Lancashire extended their lead at the top of Division One in the Specsavers County Championship with a nine-point draw against Middlesex at Lord's after persistent rain prevented a ball being bowled on the last day.
The game had been drifting to a draw from an early stage, with both Lancashire and Middlesex scoring highly on a friendly batting wicket. Middlesex reached 419/5 in reply to the visitors first-innings total of 513 all out, as Nick Gubbins posted a career-best 201 not out yesterday afternoon.
Gubbins and his 22-year-old teammate Stephen Eskinazi (106) added 208 runs for the second wicket, helping the home side to secure full batting points and walk away with 11 points. Lancashire take a nine-point lead over rivals Yorkshire in second place, although the White Rose now have a game in hand to try and overturn the deficit.
Coincidentally, Lancashire's next match is against Yorkshire in the NatWest T20 Blast on Friday evening, with Ashley Giles' side hoping to achieve the double over their rivals in their bid to retain the Twenty20 trophy this season.
Lancashire's 513 included 191 for Alviro Petersen, his highest score of the season, while Haseeb Hameed backed up his maiden first-class century against Warwickshire with 89 at Lord's. Liam Livingstone also hit his sixth fifty of the campaign with a run-a-ball 58, but Lancashire could only pick up one bowling point.
Following the trip to Headingley in the Twenty20 contest, Lancashire will travel to Trent Bridge to play Nottinghamshire, although the Red Rose will be without James Anderson, who is recovering from a shoulder injury. This match will also be Neil Wagner's last appearance for Lancashire prior to meeting up with New Zealand for their upcoming Test series' against Zimbabwe and South Africa this summer.
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