A spirited partnership between Alex Davies (78*) and Liam Livingstone (57*) boosted Lancashire's hopes of rescuing a positive result out of their match against Somerset at Old Trafford.
The pair added an unbroken stand worth 129 runs for the third wicket to see the home side to close on 152/2, trailing by 17 runs, after a frustrating morning session with the ball saw Somerset take total control.
South-African Dean Elgar carried his bat for more than six hours to finish unbeaten on 113 - outscoring Lancashire's entire first innings effort of 109 on the first day - with Jack Leach (52) registering a maiden fifty in a 96-run stand with the opening batsman.
The overnight partnership helped stretch Somerset's lead to 169 and two early second innings wickets threatened to end the game inside two days, but Davies and Livingstone stood strong to give their side a fighting chance of salvaging the match from a seemingly hopeless position.
With 18 wickets falling on the first day, Lancashire were hoping to claim the final two wickets quickly and overturn a minimal lead, but it soon became clear the pitch and overhead conditions were totally different to the first day.
By contrast only four wickets fell in the entire second day, but it took some time for the first batsman to fall as Elgar and Leach made Lancashire toil. Elgar passed 10,000 first-class runs in the early stages of the day, with Leach providing trusty company to help advance the overnight score of 153/8 into a dangerous territory.
Ryan McLaren failed to hold onto a tough chance at third slip with Elgar on 85 and the Proteas batsman made the most of his life by reaching three figures before lunch. Leach had issues with the odd short ball from Kyle Jarvis, but otherwise he made an accomplished Number 10 batsman and his free-scoring approach kicked in the closer he came to a maiden fifty.
The milestones eventually arrived in 131 deliveries and it would have been fitting to see Elgar compete his century alongside Leach, but the ball after reaching his fifty he edged a rising delivery from Jordan Clak (1-16) behind to Davies, ending a 96-run partnership with Elgar.
Tim Groenewald was happy to provide company for Elgar as he reached a ton in 205 balls with 11 fours before lunch, with the visitors on 276/9. Thankfully for Lancashire there were only two more runs to be added after the break before Jarvis (1-60) bowled Grownewald for 20, leaving Elgar unbeaten on a fine 113.
Somerset's confidence continued to increase when they snared Haseeb Hameed (7) cheaply for the second time in the match, prodding at a short delivery from Lewis Gregory (2-24) to Peter Trego at third slip. Gregory bagged his second wicket of the day soon after when he clattered Luke Procter's stumps, sending the left-hander packing for 4.
At this stage - with the score at 27/2 - there was a very real risk of Lancashire being beaten inside two days against a rampant bowling attack, but Davies led the fightback alongside his skipper Livingstone to bring the Red Rose towards parity before the close.
Davies went to his third fifty in red-ball cricket this season in 108 deliveries with his seventh boundary, finding life particularly comfortable against the left-arm spin of Leach, punching him through the covers off the back-foot on a number of occasions.
Livingstone advanced to his second half-century of the match following his 68 yesterday, adding 129 runs alongside the Lancashire wicketkeeper to give his side a fighting chance of turning the game around.
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