Preview: Somerset v Lancashire - Specsavers CC

Lancashire will be hoping to continue their superb start to life in Division One with another victory when they take on Somerset at Taunton in the four-day contest.

The Red Rose county started their Specsavers County Championship campaign with a convincing eight-wicket victory against Nottinghamshire at Old Trafford and, as a result, they are the only team to have a one-hundred percent record in the either division.

There were impressive debut performances from Neil Wagner, who claimed 11 wickets to rip through a strong Nottinghamshire batting line-up, taking five-wicket hauls in both innings, while Liam Livingstone top-scored with 70 in Lancashire's first innings.

Early-season conditions have, so far, got the better of Somerset's matches in the four-day contest, with both of their Championship fixtures against Durham and Surrey ending in weather-affected draws. The entire final day of their opening match against Durham was lost to rain, while their recent high-scoring encounter with Surrey was interrupted by snow.

Despite the frustrating start to their four-day campaign, Somerset veteran Marcus Trescothick continues to be a pillar for the side, as the 40-year-old former captain hit his 59th first-class century against Surrey to rescue his team from a potential defeat at The Oval. In doing so, Trescothick became Somerset's second highest run scorer in the Club's history, with only Harold Gimblett scoring more runs for the west country outfit.

For Lancashire, Taunton hold precious memories of their Championship success in 2011, when they lifted the Division One trophy for the first time in 77 years. The two teams have not played each other in the four-day contest since the summer of 2014 and since then the Red Rose have acquired former Somerset batsman, Alviro Petersen, who has gone on to be an important player at Old Trafford.

Petersen hit 155 for Somerset when the sides last met in Manchester, but the South-African batsman has since recorded the eighth-highest score in Lancashire's history, when he scored 286 against Glamorgan, another team that he used to represent.

Lancashire 12-man squad: Steven Croft (c), James Anderson, Tom Bailey, Karl Brown, Alex Davies (wk), Haseeb Hameed, Kyle Jarvis, Simon Kerrigan, Liam Livingstone, Alviro Petersen, Luke Procter, Neil Wagner.

Somerset 12-man squad: Chris Rogers (c), Marcus Trescothick, Tom Abell, James Hildreth, Roelof van der Merwe, Peter Trego, Ryan Davies (wk),  Lewis Gregory, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Tim Groenewald, Jack Leach.

Lancashire sign Guptill for T20 Blast

Lancashire have confirmed the signing of the destructive New Zealand batsman Martin Guptill for the first six matches of their NatWest T20 Blast campaign.

Guptill will be available for the start of the campaign, with Ashley Giles's side hoping to be the first county to retain the T20 trophy after their success last summer. The 29-year-old will arrive once he has fulfilled his IPL commitments with Mumbai Indians.

He was the first New Zealand batsman to record a double-century in a One-Day International and he also holds the record for the highest score in a World Cup match, after scoring 237 not out against West Indies last year.

Guptill has previously played for Derbyshire as an overseas signing and will become the second New Zealand international to represent the Red Rose this season after Neil Wagner, who has already made a formidable impression.

The Auckland-born batsman has a superb record in ODI cricket of 4,844 runs at an average of 43.25, scoring ten centuries and 30 fifties for New Zealand. Guptill has also developed a talent for the shortest format of the game, attracting the interest of Mumbai Indians for their 2016 campaign, featuring alongside another Lancashire player in Jos Buttler.

Director of Cricket, Ashley Giles, said: "Martin is a formidable batsman, particularly in white ball cricket, and is currently ranked the world's third best batsman in T20 cricket.

"He is currently playing IPL cricket alongside Jos Buttler and will be ready to hit the ground running when he arrives at Emirates Old Trafford. He's got the ability to take games away from the opposition very quickly once he gets going and I'm sure our fans will really enjoy watching him play."


The Black Caps batsman added: "I am delighted to be heading back to England for another stint of county cricket, particularly for a club with such a rich history as Lancashire.

"I hope I can make a real impact and help with their pursuit for another trophy in white ball cricket."

Lancashire's opening fixture in the T20 blast is against Derbyshire Falcons on May 21 at Old Trafford.

Lancashire beat Notts by eight wickets in Championship opener

Lancashire opened their account in Division One of the County Championship with an emphatic eight-wicket victory against Nottinghamshire at Emirates Old Trafford.

Luke Procter (35*) and Alviro Petersen (31*) guided the Red Rose county to their meagre target of 86 with an unbroken partnership of 61 runs, as Lancashire secured 22 points after only 17 overs on the final day.

The run chase started nervously for the home crowd when both Lancashire openers returned to the pavilion in quick succession, but Procter and Petersen played positively and ensured a convincing win for the home side. Procter finished the match with three fours and a six off the bowling of Samit Patel to secure victory for Ashley Giles's side, as he finished with 35 from 45 deliveries.

Nottinghamshire, who also tasted success in their first four-day game of the season against Surrey, were dismantled by New Zealand fast bowler, Neil Wagner, who collected match figures of 11-111 yesterday, as the visitors were bowled out for 175 in their second innings.

