Lancashire fought hard to end the second
day of their must-win clash with relegation rivals Middlesex in a balanced
position, closing on 259/6 with a lead of 45 runs.
A game of cat and mouse is yet to be
resolved with Lancashire, who require 41 runs from 14 overs to earn their next
batting bonus point, losing Steven Croft (60) late in the day to leave the match
in the balance.
The Lancashire all-rounder will feel
aggrieved to have been judged caught behind down the leg-side, with replays
showing the ball to come off his side, but his determined partnership with Luke
Procter (37*) guided the hosts towards safety after a shaky afternoon session.
Lancashire made good progress at the start
of the day despite the early loss of Paul Horton (7), who failed to develop
enough foot movement in his innings to avoid a full delivery from Middlesex’s
leading wicket-taker, Tim Murtagh (1-56), who trapped the opening batsman leg
before with the score at 12/1.
The strongest spell of play for the hosts
came between the loss of this wicket and lunch, where Luis Reece (45) and
Ashwell Prince (48) negated this early setback with promising application
before the interval.
Having reached lunch at 88/1, the morning
session belonged firmly to the hosts, with Prince passing 17,000 first-class
runs in the process, but what followed was a torrid afternoon for Lancashire,
one which can be said to have underpinned their issues with the bat this
season.
The loss of three wickets for 30 runs after
the interval supplied Middlesex with a route back in to the match, as both of
Lancashire’s established batsmen failed to kick on and reach fifty.
Reece was to be the first of two
contentious dismissals for Lancashire, edging to Dawid Malan off Toby
Roland-Jones (3-46), off what seemed to be a front-foot no ball. Prince soon
followed, becoming the second Lancashire player to fall shy of a half-century
at the hands of Roland-Jones, as he failed to get enough elevation on a chip
into the leg-side, forcing a good catch from Chris Rogers at mid-on.
Karl Brown (13) was the third wicket to
fall in the space of 20 runs, as he got an inside edge on to his stumps to
reward James Harris (1-74) for a good spell of bowling.
Croft and Jos Buttler (23) led the
Lancashire revival, accumulating 42 runs for the fifth-wicket after the hosts
had slumped to 118/4 and the pair progressed intent, mixed with a reasonable level
of caution given the do-or-die nature of this match.
Buttler’s intent was to be thwarted by the
promising leg-spin of Ravi Patel (1/61), who managed to produce prodigious turn
to trap the Lancashire wicketkeeper on the back leg in front of middle stump
with the score at 160/5.
Lancashire now faced the interesting
dilemma of whether to declare if they could successfully reach 250 before
losing their sixth wicket, although their may have been an inquest as to
whether or not this would have constituted an extraordinary declaration under
the rules of the game.
Croft may be renowned for his ability to
hit the ball hard, but the 2014 season has been a more telling reflection of
his four-day potential as he reached his fourth half-century of the season, the
first of the match so far, in 118 deliveries.
The hosts continued to edge their way
towards 250, but their efforts became academic when Croft was judged to have
been caught behind off Roland-Jones after he and Procter had battled hard in
the evening session to add 61 runs for the sixth-wicket.
This contentious dismissal meant that
Lancashire now had to reach 300 before losing their ninth wicket, a situation
which will be resolved early tomorrow before the 110-over mark when bonus
points stop being awarded.
For the remainder of Day Two, Procter
continued his defiant stand at the crease alongside captain Glen Chapple (21*).
The duo, who led Lancashire’s efforts with the ball - claiming four wicket
a-piece- guided the hosts to close of play without losing any more wickets,
leaving this important match, and the question of relegation, in a state of
uncertainty.
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