Clark magic turns Surrey game around

Jordan Clark (108*) struck a counterattacking century - his first in Lancashire colours - to rescue the visitors after a collapse at The Oval.

A maiden first-class hundred came up with a huge six out of the ground, before bad light brought play to a close at 294/6 against Surrey.

Clark and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (85*) shared an unbroken stand worth 172 runs for the seventh wicket to help Lancashire recover from 67/5 after a top-order collapse.

Mark Footitt followed up a rampant bowling display against Warwickshire in the opening round of matches with three wickets before lunch to account for Alex Davies, Dane Vilas and Liam Livingstone, who captained the side for the first time in the absence of Steven Croft.

Haseeb Hameed was out in the second over of the day to the second ball of Sam Curran's (1-52) opening spell, taking an uncharacteristic flash and edging behind to Ben Foakes.

Davies and Luke Procter (12) initially showed signs of rebuilding in overcast conditions after Lancashire had won the toss and decided to bat first. Tom Curran (1-59) bowled a perfect outswinger and encouraged Procter to edge to Scott Borthwick at second slip before Footitt (3-90) started to rip in to the Red Rose batsmen.

The left-arm seamer followed up his nine over spell of 6-18 against Warwickshire by removing Davies lbw for 26. Livingstone was hoping to issue a captain's response to the early collpase and showed initial promise with typically flowing strokes, but he fell for 16 when he picked out Mark Stoneman at square leg.

Lancashire stumbled to 67/5 when Dane Vilas (4) was trapped plumb lbw second ball by Footitt, as Surrey claimed two scalps in the space of three balls to leave serious doubts in the Red Rose camp. 

Chanderpaul carried the greatest threat to Surrey's superiority and he was able to steer Lancashire to lunch without any further setbacks alongside Ryan McLaren. The pair added 55 runs either side of lunch to restore order for Lancashire, but the home captain had other ideas.

Gareth Batty (1-50) managed to get a low turner to trap McLaren in front of his stumps at 122/6 in the 37th over, the final reward for Surrey's bowlers thanks to a defiant stand between Chanderpaul and Clark.

The West-Indian veteran used his typically idiosyncratic stance to frustrate the seamers, leaving anything outside the off-stump. His patience was in stark contrast to Clark, who has already hit seven sixes in first-class cricket this season.

The first of three maximums in a 108-ball century came off Batty after Clark danced down the track and lofted the experienced spinner back over his head. It was by no means his biggest six of the day, but his positivity allowed Lancashire to play with a renewed sense of freedom.

Chanderpaul made the most of being dropped by Borthiwck on 47 to reach his first fifty of the season in 138 balls, as the partnership with Clark continued to flourish in the fading light. The umpires asked for the floodlights from mid-afternoon onwards and spinners were often instructed to bowl to prevent the players from having to leave the field.

It was business as usual for Clark in spite of the grey conditions, as he clobbered Zafar Ansari for his second maximum over mid-wicket. Clark raced to a 65-ball half-century just before tea, by which time Lancashire had recovered to 214/6.

The hundred-partnership came up inside 29 overs after tea, before bad light forced the players off the field at 249/6. Play resumed with 17 overs left, but only eight overs could be bowled before the light intervened again. Having said that, it was a memorable eight overs for Lancashire and in particular Clark.

He raced past the so-called nervous nineties by smashing 18 runs in five balls and he hit Footitt out of the ground to reach a maiden-first class century in the process. 

The current record for the seventh wicket against Surrey in first-class cricket is 198 between J I'Anson and A Eccles at Old Trafford in 1902 and the first day came to an end with Chanderpaul and Clark's partnership worth an invaluable 172 runs.

While the headlines will understandably heap praise towards Clark's impressive counterpunch, credit must also go to Chanderpaul for his 183-ball vigil to hold the innings together. Clark and James Faulkner shared a similarly impressive stand at The Oval in 2015, but it is fair to say this partnership and innings will mean slightly more to the Cumbrian all-rounder.