A debut half-century for Liam Livingstone (70) gave Lancashire a 90-run lead over Nottinghamshire, who were then ripped apart by Wagner and James Anderson on the third day to set up a highly-probable victory for the hosts.

Two boundaries for Karl Brown (8) came as early relief to the Lancashire faithful, who were fully expecting to see their team convert a strong position into victory today, but when Brown was out lbw to Jake Ball at the end of the first over, the nerves settled in once more.

Procter and Haseeb Hameed (9) came to together with a degree of patience, but with such an achievable task ahead of them, they soon opened up and went about securing the win as quickly as possible. The ever-impressive Ball (2-29) struck again to leave Lancashire on 27/2, but this was to be the final glimpse of success for Notts, who came into this final day expecting very little after failing to set the Red Rose a daunting target.

Hameed's resilience came to an end when he was caught at second slip by Riki Wessels, leaving Ball with match figures of 6-92, but a partnership of any real significance was all Lancashire needed to make Notts punish for their failure with the bat.

Petersen proved to be the catalyst in Lancashire's run chase, striking four boundaries in his innings of 31 from 25 balls to give Procter similar licence to open his shoulders and take the game to the opposition. With Ball and Stuart Broad failing to achieve a near miracle in their opening spells, Patel's introduction signalled the end for Notts, as Procter charged the left-arm spinner for three fours, before striking a six down the ground to secure victory for the Red Rose.

Lancashire's next match in the Specsavers County Championship is against Somerset on May 1 at Taunton.

Wagner blitz sets up surefire victory for Lancashire on final day

Neil Wagner (5-45) claimed another five wickets in Nottinghamshire's second innings to put Lancashire within touching distance of a valuable County Championship victory in the first match of the season at Emirates Old Trafford.

With his match figures now reading 11 for 111, the New Zealand fast bowler played a crucial hand on the third day for Lancashire, after claiming the best figures on debut for the Red Rose county since 1923 with his first-innings haul of 6-66.

Lancashire's overseas recruit ripped through the Nottinghamshire lower-order in the evening session, as the visitors were bowled out for 175 in their second innings, setting the Red Rose county a meagre target of 86 to win on the final day.

Three wickets for James Anderson (3-29) also proved vital, as several Nottinghamshire batsmen made starts without managing to make a telling contribution, although the England international's efforts were largely overshadowed by Wagner, who is proving to be a quality signing for the four-day campaign.

Wagner's match figures of 11-111 are the second best by a Lancashire player on debut and the best figures by a debutant since Murali Kartik took 10-168 against Essex in 2005. Nottinghamshire's second innings started brightly, but they fell to pieces when Wagner came into the attack in the evening session, losing eight wickets for 82 runs to hand Lancashire a straightforward victory tomorrow.

Debutant Liam Livingstone added seven runs to his overnight score of 63 not out, but he fell in the second over to Jake Ball (4-63), who struck with his first delivery of the day to deny Livingstone a century in his first innings in four-day cricket for Lancashire.

This ended an invaluable ninth-wicket partnership worth 69 runs between Livingstone and Kyle Jarvis, who added 37 runs to the total before he was the final wicket to fall, edging Samit Patel to Steven Mullaney at slip.

After managing to reach 332, Lancashire knew that a lead of 90 runs would prove to be incredibly useful, as they went about their search for early wickets to put pressure on Nottinghamshire in their second innings. Anderson and Jarvis bowled a nagging line with typically unsettling pace, with the latter bowling five consecutive maidens during a hostile spell to Mullaney and fellow opener Greg Smith (41).

James Anderson took three wickets in Nottinghamshire's second innings.

The Notts duo batted superbly under the circumstances, ensuring that the visitors reached lunch with all ten second-innings wickets in hand. Resuming on 32/0 after 25 hard-fought overs, Mullaney (21) and Smith were hoping to avoid a repeat of the first innings, in which several Nottinghamshire batsmen made starts without going on to make a telling contribution.

However, after going wicketless in the first innings and before lunch, Anderson was finally rewarded with a breakthrough, removing Mullaney's off-stump at 52/1 with a delivery that kept low on the Notts opener and set Lancashire on their way to a positive afternoon session.

Simon Kerrigan then accounted for Smith, who tried to whip the left-arm spinner into the leg-side, only to chip the ball to Steven Croft at cover, with the scoreboard reading 76/2. Brendan Taylor took a liking to Kerrigan, charging down the wicket to hit his flighted spin for the first six of the match, but he was unable to control his eagerness, offering Lancashire their third wicket when Jarvis came back into the attack.

The Zimbabwean fast bowler picked up a wicket with his first ball after lunch, forcing his compatriot to chip an impatient stroke to Livingstone, who had to take a good catch at mid-wicket to hang on. Unable to support the efforts of their opening batsmen, the visitors continued to lose wickets before tea, with Michael Lumb (19) being pinned lbw on the crease by Neil Wagner, who added his seventh wicket of the match after taking 6/66 in the first innings.

Lumb's dismissal on the stroke of tea left Nottinghamshire struggling on 99/4, the second wicket to have fallen for the addition of six runs, with the visitors only marginally ahead after overturning Lancashire's first-innings lead of 90 runs.

