Matthew Parkinson claimed 5-49 on his Lancashire debut to help the hosts take the upper hand in their Supersavers County Championship encounter with Warwickshire at Emirates Old Trafford.
On a memorable day for young talent, Lancashire seized a valuable 45-run lead after bowling Warwickshire out for 263, before Parkinson's England Under-19 colleague Haseeb Hameed battled hard for an unbeaten 81 from 223 balls, an innings that has so far lasted more than four hours.
Parkinson became the youngest player to take five wickets on their debut for the Red Rose and the first Lancashire spinner to take five wickets on his debut since Simon Kerrigan took 5-43 against the same opposition on the same ground in 2010. Hameed then spearheaded an attritional second innings, with his confidence and temperament providing Lancashire with the perfect foil against a tough Warwickshire attack on a tricky wicket.
Lancashire closed on 170/5 after Hameed and Liam Livingstone (39*) had added 66 runs for the sixth wicket to see the Red Rose to a valuable lead of 215 heading into an intriguing final day. Warwickshire's top order were indebted to a 125-run stand between Tim Ambrose (70*) and Keith Barker (64) for the seventh-wicket stand, before their bowlers fought hard to reduce their hosts to 104/5.
It was vital that Lancashire broke the partnership between Barker and Ambrose before it had chance to progress into threatening territory and it took an unplayable delivery from Tom Smith (3-30) to end their resistance. Smith forced Barker to edge behind to Steven Croft at 219/7, after Ambrose added to his overnight score of 48 to reach his half-century in 108 balls, with his ninth boundary taking him to this milestone.
Once the first wicket fell, Lancashire found life to be much easier, as Parkinson's introduction into the attack inspired the Red Rose to a hugely successful morning session. The wristy leg-spinner took three wickets in the space of 15 balls to wrap up the Warwickshire tail and leave Ambrose stranded.
First he had Jeetan Patel (19) caught smartly by Neil Wagner at short fine leg and then Parkinson set up the third hat-trick ball of the innings when Boyd Rankin was bowled first ball for nought. Oliver Hannon-Dalby survived the hat-trick ball, briefly denying Parkinson his maiden five-wicket haul on debut, but it didn't take the 19-year-old long to secure his fifth wicket.
Hanson-Dalby (6) was bowled through the gate to give Parkinson a debut to remember with the ball and if Lancashire go on to win this game, it is likely that the youngster will play a vital part in Warwickshire's run-chase. His efforts with the ball secured a buffer of 45 runs for Lancashire, vital runs in the context of a low-scoring game on a slow and sticky wicket, but the application of Hameed would prove to be decisive in helping the Red Rose to establish a lead in the hope of setting up a run-chase tomorrow.
Smith (19) and Hameed survived the six remaining overs before lunch, returning after the interval to negate a testing new-ball spell from Barker. Having seen the success of Lancashire's teenage prodigy, Patel was quick to get himself into the attack, but the far more experienced purveyor of the county scene found life much harder than Parkinson.
It might not have been the most attractive cricket ever witnesses at Old Trafford, but the determination and application demonstrated by Smith and Hameed represented a tremendous effort in helping Lancashire to extend their lead into a more threatening one. The opening batsmen added a fifty-partnership in 151 balls, but not long after reaching this stage Smith found his 85-ball marathon coming to an abrupt conclusion, as his attempted pull shot found the hands of Patel on the square leg boundary off the bowling of Rankin (1-27).
Luke Procter (21) provided ample support to Hameed's cause, helping Lancashire to reach tea on 77/1 with a healthy lead of 122 runs. The slow and steady approach was working wonders for the home side, but Procter's flashing drive after the interval caught the edge of his bat and flew to Varun Chopra at first slip off Barker (3-50).
This breakthrough signalled a mini collapse from Lancashire's top order, as three further wickets fell in the space of only five balls, with Warwickshire claiming four wickets for 17 runs after tea. In a game filled with twists and turns, Warwickshire needed a response after the interval to bring themselves back into contention and - as has often been the case in this game - wickets continued to fall in clusters.
Hameed progressed to his third half-century of the season in the four-day format in 129 balls, but his success was overshadowed, briefly, by the loss of three quick wickets. Alviro Petersen failed to utilise his vast experience to support the young opening batsman, adding only 5 runs to the total before chipping his drive to Rikki Clarke at extra cover off Barker.
Captain Croft followed up his century from the first innings with a golden duck when his thin edge flew through to Ambrose behind the stumps to give Barker his third wicket of the innings, setting up the fourth hat-trick ball of the match. Having slumped from 87/1 to 103/4, Lancashire then lost another of their dependable batsmen from the first innings when Karl Brown (1) flashed hard at a delivery from Patel (1-73), also edging behind to Ambrose.
Barker's lengthy spell eventually came to a conclusion, much to the relief of the Lancashire batsmen, as Livingstone welcomed Clarke into the attack with a huge six over mid-wicket to the third ball of his spell. Livingstone provided the perfect company to Hameed's patience, as he looked to play his shots and run positively between the wickets to turn singles into twos.
Every run became precious to Lancashire, knowing that they had to apply themselves if they had any intention of setting Warwickshire a daunting target on a testing wicket tomorrow morning. A brief delay for bad light did nothing to reduce the number of over left in the day and when Hameed returned to the crease, it was as if he'd never left.
There was just enough time for Hameed (81*) and Livingstone (39*) to progress to a fifty-partnership in 124 deliveries, as Lancashire closed on 170/5 with a lead of 215 runs, setting up an intriguing final day at Old Trafford in what has already proven to be a gripping and enthralling game of cricket.
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