Nottinghamshire take charge despite rain at Trent Bridge.

Nottinghamshire finished the second day on top after rain hit at tea.

A capitulation from Lancashire’s batsmen left them 77-6 at the end of the second day of their County Championship encounter at Trent Bridge after heavy rain prevented play at both ends of the day.

The newly promoted Red Rose outfit are facing the prospect of the follow-on after what seemed to be a promising first day, as the Nottinghamshire seamers applied themselves with promising conditions making batting a complex task.

A combination of poor shots and good bowling put Lancashire on the back foot before heavy rain hit Trent Bridge, with four balls to bowl before the tea interval.

Kabir Ali removed the final Nottinghamshire batsmen in the second over of the day, bowling Harry Gurney as he completed figures of 3-66, but this proved to be the only highlight of a damp and dreary day for the visitors.

The Lancashire chase began in catastrophic fashion, with both openers removed with the score at 4 as the void between the two divisions became apparent to the Lancashire top order.

Captain Paul Horton fell without scoring and Lancashire prodigy, Luis Reece, was removed by a stunning catch from wicketkeeper, Chris Read, adding a solitary run to the total.

Andrea Agathangelou (17) and Ashwell Prince (16) executed a brief recovery, but both batsmen were victims of their own downfall and Lancashire were soon staring into the abyss at 47-4.

Luke Procter’s score of 18 proved to be the highest of the innings thus far, before he was out LBW to Jake Ball (2-25), and when Alex Davies (7) was bowled by former Lancastrian, Steven Mullaney, Lancashire slumped to 69-6 and the sight of rain proved to be a welcome one from the Lancashire dressing room.