The trend of Nottinghamshire batsmen relinquishing their wicket after making promising starts continued into the afternoon session with both Riki Wessels (16) and Patel falling after tea to leave the visitors in all sorts of trouble. Wessels was beaten for pace and wrapped on the pads by Anderson, who collected his second scalp of the innings, before Patel (18) was caught well by Livingstone on the square-leg boundary, attempting to hook a delivery from Wagner into the stands.

As far as Wagner was concerned, the best was yet to come, as the New Zealander took two wickets in two balls with the new ball to enhance Lancashire's dominance. Wagner took the new ball part-way through the over, deciding that he would see what it had to offer against the exposed Nottinghamshire tail-end.

Stuart Broad (4) was unable to repeat his efforts from the first innings, although it took a superb one-handed catch by Haseeb Hameed at short leg to remove the England bowler, with Wagner hitting his straps as part of a devastating spell for the Red Rose.

Wagner made an immediate impression with the new cherry, bowling Jake Ball (5) and trapping Jackson Bird lbw for no score to secure a second five-wicket haul in the game and leave Notts in a pit of despair at 167/9.

He was denied a hat-trick by Chris Read, who was once again on hand to offer lone resistance, although his efforts were in vain. Read, who finished unbeaten on 25, was left stranded by his teammates, who folded under the pressure of a ferocious seam pairing of Wagner and Anderson, who were stronger than they had ever been in this game with the new ball in hand.

Harry Gurney's wicket brought Nottinghamshire's miserable batting collapse to a conclusion when he edged behind to Alex Davies off Anderson, as the visitors were skittled for 175 in their second innings. With only a handful of overs left in the day, Lancashire were forced to wait until the final day to start their chase of 86 to win their first Championship game of the season, a task they should achieve early tomorrow.

Livingstone impresses on debut to overcome Notts bowlers

Liam Livingstone top-scored with 63 not out on his first-class debut for Lancashire as they seized the initiative on the second day of their County Championship match against Nottinghamshire. 

Vital contributions from Alex Davies (55) and Alviro Petersen (48) helped Lancashire to reach 311/8 at close and acquire a useful lead of 69 runs, while Livingstone made 63 on his debut for the Red Rose county, sharing an invaluable unbeaten partnership worth 62 runs with Kyle Jarvis (36*) for the ninth wicket.

Replying to Nottinghamshire's sub-par total of 242, in which debutant Neil Wagner took 6-66, Lancashire had lost opener Karl Brown for no score in the early stages of their innings, facing a potentially difficult spell before the end of Day One.

Having fought hard to endure the final hour of the first day, Haseeb Hameed and Luke Procter continued to battle hard against a ferocious bowling attack. The pair went on to add 57 runs for the second wicket, surviving a testing first hour as the Nottinghamshire bowlers looked to take advantage of the overcast conditions on offer.

After a frustrating first hour, in which both Lancashire batsmen had a handful of edges that avoided the grasp of the slips, the visitors were rewarded for their patience, as both Hameed and Procter (33) fell with the score on 57 in the space of four deliveries.

Procter was first to depart, edging Harry Gurney (1-40) to Steven Mullaney at second slip, before Jake Ball (3-57) encouraged a thin edge through to Chris Read to remove a typically defiant Hameed for 18. Two quick wickets handed the visitors the edge, calling the expertise of Petersen and captain Steven Croft to the fore.

The pair added 60 runs for the fourth wicket either side of lunch to give Lancashire a stronger platform to build upon than the Notts top-order batsmen had yesterday, when the visitors slumped to 98/6 after choosing to bat first. The fifty-partnership was registered before lunch, by which time Lancashire had progressed to 108/3.

Croft (15) was hoping to continue his promising pre-season form, which saw the Lancs skipper record a century against Cambridge MCCU, but he was caught behind by Read, edging a wider delivery from Mullaney (1-33) with the score at 117/4.

Approaching the first half-century of the Championship campaign for Lancashire, Petersen offered a simple return catch to Stuart Broad (3-57) off the inside edge of his bat, falling for 48 after he and Davies had added another 39 runs in the afternoon session.

Debutant Livingstone demonstrated superb application at the crease from the very start of his innings, initially negotiating a tough spell of bowling from Samit Patel, as he and wicketkeeper Davies added a vital partnership worth 72 runs for the sixth-wicket stand.

Davies reached the first fifty of the season for the Red Rose in 89 balls with seven boundaries, as Lancashire progressed to 206/5 by the tea interval, trailing Nottinghamshire's merger total by only 36 runs. The partnership between Davies and Livingstone continued to grow in value, with the pair finding regular boundaries to frustrate the opposition.

Nottinghamshire finally found the breakthrough that they were desperate for when Davies was trapped lbw by Ball () to a delivery that kept unusually low and pinned Davies on the crease. Unable to make an impression with the bat, Wagner returned to the pavilion with only one run to his name, driving a delivery from Broad to Brendan Taylor at extra cover to leave Lancashire on 229/7.

