Duckett century leads strong day for Northamptonshire

Ben Duckett (134) made Lancashire endure a hard day in the Manchester sunshine as he and a number of Northamptonshire batsmen enjoyed a brilliant first day for the visitors, who closed on 388/6 after winning a crucial toss.

Half-centuries for Andrew Rossington (79*) Richard Levi (57) and skipper Alex Wakely (56) consolidated the hard work and positive play from Duckett at the top of the order, on a day which was dominated by the batting side.

James Faulkner (3-48) was Lancashire’s best bowler by some distance on a frustrating day for the Red Rose and he backed up an economical start with two wickets in two balls to set up the potential of a second hat-trick for Lancashire in as many Championship matches.

Simon Kerrigan was also productive, claiming figures of 2-70 – with both of his wickets coming in the space of three deliveries – as the left-arm spinner achieved the milestone of 250 first-class wickets on an otherwise infuriating day for the Division Two front-runners.

A pivotal coin toss went against Lancashire for the seventh time in ten Championship matches this season and on this occasion there was no way of making it a good toss to lose as conditions supported the positive intent shown by Duckett and latterly Rossington.

On the other hand, Lancashire may well have thought that it was indeed a good toss to lose when Kyle Jarvis, the leading wicket-taker in the county, struck an early blow for the home side with the eleventh ball of the match.

He had Kyle Coetzer trapped lbw for one in the second over of the day, a breakthrough which would have given Lancashire a lot to smile about in initially overcast conditions. The ball was moving off the seam in the early stages of the day, but Duckett’s intent made Jarvis and Tom Bailey (0-61) expensive in the morning session.

Duckett played fluent strokes through the covers, but he also took his share of luck with a top-edge to fine leg for six off Jarvis and a promising start continued for the left-handed opener with successive boundaries at the expense of the Zimbabwean fast-bowler.

Wakely and Duckett added fifty runs in fewer than ten overs, nullifying the early loss of Coetzer as Duckett went on to reach fifty in as many deliveries with six boundaries to accompany the six he hit off Jarvis.

Their partnership continued to take shape and runs flowed for the visiting side who reached lunch on 139/1 – an almighty recovery after stumbling to 1/1 after eleven balls had been bowled.

Duckett and Wakely had accumulated 100 runs in 21.1 overs and their partnership went on to reach a value of 170 runs before Wakely was bowled by Faulkner for 56. Wakely was able to accompany 20-year-old Duckett on his way to a third first-class century of his tender career, a milestone which he reached in 121 balls with 12 fours and a second maximum, a truly brilliant innings for someone so young.

The Northants captain also reached a significant landmark as he achieved a half-century in 90 deliveries just after the interval, but Faulkner converted his tidy and economical start into a much more probing line and length, eventually bowling Wakely with an inch-perfect yorker.

 Northamptonshire achieved their first batting point with the run rate moving along steadily at four and a half runs per over, as Rob Keogh sought to back up the efforts of his skipper alongside Duckett.

The pair added a further 56 runs for the third-wicket stand to enhance an already competent start for the visitors, but Kerrigan removed both batsmen in the space of three balls to limit their progress in the afternoon session.

Both wickets were arguably gifted to Lancashire, although on a day of such anguish and despair for little reward, the home side were more than happy to take any slice of luck which came their way. Duckett was the first of the two batsmen to depart in quick succession to Kerrigan, as he played a reverse-sweep and was trapped lbw for 134.

Although he was clearly unhappy with the decision, he had hit 19 boundaries with what many would refer to as textbook shots and so it seemed to be a needless decision from the young man, who demonstrated his acumen in an otherwise flawless innings.

Keogh was unfortunate to be caught in close by Steven Croft at silly point for 19, but this made Duckett’s dismissal all the more confusing for the visitors who suffered a minor setback to potentially compromise their dominance on the first day of this fixture.

Lancashire could have seized on this monetary dip in confidence to restore parity, but a partnership worth 142 runs between Levi and Rossington ensured that Northants would finish the day in the ascendancy.

Rossington played an eye-catching innings and finished unbeaten on 79 – an innings which has so far included eight fours and a six – and it was his positivity which guided Northants to 300 when he struck Lilley for a towering six back over the bowler’s head.

 The presumption might have been that Levi would play in a similar manner, but the hard-hitting South-African played a much more cultured and patient innings than one would have expected to support Rossington, as the pair added 100 runs in 176 balls.

Rossington went to his fifty in 84 deliveries and Levi soon followed suit with a half-century of his own in 104 balls to reward him for his patience and application. Faulkner had been the only Lancashire bowler to dig in and not allow the batting side to attack him and he returned with purpose in the evening session to restore a degree of balance to the close of play score.

The Australian all-rounder started his haul with the important wicket of Wakely and he added Levi to his tally when he edged behing to Alex Davies for a hard-fought innings of 57.

Josh Cobb departed the very next ball when he wafted at a wider delivery from Faulkner, although Croft had to take a good catch down low to his left as the ball shot off the edge of Cobb’s bat, leaving Northants in a respectable position at 370/6.

The visitors suffered no further scares before reaching stumps and Rossington’s sturdy innings proved to be one of the deciding factors as to which side had enjoyed the better of the first day, as he finished unbeaten on 79.

With Northants needing just 12 more runs to achieve all five batting bonus points, it is clear that they are the side who will be happiest after capitalising on friendly conditions and showing intent from the very first ball of the day.