Wickets tumble on first day at Northants.

Procter's score of 22 was a rare highlight for Lancashire as they were bowled out for 119.

Eighteen wickets fell on the first day of Lancashire's trip to Northants, with the hosts ending the day with a minuscule yet valuable lead of 14 runs after posting 133-8.

Lancashire were bowled out for just 119 in their first innings after being forced to bat first by the hosts and even this proved to be a higher score than first thought. The visitors, once again, suffered from a top-order collapse, falling to 33-6, with seven batsmen failing to pass single figure scores.

Anderson's score of 28 proved to be the highest of the innings and his stand with Simon Kerrigan (11*) for the final wicket was also the highest, earning Lancashire a valuable 39 runs. Anderson also proved to be key with the ball claiming 5-35 as Northants were halted in their bid to achieve a first innings lead.

Luke Procter made 22 in the middle order after each of the Northamptonshire seamers claimed a wicket to pin Lancashire back to 23-4 and wickets continued to fall in spite of Procter's efforts.

A combination of appreciable swing and a lack of application saw Paul Horton (0) and Luis Reece (8) fall early on and Andrea Agathangelou's 47-minute stand at the crease resulted in just one run.

Ashwell Prince failed to impart his experience on to the match and left a straight delivery from former Lancashire player, Steven Crook, falling LBW for just 2. With half an hour lost for bad light early-on in the day, the match had now well and truly caught up, particularly with Lancashire, and further wickets after lunch served to increase their misery.

Jos Buttler (1) and Tom Smith (5) were next to fall, leaving the score at 33-6 and a 28-run stand between Procter and newly appointed coach, Glen Chapple, momentarily alleviated some of the pressure on Lancashire.

The visitors began to approach the match differently, taking the aggressive route and this aided their cause to post a notable total. Chapple struck three boundaries on his way to 26, which was, at the time, the highest contribution of the innings.

Chapple and Kabir Ali fell in successive deliveries to Steven Crook (3-26) and at 80-9 the visitors were certainly in danger of posting a measly total, but the efforts of Anderson and Kerrigan ensured that they would post enough runs to put early pressure on Northants.

In reply, the hosts soon felt the misery of their opponents, reaching 35-5 after Anderson and Chapple delivered impressive all-round contributions on a bizarre first day. Chapple claimed the early breakthrough, trapping James Middlerbrook (8) LBW and Anderson then removed Kyle Coetzer (18) in similar fashion.

Anderson then claimed the next two Northants wickets, as they faltered in a similar way to Lancashire, reaching 34-4. Andrew Hall added just one run before edging behind to Jos Buttler off Chapple before a partnership worth 54 between Matthew Spriegel (43*) and Ben Duckett put the hosts in command.

The introduction of spin bowling in the form of Simon Kerrigan brought Lancashire a timely breakthrough, but Duckett's contribution of 35 meant that Northants were on top. Spriegel's efforts ensured that Northants would close with a minor lead, despite Anderson returning to cause damage with the ball, removing Steven Crook and David Murphy to claim five wickets.

But Northants closed with two wicket intact and will feel that, with a lead of 14 runs, the first day belongs to them.