Broad added his third scalp and claimed the bragging rights over his England teammate when he forced James Anderson (6) to edge behind to Read at 249/8. With only a slender lead over the visitors, Livingstone needed support in his cause to extend Lancashire's lead further and he found able support from Jarvis, as they added an invaluable partnership worth 62 runs for the ninth wicket.

Initially, the partnership lasted long enough to allow Livingstone to reach a debut half-century in 87 balls, but the stand continued to develop into a frustrating one for the Nottinghamshire bowlers. As a result of their determination, Lancashire were able to extend their lead to 69 runs by close of play, with Jarvis hitting four boundaries in his unbeaten knock of 37.

Wagner takes six wickets on Lancashire debut

New Zealand fast bowler Neil Wagner (6-66) claimed six wickets on his Lancashire debut as the home side enjoyed the better of the first day of their opening County Championship match of the season against Nottinghamshire at Emirates Old Trafford.

Wagner and Kyle Jarvis (3-72) combined superbly to dismantle the Nottinghamshire top order either side of lunch, who slipped to 98/6 before a determined partnership between Chris Read and Stuart Broad allowed the visitors to recover.

The pair added 74 runs for the seventh wicket, with captain Read top-scoring with 52, as Notts were eventually bowled out for a meagre total of 242. Read added a further 57 runs with Jake Ball, who struck a quickfire 33 in helping the visitors to add 141 runs in the afternoon session, but Wagner’s ferocious pace and ability to move the ball both ways proved too much for the majority of Nottinghamshire’s batsmen.

Lancashire then had to negotiate a difficult spell of 19 overs before close of play, losing Karl Brown without score to create a nervous end to the day for the home side. But Haseeb Hameed (6*) and Luke Procter (17*) endured the challenging Notts pace bowling attack to ensure that the Red Rose did not lose any more wickets before stumps, reaching 25/1 with a deficit of 217 runs.

Jarvis and Wagner took two wickets apiece in the morning session, as Nottinghamshire stumbled to 73/4 at lunch after the visitors had won the toss and decided to bat first. After winning the only match in Division One from the first round of matches last week, Notts came into this fixture with a spring in their step, receiving an added boost by the addition of Stuart Broad to their already imposing seam attack.

Many might have expected the away team to bowl first and take advantage of the early swing available at Old Traffors with the likes of Broad and Australian Jackson Bird at their disposal. However, Chris Read’s decision to bat was to backfire horribly, as they faltered in the morning session against an equally imposing Lancashire pace attack.

Although James Anderson was the more economical bowler at the start of the match, it was Zimbabwean Jarvis who was responsible for taking Lancashire’s first wicket of the season, forcing former Red Rose allrounder Steven Mullaney (19) to edge behind to Alex Davies at 31/1.

This was a vital breakthrough for Ashley Giles’ side, given that Mullaney entered this match on the back of scoring a century against Surrey, forcing his opening partner Greg Smith to take responsibility for negotiating a testing spell of bowling.

Jarvis, who took 62 wickets in four-day cricket last season, struck again for Lancashire, this time pinning Michael Lumb lbw on the crease, as the hosts made a promising start to life back in the first division.

All eyes were on debutant Wagner and he didn’t disappoint the home fans, as he claimed two wickets before lunch to leave Notts in all sorts of trouble. The New Zealand paceman bowled three consecutive maidens, getting the ball to shape ominously away from the right-handed batsmen, before he eventually forced Smith (17) into a rash shot.

The Notts opener had applied himself well in trialling circumstances, but he failed to pick the gap when he found the safe hands of another Lancashire debutant, Liam Livingstone, who held on to the catch at cover to leave the visitors on 56/3 and hand the Red Rose their first bonus point of the season.

With no James Taylor in the Notts middle order, the visitors were missing an invaluable batsman, which gave Lancashire the incentive to push on for another breakthrough before lunch.

Wagner continued to get the ball to move both ways off the surface and there was little Zimbabwean batsman, Brendan Taylor, could do to keep out a fierce delivery from Wagner, one that knocked his middle stump out of the ground at 63/4, with Taylor adding only three runs to the Notts total.

Nottinghamshire’s misery continued after lunch with Jarvis and Wagner proving to be unrelenting in their approach. The former struck his third breakthrough of the day when he had the dangerous Samit Patel trapped lbw for 11 and Wagner enhanced Lancashire’s dominance by removing Riki Wessels (27) via the same method, with both wickets falling on 98.

Wagner’s third wicket came with his first ball after lunch and gave him impressive figures of 3-15, but the Kiwi paceman was far from finished. Captain Read was forced to dig in and salvage a respectable score for his side, with his decision at the toss hardly vindicated by the efforts of the top and middle order.

It would have been impossible to launch a recovery all on his own and thankfully for the away side, he didn’t have to. Broad played a typically positive and sometimes cavalier innings, adding 43 in 45 balls to assist the skipper in his cause for a valuable session.

It proved to be a profitable afternoon for Notts, as Read and Broad’s 74-run partnership laid the platform for a lower-order rally. Broad’s knock eventually came to an end when he attempted to deposit Simon Kerrigan (1-20) into the stands and was cleanly bowled at 172/7.

