Croft innings leads Lancashire progress on second day

Steven Croft made 85 not out on Day Two of Lancashire's four-day match against Essex at Emirates Old Trafford, sharing an unbeaten stand worth 86 runs for James Faulkner (37*) as the Red Rose ended on 257/5.

Heavy rain meant that only two balls were bowled in the morning session, with Liam Dawson completing the two balls that were left from Day One. Alex Davies (38) hit the first ball of the day for four, before taking a single off the outside edge to finish the 26th over of the game.

Lancashire left the field on 101/4, adding five runs in the only two deliveries bowled in the morning session, with Davies and Red Rose captain Steven Croft unbeaten on nine runs each.

Croft and Davies went on to add 79 runs for the fifth-wicket partnership to bolster Lancashire's total and guide the home side towards their first batting point of the game, although Davies fell lbw to Ravi Bopara (1-31) with the score at 171/5.

Nearly nine overs had been bowled on the second day before the second batch of rain arrived, pushing the groundstaff to their limits as the rain returned every time they had finished clearing up, but play eventually resumed 4pm.

Croft and Davies continued to rally under the frustrating circumstances, reaching the fifty partnership in 94 deliveries, a no-ball from James Porter bringing up this milestone for the Lancashire duo. The introduction of Bopara gave the visitors their only breakthrough in a long day for little reward, the all-rounder trapping Davies plumb lbw when he walked across his stumps on 38.

But Faulkner played well for his innings of 37 from 57 balls, assisting Croft to his third half-century of the summer in 122 balls. The Lancashire skipper reach fifty in peculiar fashion, leaving a delivery from Graham Napier which took the edge and ran away to a vacancy third man for his ninth boundary.

Lancashire added their first batting point in the 54th over when Croft scythed yet another boundary through the covers, before he and Faulkner took the Red Rose to their second batting point in a game which is now destined to end in a draw after the bad weather over the last two days.

Croft and Faulkner added a further fifty runs in only 68 deliveries as the floodlights came into use and with six overs left in the day the players left the field for bad light with a total of 52 overs lost on the second day of this match.

Click here to read the report from Day One of Lancashire v Essex in the LV= County Championship

VIDEO: Rain prevents any more than two balls in the morning session: