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| Croft made an unbeaten 104 as he guided Lancashire to safety before claiming three wickets. |
Warwickshire were set 287 runs to win in
the final session, but stumbled to 81-5 as Lancashire took control to end the
match in the ascendancy.
At the start of the fourth day, the draw
seemed the most likely result, but Warwickshire would have fancied their
chances with Jeetan Patel (3-116) threatening from the Birmingham End.
Warwickshire’s positive position was enhanced
by the early loss of both overnight batsmen, Andrea Agathangelou (19) and Simon
Kerrigan. The former had started brightly after smashing the New Zealand
off-spinner for six over long-on, but he ended up throwing away his wicket, as
he was stumped by Tim Ambrose.
Kerrigan (6), on the other hand, would
consider himself to be somewhat unfortunate, as his edge off Boyd Rankin (3-39)
was taken superbly by William Porterfield with a one-handed catch to his right
at second slip and at 103-4, Warwickshire were in a commanding position.
A 76-run stand between Croft and Ashwell
Prince (36) restored Lancashire to a comfortable position as the pair helped
the visitors to add over 100 runs in the morning session, subsequently taking
Lancashire’s lead to 168 at lunch.
Prince lost his wicket just before the
interval as he was also stumped off Patel after Croft reached fifty for the
first time this season in the Championship from 55 balls.
Jos Buttler (22) and Croft had added 45 for
the sixth-wicket, but the loss of Lancashire’s wicketkeeper meant that
Warwickshire had a realistic chance of winning the match.
A useful partnership between Croft and Tom
Smith worth 42 frustrated Warwickshire’s bowling attack before the latter once-again
played on to his own stumps, adding 20 runs to the total.
With Lancashire’s lead now at 230, the
visitors required another noteworthy contribution to consider a declaration and
Glen Chapple duly obliged by thumping 34 from 29 balls to assist Croft in his
search for a century.
Croft’s innings will have meant a great
deal to Lancashire, who would have otherwise been struggling to hold-out for a
draw, but a 114-ball century meant more to the Blackpool-born all-rounder,
after struggling to settle in Championship cricket over the last few seasons.
A target of 287 proved to be beyond
Warwickshire as Croft continued to make his mark on the match, this time with
the ball in hand. Warwickshire’s collapse began with a needless run out triggered
by miscommunication between Porterfield (20) and Varun Chopra, causing the
former to be dismissed with the score at 48-1 after a bright start.
The introduction of spin from both ends
meant that Lancashire were able to get through a considerable number of overs,
as the hosts began to capitulate. Chopra (29) supplied a buoyant Croft with his
first breakthrough, before Laurie Evans (5) edged to Paul Horton at first slip,
as Warwickshire fell to 68-3.
Sam Hain’s 14-ball stay at the crease ended
when Croft trapped him lbw for no score and when Tim Ambrose (1) was bowled by
Kerrigan (1-22) the visitors were now in the driving seat.
But with little time remaining the match
ended with the result that most people would have predicted entering into the
final day, but few would have been as confident to foretell that Lancashire
would finish the match in the stronger position.
Championship points: Warwickshire 10
points, Lancashire 9 points.
Man of the match: Steven Croft may well have a long way to go
in his quest for Championship form, but his unbeaten century ensured that
Lancashire would not suffer defeat at Edgbaston. His figures of 3-25 in
Warwickshire’s second innings also demonstrated his underrated qualities as a
spinner. The signing of Usman Khawaja means that somebody is going to face demotion
from the first eleven, but Croft has all-but cemented his position with a strong
performance when it mattered most.
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