Nottinghamshire continued to fight on, with Ball’s brisk innings of 33 proving invaluable, but it only delayed a marvellous finish by Wagner, who collected the final three Notts wickets to finish with six victims in his first appearance for the Red Rose county.

Having hit two huge sixes, Ball could only guide a bouncing delivery from Wagner behind to Davies off the face of his bat, as Notts reached 229/8 just after the tea interval. Wagner struck again, securing a five-wicket-haul with the wicket of Jackson Bird (1), who also edged behind to Davies.

A deserted Read managed to claw his way to a valiant half-century in 106 balls, but he was to be the final Nottinghamshire wicket to fall on a superb day for promoted-Lancashire, hooking Wagner to Kerrigan at long leg for 52.

With 19 overs still left in the day, the visitors had the chance to redeem themselves with the ball and they made the perfect start by removing Brown for no score. Having scored a vital 33 for his side, Ball claimed the early wicket of Brown, who was trapped lbw in the third over. Hammed and Procter stayed determined in the face of adversity, negotiating the likes of Broad, Bird and Gurney to take Lancashire to close without any further setbacks.

Preview: Lancashire v Nottinghamshire - Specsavers CC

New Zealand fast bowler Neil Wagner is expected to make his debut for Lancashire when they face Nottinghamshire at Emirates Old Trafford on Sunday for the Red Rose's opening Specsavers County Championship match of 2016.

Nottinghamshire started their four-day campaign with a thrilling three-wicket victory against Surrey last week, which means Lancashire will start their season against the current leaders of Division One. 

Debutant Wagner, as well as James Anderson and Kyle Jarvis, combine to make a ferocious seam attack for Ashley Giles's side, while Nottinghamshire travel to Manchester with Aussie paceman, Jackson Bird and Anderson's England teammate, Stuart Broad.

Former Lancashire all-rounder Steven Mullaney enters this match on the back of scoring the first century in County Championship cricket this season, while former Red Rose coach Peter Moores will also return to his old home as part of the Notts coaching staff.

Chasing 169 to beat Surrey in their first match of the season, Mick Newell's men made hard work of their run chase, but they were able to sneak over the line with a maximum of 24 points and secure the only victory in the first division from the first round of matches.

Teenager Haseeb Hameed was in tremendous form during Lancashire's pre-season matches.

After two rain-affected pre-season matches against Somerset and Cambridge MCCU, Lancashire will be hoping to test their credentials against the quality that the first division has to offer, after they and Surrey took the lower tier by storm in 2015.

The Red Rose county will enter this summer hoping to avoid a third successive season of being relegated from Division One, a fate that they suffered in 2012 and 2014 after winning the Championship title in 2011.

Lancashire started their four-day campaign against Notts in 2014, where they were narrowly beaten by 45 runs at Trent Bridge despite a century from Ashwell Prince on the final day. An ever closer margin of defeat came when the sides met at Liverpool for the reverse fixture, with the visitors edging to a one-wicket win inside three days in a low-scoring match.

Lancashire 13-man squad: Steven Croft (c), James Anderson, Tom Bailey, Karl Brown, Alex Davies (wk) , Haseeb Hameed, Kyle Jarvis, Simon Kerrigan, Liam Livingstone, Alviro Petersen, Luke Procter, Luis Reece, Neil Wagner.

Nottinghamshire 13-man squad: Chris Read (c/wk), Jake Ball, Jackson Bird, Stuart Broad, Matt Carter, Harry Gurney, Brett Hutton, Michael Lumb, Steven Mullaney, Samit Patel, Greg Smith, Brendan Taylor, Riki Wessels.

Giles, Chapple and Chilton extend stay at Lancashire

Lancashire's coaching trio of Ashley Giles, Glen Chapple and Mark Chilton have all agreed to extending their contracts with the Red Rose County.

Director of Cricket Giles, First Team Coach and player Chapple and Second Team Coach Chilton have all committed to staying at Old Trafford until the end of the 2018 season.

After an array of success during his short time at Lancashire, which includes promotion to Division One of the County Championship and the Lightning's first Twenty20 trophy, Giles is looking to develop more talented players to ensure a strong future for the Club.

Giles said: "I'm delighted that we've been offered the opportunity to commit our futures to the Club until the end of 2018.

"I've thoroughly enjoyed my first 18 months at Lancashire and feel extremely lucky to have such a strong coaching team around me.

"We still have a lot of work to do with this young and exciting group of players and we all look forward to bringing future success to the Club."

Player and First Team coach Chapple continues to play an important role at Lancashire as a mentor to the pool of talented seamers coming through the ranks. The 42-year-old veteran made five Championship appearances for the Red Rose last season, with his return of ten wickets taking him to within 15 of 1,000 first-class wickets.

Chapple has said that he will play a part in Lancashire's side this season if he is required and if he does feature in a four-day match, it will be his 25th first-class season for Lancashire after making his debut all the way back in 1992. He is part of an elite group of players to have scored 5,000 runs and taken 500 wickets for the Club.

