazers and midway through the afternoon a member on the Old Dover Road side of the ground was startled when several male voices went up in unison. “That’s an appeal,” his companion reassured him. “I think we had one this morning as well.”

The CAMRA tent was by now doing some serious business, presumably because it was selling the easiest way for the Kent fans to cope, although the evening session at least offered a sliver of hope. Wells swept his way to 150, steering Parkinson for two, but he finally fell in the 84th over, caught off Marcus O’Riordan at first slip by Charlie Stobo.



Stobo got his maiden championship wicket when George Bell dragged a leg-side delivery on to his off-stump off the back of his bat, and having sat on a balcony for six hours, George Lavelle got a golden duck, edging Beyers Swanepoel to O’Riordan, who took a head-high catch at second slip.

This mini-collapsed stemmed the flow of runs, but Bohannon was dropped off the luckless Singh in the penultimate over and he and Matty Hurst batted through to leave Lancashire in a dominant position at the end of day two.