Haseeb Hameed (103) and Liam Livingstone (106*) both scored hundreds for Lancashire at Old Trafford, as the Division One leaders settled for a draw against Warwickshire in the Specsavers County Championship.
Hameed registered his maiden first-class century, sharing a partnership worth 137 runs with Livingstone, who took his Championship average to 97.80 with his first hundred at Old Trafford and his second of the season in red-ball cricket to help Lancashire set a target of 312 on the final day.
Ian Bell (55*) and Jonathan Trott (50*) both made half-centuries, sharing an unbeaten partnership worth 111 runs, but Warwickshire were seemingly uninterested in making an effort of their run-chase, as the players shook hands at 5.30pm, with the visitors on 195/2.
11 points helps Lancashire retain their spot at the top of the Division ahead of rivals Yorkshire on virtue of having won more games, with the Red Rose's next challenge in the four-day competition taking them to the Home of Cricket.
Starting the day with a lead of 215 runs, overnight batsmen Hameed and Livingstone were both approaching respective milestones, as they sought to increase Lancashire's lead and set up a run-chase for their opponents. Livingstone progressed to his fifth half-century in ten Championship innings in 80 deliveries, as he and Hameed continued their positive approach from yesterday evening.
Their partnership was vital in allowing Lancashire to declare on 266/8 before lunch, with Hameed achieving a new career-best score in first-class cricket, surpassing the 91 he made against Surrey at Old Trafford at the end of last season. With many people tipping Hameed to have a promising future in the game, it was a day to remember in the early stages of his bright career, as the Bolton-born batsman went to his maiden first-class hundred in 291 balls.
Once he had reached three-figures, Lancashire purpose and intent to score runs became even more pronounced, but this cavalier approach was not without a certain amount of risk on a wicket that had not previously rewarded aggressive strokeplay. Rikki Clarke was responsible for setting up the fifth hat-trick ball of the match, taking three wickets in the space of four balls, as Warwickshire enjoyed a brief spell of success in a morning session that was dominated by the batting side.
His first breakthrough brought Hameed's 295-ball marathon to a conclusion when the teenager was trapped lbw for 103, breaking his 137-run stand with Livingstone, who would go on to reach a century of his own after a flurry of wickets. Arron Lilley flashed at a bouncer and edged behind to Ambrose, before Clarke had Neil Wagner bowled second ball without scoring, leaving Livingstone potentially stranded before he could repeat Hameed's accomplishment.
However, the tail survived long enough to allow the highly-talented Cumbrian to secure his first century at Old Trafford, after he made 108 against Somerset at Taunton at the start of May. Livingstone hit a second maximum to take him to 97, before his twelfth boundary took him to a second hundred of the season in only 115 balls.
Following Livingstone's century, Lancashire made a brave declaration on 266/8, setting Warwickshire a target of 312 in 72 overs. The visitors initially played in a manner befitting of the match situation, scoring at a brisk pace to enter lunch on 28/0 after five overs, but they soon started to lose interest, as the wicket continued to flatten under the baking sun in Manchester.
Extracting minimal assistance from the wicket meant that the Lancashire bowlers were finding it hard to strike a breakthrough, as Warwickshire's opening pairing of Varun Chopra and Andrew Umeed made a fifty-partnership for the second time in the match. However, like the first innings, this milestone signalled the loss of Warwickshire's first wicket, as Umeed flashed outside the off-stump, edging Kyle Jarvis (1-22) behind to Steven Croft at 52/1.
Bell survived the ignominy of recording golden ducks in both innings and he would prove to be the main port of resistance to Lancashire's victory bid. He and Chopra (48) added a further 32 runs before Matthew Parkinson (1-74) had the latter pinned on the crease with an enthusiastic lbw appeal, following his five-wicket haul in Warwickshire's first innings.
However, this was to be the final glimpse of success for Lancashire, as two former England internationals stood firm to resist the Red Rose onslaught to earn a draw by adding 111 runs for the third-wicket stand. Having endured long periods in the field, while three Lancashire batsmen notched up centuries, Warwickshire relished their opportunity to score some runs on an increasingly-friendly wicket.
Warwickshire's lack of interest in going for their target of 312 was typified by the fact that only one boundary was scored in the space of 28 overs in the afternoon session. As a consequence, the game started to lose its edge after three and a half days of brilliant viewing, with Bell and Trott plugging away to reach their fifties before finishing on 195/2, 117 runs short of their target.
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