The continued success of the Second Eleven has acted as an excellent feeder to the First Team in recent years, with the likes of Alex Davies, Haseeb Hameed and Luis Reece all coming through the ranks to play first-division cricket for Lancashire this summer.

Clark stars for Second Eleven against Hampshire

Jordan Clark had a superb day with bat and ball to guide Lancashire's Second XI side to a strong performance against Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl.

The Lancashire all-rounder blasted 86 from 80 balls, hitting four sixes in five deliveries, before taking  two wickets in Hampshire's response. There were three half-centuries in Lancashire's innings of 283/4 declared, with Alex Davies (68) and Liam Livingstone (57) also impressing with the bat ahead of the opening Specsavers County Championship match against Nottinghamshire this Sunday.

Davies and Livingstone shared 109 runs for the second wicket, before Clark's ferocious innings propelled the visitors to a strong total. Hampshire's reply was similarly assured, although the standout performance of the day came from Joe Weatherly, who was unbeaten on 98 at stumps with Hampshire reaching 146/3.

The loss of Luis Reece (14) came early on in Lancashire's innings after the visitors had been put into bat, with Brad Wheal (2-49) forcing a thin edge through to the keeper. Wheal struck again to remove Davies at 130/2, but by this time Davies and Livingstone had given Lancashire a superb platform to play positively against the old ball.

Looking for an injection of confidence and valuable time at the crease ahead of the game against Nottinghamshire this weekend, wicketkeeper Davies recorded 68 from 101 balls, while Livingstone added 57 in 102 deliveries. Livingstone gave Hamza Ali (1-50) his only wicket of the innings, before Clark and Rob Jones added a further 118 runs for the fourth wicket.

Davies made 68 sharing a partnership of 109 with Livingstone

Clark was responsible for the majority of these runs, although Jones anchored the partnership well with his unbeaten innings of 34 from 60 balls. Having reached the third fifty of the Lancashire innings, Clark let loose and took the game to the Hampshire bowlers, an approach that was rewarded with four maximums in the space of five balls.

This belligerent spell took his score to 86, although his attempts to clear the rope again resulted him being bowled by Mason Crane (1-87), a welcome breakthrough for Hampshire after he and Jones had frustrated the home side throughout the afternoon session.

Lancashire declared soon after his dismissal, enjoying a positive start with the ball when Nathan Buck had Ben Duggan caught at slip by Livingstone for seven. Livingstone was called into action again when he held onto another catch, this time to remove Aaron West (11) at 63/2.

Weatherly offered resistance to the Lancashire onslaught, sharing a partnership of 58 with Lewis McManus, who was the third Hampshire wicket to fall when he edged behind to Davies, supplying Clark with his second wicket. Lancashire's cause for superiority continued to be halted by Weatherly, who ended the first day unbeaten on 98 from 120 balls.

Anderson and Jarvis lead the way in Cambridge draw

Lancashire enjoyed a positive day in the field against Cambridge MCCU after bowling the home side out for 224 on a sunny day at Fenner's to conclude their pre season preparations.

With their opening Specsavers County Championship match against Nottinghamshire starting on Sunday, Lancashire will have been pleased with their consistency with the ball, as they prepare to take on the only team to pick up a win in the first round of games.

James Anderson (3-29) and Kyle Jarvis (3-58) both collected three wickets to help the Red Rose to a convincing display on the third and final day in Cambridge, although the visitors did not have it all their own way. 

Wicketkeeper-batsman Joseph Tetley made a valiant 76 after Cambridge had stumbled to 75/5, with Simon Kerrigan (2-40) doing damage with the ball either side of lunch. Lancashire declared on 290/7 after the second day of this friendly was lost to rain and a wet outfield, with the visitors hoping to enjoy a profitable day with the ball ahead of their four-day clash with Notts at Emirates Old Trafford.

Much like Lancashire's innings, Cambridge were determined to see off the new ball, with Anderson and Jarvis beating the bat on countless occasions. Liam Livingstone failed to hold on to a sharp chance at fourth slip to remove Harrison Palmer, although his error didn't prove to be too costly, as he soon edged to Steven Croft at first slip off Anderson for 16.

A testing spell of bowling from Anderson and Jarvis came to a welcome conclusion from the perspective of the batting side, but their relief was short lived when Kerrigan started to produce prodigious turn upon his introduction to the attack.

It wasn't long before his nagging line and length resulted in a second breakthrough for Lancashire, as the Cambridge skipper Harry Ellison was bowled for 15 on the stroke of lunch. Although there was no sign of Neil Wagner on the field, due to the fact that he was being rested for this match, the Kiwi paceman did venture out at lunch for a session of bowling.

Cambridge returned after lunch and life continued to be problematic for the students as Jarvis claimed the first of three wickets, forcing James Abbott (29) to offer an easy catch to Kerrigan at square leg at 62/3. Kerrigan continued to play a prominent role in proceedings, this time by encouraging a thin edge from Ben Bryant (2) to Anderson, who had to take a good low catch to his right to hold on.

Respite continued to elude the home side, as Jarvis struck another blow to leave them struggling on 75/5, removing the off-stump with a sharp delivery to send Tom Colverd (6) back to the pavilion cheaply.

