Duckett innings sets up possible victory for Northants at Old Trafford

Ben Duckett made another superb contribution for Northamptonshire against Lancashire at Old Trafford, backing up his century in the first innings with 88 to set the home side a total of 414 runs on the final day.

Northamptonshire declared on 283/9 in the evening session on Day Three and Lancashire made 19 for the loss of no wicket in the six remaining overs. Lancashire had a morning to forget as they suffered the loss of six wickets for 51 runs on the third day and eight wickets for 82 runs to reverse the hard work of their top-order batsman.

Steven Crook claimed three wickets for just 18 runs to inflict serious damage to his former county in the morning session and he went on to share a 75-run stand with Josh Cobb (52) to take the game away from Lancashire, who bowled well to stay afloat in this fixture.

The day began with Lancashire in a steady position and with six first-innings wickets intact and with Steven Croft and James Faulkner at the crease, there was certainly cause for optimism for the home side.

But both batsmen were back in the pavilion in quick succession and the loss of Faulkner in the fourth over of the day started a capitulation from Lancashire, who surrendered a first-innings lead of 130 runs to their opponents.

Faulkner’s shot was loose to say the least and when he wafted outside the off-stump – encouraging an edge to Alex Wakely off Muhammad Azharullah (2-57) – Lancashire lost the first of six cheap wickets on a day which had been intended to consolidate the hard work of Karl Brown and Ashwell Prince the previous day.

Crook made an immediate impact with the ball for the visitors, removing Croft for 25 with only his second delivery of the day when he forced his way through Croft’s defences, bowling the Red Rose skipper with the score at 279/6.

Arron Lilley has demonstrated his proficiency as an aggressive lower-order batsman this season, but the circumstances warranted a different tact. In the over following Croft’s demise, Lilley departed caught behind off Stone for one, leaving Lancashire with the immediate threat of failing to avoid the follow-on.

The hosts did eventually move to 289/7, avoiding the follow-on with comfort, but there was still a long way to go before they could even remotely consider the morning session as a successful one. Wickets continued to fall and in disappointing fashion too, as Jordan Clark played-on to Crook for 18 attempting to cut a short ball, leaving Lancashire on 298/8.

The home side collected their third batting point, a consolation prize under the circumstances, as Tom Bailey (7) departed not long after reaching 300 when he was also bowled by Crook in the all-rounder’s next over – his third wicket for 18 runs in the morning session.

The innings ended in suitably disappointing fashion for Lancashire when Simon Kerrigan (2) chipped a delivery from Azharullah to Cobb at square-leg, leaving the Red Rose with a sub-par total of 308 after a promising start to the innings.

The hosts responded well in the handful of overs left before lunch, removing Kyle Coezter (5) with the sixth ball of the innings when the Northants opener edged down the leg-side to Alex Davies.

Having made 134 in Northamptonshire’s first innings, Duckett established another superb knock for the visitors as he continued to play with the same intent and confidence he carried at the crease on the first day of this match.

Captain Alex Wakely also played well in the first innings to reach his fourth half-century of the campaign, but he departed to an unforgivable swipe off Kerrigan, allowing the ball to slip through and bowl him for nine with the score at 36/2.

Kerrigan (3-94) and Lilley (3-97) played an important role on the third day, but on a deteriorating wicket it is likely that Northants will be able to exploit the spinning conditions to their advantage to secure what would only be their third Championship win of the season.

Duckett and Rob Keogh added 55 runs for the third-wicket stand to frustrate Lancashire, who were aiming to take wickets at regular intervals and bowl Northants out for as lower score as possible. Keogh departed to Faulkner (2-31) when he was trapped lbw for 20 and the Australian seamer claimed the wicket of Richard Levi the very next ball when he was also trapped infront by Faulkner.

The Australian could have had three hat-tricks in his last three innings for Lancashire, claiming two wickets in successive deliveries in the first innings after claiming a hat-trick against Leicestershire, but even with the loss of two quick wickets, Northants looked well set to build on what already stood at an imposing lead.

Duckett lead his side towards a mammoth lead with a half-century in 71 balls, scoring five fours and one six on his way to a fifty which had come without any threat from Lancashire or lack of enthusiasm from the Northants opener, who hit successive boundaries not long after reaching this milestone.

Andrew Rossington fell for 15 when he was judged to have made contact with a delivery from Lilley, as the ball looped to Croft at short-leg for an easy catch, although Rossington was not satisfied with the verdict with the score at 110/5.

Duckett and Cobb added another 45 runs to the total to extend the lead beyond a score that Lancashire would have been happy to chase on the final day, a partnership which demonstrated an aspiration from the away side to go on and win the game in commanding fashion.

In reality, Lancashire had not looked like getting Duckett out in either innings and – had he not thrown his wicket away for the second time in this match – the Red Rose could have been facing an even bigger challenge on the final day.

The Northants batsman chipped a delivery from Lilley to Prince at mid-off, who had all the time he needed to hold on to a simple catch to remove Duckett for 88. Lancashire’s season has been haunted by indifferent fielding and two dropped catches after tea made matters worse as both Cobb and latterly Olly Stone were gifted lives by the fielding side.

Lilley was rewarded for his patience when he trapped Crook lbw for 37 with the score at 225/7, but a series of dropped catches made life easy for Northants, who added to their total with assurance as they capitalised on the errors of their hosts.

Horton put down Cobb at first slip off Lilley, allowing the all-rounder to progress to a fifty in 106 balls and Bailey later dropped Stone off Kerrigan, with the Northants tail-ender hitting two sixes in a row after this mistake over long-on to exacerbate Lancashire’s misery.

Stone fell the next ball attempting to hit a third six in succession when Horton eventually held on at first slip to a delivery from Kerrigan, who finished with three wickets after removing Graeme White (8) earlier in the evening session to a good catch from Lilley on the boundary.

The efforts of Stone – who smashed two fours and three sixes in his innings of 35 from 29 balls – and Cobb ensured that Northants ended their second innings in commanding fashion, setting Lancashire a target of 414 runs to win after declaring nine wickets down in the evening session.

In reply, Lancashire reached 19/0 after six overs, a respectable start for the home side, who would need to achieve their highest ever score in a run-chase to win the match on the final day.