Hogg claims career-best figures in title
clash.
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| Hogg took 7-27, a best for the pace-bowler, as Northants were out for 62. |
It was a day to savour for the bowlers at
Emirates Old Trafford, with eighteen wickets falling inside the first day of
play. Kyle Hogg shined for Lancashire, attaining career-best figures of 7-27,
as Northamptonshire were bowled out for just 62.
Lancashire found batting similarly
difficult, scoring 121-8, but finished proceedings with a lead of 59, which may
prove to be vital in such a low-scoring contest.
Glen Chapple’s decision to bowl first was
proven to be the correct one, as he and Hogg continued to lead the bowling
attack, following their success at Essex.
Chapple took the first wicket of the day after just four balls,
dismissing Kyle Coezter for a duck.
Hogg claimed his first of seven wickets by
removing David Sales shortly afterwards and wickets continued to fall for the
rest of the day. At 9-3, a repeat of 20 all out was still possible, but the
visitors resisted enough to avoid this embarrassment.
However, there score was far from
outstanding, with former Lancashire player, Steven Crook offering the highest
score of the innings with 16. He and Andrew Hall (10) were anomalies in an
otherwise dismal effort, with Hogg removing both batsmen.
Chapple finished with 3-34, dismissing
Graeme White for nought, but it was Hogg who put Northants out of their misery,
cleanly bowling Mohammad Azharullah. Lancashire’s last twenty wickets have
afforded just 82 runs and they will be hoping for this to continue in the
second innings.
Lancashire were able to overtake the meagre
total set by their guests with seven wickets in hand, thanks to a 44-run stand
between Simon Katich and Andrea Agathangelou (21), with the formers score of 30
being the highest of the day.
Things were not always easy however, as
Lancashire lost Luke Procter and Ashwell Prince cheaply, leaving them 22-2.
Playing in only his second first-class match for Lancashire, Luis Reece managed
16 before he was bowled by David Willey (2-26).
When the fourth-wicket stand was eventually
broken though both men fell with the score on 85, with Lancashire leading by a
mere 23 runs. Crook then removed Gareth Cross and Glen Chapple cheaply as he
ended the day with figures of 2-39 and at 101-8 Lancashire found themselves in
a difficult position despite the lead they had acquired.
An unbeaten stand between Tom Smith (14*)
and Stephen Parry (9*) saw Lancashire through to the end of a bowler-conducive
day, with the hosts marginally on top.
Lancashire coach, Peter Moores was keen to
commend the Lancashire bowlers saying “Chappie and Hogg bowled brilliantly”.
Hogg in particular proved to be vital today, beating his previous best figures
of 7-28 versus Hampshire in 2011.
He added that “conditions were ideal for
bowling this morning, hence the decision to field first, and we were therefore
pleased to win the toss”.
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