In desperate need of a worthwhile contribution, Cambridge found solace in Adil Arif, who made 40 to resist the Lancashire onslaught, sharing 67 runs with Tetley for the sixth wicket. Arif played a number of eye catching shots, including a towering six off Jarvis, but he predominantly favoured playing through the covers, using the pace on the old ball to frustrate the visitors in their cause for further success.

Arif eventually fell just before tea when he attempted to come back for two, only to be run out by a good throw from the boundary by Saqib Mahmood, with Alex Davies whipping the bails off to compete the sharp piece of fielding. 

Tetley entered the break unbeaten on 43 and he continued to offer stern resistance for Cambridge, progressing to a determined half-century in 105 balls. The sunshine that had been a feature for most of the day started to disappear into the evening session, but the game continued despite the occasional shower.

Luke Procter was rewarded for his persistence when Alastair Allchin (23) guided the ball to Haseeb Hameed at backward point. With the game starting to drift, Lancashire made a strong finish to the day, as Anderson and Jarvis returned with the new ball to bring the game to a conclusion.

Tetley was the first of three quick wickets to fall with the score on 224 when he edged to Croft at first slip off Anderson, with Jarvis adding his third scalp by removing Arksey lbw soon after. The game was the confirmed as a draw when Anderson also extracted a third victim, forcing Emerton into a thin edge behind to Davies to finish with figures of 3-29.

No play at Cambridge on Day Two

Lancashire's pre-season friendly against Cambridge MCCU has been halted by bad weather, as no play was possible on Day Two at Fenner's.

A combination of heavy overnight rain and persistent rain throughout the morning made parts of the outfield unsuitable for play, although play is due to restart tomorrow morning at 11.00am, with the forecast suggesting that there will be a good chance of play.

The second day of this match was scheduled to be the first appearance for New Zealander Neil Wagner in a Lancashire shirt, but the Kiwi paceman had to settle for playing football with his new teammates.

The Red Rose enjoyed a fruitful day of early season practice with the bat yesterday, with captain Steven Croft leading by example, as he registered the first century of the season for Lancashire in scoring 103 not out.

Lancashire progressed to 290/7 by close of play yesterday evening, although a good deal of the final session was forfeited due to bad light. Croft and Haseeb Hammed - who made 59 in yet another determined innings for the side - demonstrated tremendous application on a difficult wicket, one which the likes of Wagner and James Anderson will look forward to having a bowl on themselves at some stage tomorrow.

Croft scores unbeaten ton in Cambridge friendly

Red Rose captain Steven Croft registered the first Lancashire century of the season against Cambridge MCCU on a positive day with the bat for the visitors at Fenner's.

Lancashire progressed to 290/7 before bad light caused play to end prematurely, with Croft (103*) and teenager Haseeb Hameed (59) showing exceptional determination in testing early-season conditions. 

Cambridge gave a much-improved performance with the ball compared to earlier performances against Essex and Nottinghamshire, with left-arm spinner Josh Arksey taking 3-69 to finish as the pick of the bowlers at stumps. 

Inserted by the home side, Lancashire were put to task early on by Cambridge, losing Karl Brown (14) after he and Hameed had applied themselves superbly to survive the first hour unscathed. Brown's thin edge gave Connor Emerton his first wicket of the day, while Hameed continued to show determination at the crease.

Luke Procter started positively but he was next to depart, edging to first slip off Adam Barton for 13, as Lancashire progressed to 78/2. Hameed combined superb timing with good fortune, as he continued to find the boundary regularly on his way to a half-century, which came in exactly 100 deliveries.

A positive morning session, underpinned by the application of Hameed, gave Lancashire a strong platform heading into the afternoon, but the weather started to diminish after the interval, which made batting an unfriendly task. His first true shot of any belligerence saw Hameed play all around a straight ball from Arksey, who collected the first of three wickets at 105/3, as conditions started to take ahold of the match.

Luis Reece (22) was met with a similar fate when his first shot in anger, an attempted pull into the leg-side, resulted in a routine catch for Adil Arif at mid-wicket off the bowling of Alastair Allchin (1-70).

Croft and Alex Davies (27) established a composed partnership worth 68 runs to restore Lancashire's sturdy position in this fixture, although progress continued to be blighted by ever-deteriorating light. The latter failed to make it to tea, falling to the spin of Arksey with the score at 207/5, with Croft progressing to a 69-ball fifty with his seventh boundary just before tea.

Now accompanied by Liam Livingstone, the Lancashire skipper demonstrated the sort of quality at the crease that has been a hallmark of his time as captain, showing grit and willingness not to throw his wicket away as others had done before him when a loose ball came along. Livingstone (12) favoured the sweep shot and crunched a pleasing shot to the boundary in doing so, but this approach was to be his undoing, as he was trapped plumb lbw by Arksey at 234/6.

James Anderson came in a No. 8 for the Red Rose and played a beautiful cover drive to the boundary before he was clean bowled by Emerton for 16. The umpires continued to consult each other about the poor light, but the players stayed out in the middle long enough for Croft to reach the first Lancashire hundred of the season in 143 balls, with his thirteenth four taking him to this milestone.

The players left the field as soon as Croft had reached three figures, with Lancashire reaching 290/7 by close of play. 

Wagner in squad for Cambridge friendly

Lancashire's overseas recruit Neil Wagner has been named in a 13-man squad to face Cambridge MCCU in a three-day friendly at Fenner's next week.

The New Zealand pace bowler landed in England on Friday and is set to feature alongside James Anderson and Kyle Jarvis as part of a ferocious Lancashire bowling attack.

The Red Rose endured a tough three-day friendly against Somerset at Taunton Vale prior to this match, with rain restricting the amount of practice time available to both teams. There were promising displays from Haseeb Hameed, who demonstrated another determined innings at the top of the order, while left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan took four wickets in just ten overs.

Cambridge have not given the best account of themselves in recent pre-season fixtures, which should make the international class of Wagner and Anderson too much for them to handle. The university side were beaten by 523 runs against Essex last month before suffering another heavy defeat at the hands of Nottinghamshire, who are Lancashire's first opponents in the Specsavers County Championship this season.

A 512-run defeat came after Cambridge were skittled for just 52 in their first innings and 131 second time around against a merciless Notts outfit. It is therefore fair to say that Lancashire could enjoy a morale-boosting visit to Fenner's in a game that starts on Monday.

Lancashire 13-man squad: 

Steven Croft (c), James Anderson, Karl Brown, Alex Davies (wk), Haseeb Hameed, Kyle Jarvis, Simon Kerrigan, Arron Lilley, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Luke Procter, Luis Reece, Neil Wagner.

Kerrigan takes four wickets in draw against Somerset

Simon Kerrigan claimed four wickets as Lancashire’s three day pre-season friendly with Somerset ended in a draw at Taunton Vale.

There were half-centuries for Marcus Trescothick (54) and James Hildreth (57) in Somerset’s innings of 278/7, which gave the home side a lead of 70 runs over the Red Rose by close of play.

Lancashire edged their way to 208/9 declared, with overnight batsmen Jordan Clark (35) and Stephen Parry (24) falling in the morning session. Their 43-run partnership allowed the visitors to recover after they had stumbled to 138/7, although Somerset were to enjoy the better batting conditions on the third and final day.

Clark fell in the first over of the day, edging a rising delivery from Josh Davey to Peter Trego at third slip, as the Scottish fast bowler collected his third wicket of the innings. Parry then became the second wicket of the day when he was bowled for 24 by Lewis Gregory, with Lancashire being restricted to 199/9.

Tom Bailey and Nathan Buck survived a handful of deliveries each, before yet another spell of rain brought a halt to proceedings, with Lancashire declaring during the pause in play.

Lancashire boasted a promising opening combination of James Anderson and Kyle Jarvis in their bowling attack, but it was Kerrigan who impressed the most at Taunton Vale, claiming a wicket in his first over to remove Tom Abell lbw, with the score at 20/1 just before lunch.

With the rain gone, the sun became a permanent fixture over the top of the ground, as Somerset enjoyed a better set of conditions to practice batting. Veterans Trescothick and Chris Rogers (34) made good progress in their partnership of 85, with the former going on to reach a fifty in 87 balls.

Rogers was on his way to replicating Trescothick’s feat, only to seriously mistime a pull shot to Haseeb Hameed at mid-wicket off Luke Procter. After scoring nearly 1,400 runs in red-ball cricket last summer, Lancashire were hoping to remove Hildreth sooner rather than later, but it was not to be as he also enjoyed improving conditions.

Trescothick appeared to be in total control of his game, hitting one four through the covers after another in trademark fashion, but his innings came to an abrupt end when he was short of his ground attempting a quick single to a bullet throw by Luis Reece.

Anderson and Jarvis returned after the tea interval, by which time Somerset had progressed to 143/3, but the visitors fought back in the final session to bring a degree of balance to the game. Jim Allenby left a straight delivery from Anderson and was bowled for 21, but Hildreth continued to accumulate runs freely on his way to a 46-ball fifty.

Following in the footsteps of Trescothick before him, Hildreth failed to kick on after reaching fifty, as he was trapped lbw by Kerrigan with the score at 212/5. Kerrigan’s surging confidence took a dent when Peter Trego (47*) hit the first of four sixes against the left-arm spinner, striking two maximums in the same over to help his own confidence ahead of the new season.

Both Trego and Roelof van der Merwe favoured the aggressive route, but the former could only find the safe hands of Jarvis in the deep when he attempted to sweep slog Kerrigan for six, as he departed for 28.

Kerrigan claimed his fourth and final victim of the innings, with Alex Davies pulling off a sharp piece of work behind the stumps to remove Ryan Davies for five. Trego hit his fourth six in the following over, but the players soon shook hands, with Somerset reaching 278/7 by close.

For Lancashire, attention will now turn to their final pre-season friendly fixture, where they travel to Fenner’s for a three-day game against Cambridge MCCU, hopeful that New Zealand fast bowler Neil Wagner will have arrived in time to be integrated into the squad.