Durham spare Lancashire blushes after Warwickshire defeat

Lancashire avoided relegation on the final day of the season despite suffering a hefty defeat against Warwickshire at Edgabston by 237 runs.

The Red Rose county were indebted to Durham, who beat Hampshire by six wickets at Southampton, which allowed Lancashire to survive their third successive relegation by the slim margin of 10 points. Lancashire were bowled out for just 109 in their second innings, having been dismissed for 152 first time around, but Surrey-bound Durham duo Mark Stoneman (137) and Scott Borthwick (88) guided their side to victory in their final appearances for the county to relegate Hampshire by chasing 296.

Overnight batsman and nightwatchman Simon Kerrigan (10) batted longer than any other Lancashire player, surviving nearly two and a half hours and 117 balls, but the visitors suffered a massive defeat to leave them with an uncomfortable wait before the end of the Hampshire v Durham match. Riki Clarke (4-20) and Jeetan Patel (3-46) were the chief destroyers for Warwickshire, as they secured their first win at home all season to maintain their first-division status.

Warwickshire showed all of their experience against a relatively young and inexperienced Lancashire side, with the visitors coming into the final day of the season on 28/3 chasing a mammoth target of 347. A miraculous victory on the final day, or even a draw, would have been enough for Lancashire to secure their place in Division One for another season, but their fifth defeat of the season meant that eyes turned to events in Southampton.

Hampshire set Durham 296 to win, knowing that only a victory would keep them up, declaring on 245/9 before lunch. Durham, who were already safe from relegation, were ruthless in their pursuit, with Stoneman's century and 88 from Borthwick leaving Durham supporters with conflicting emotions, due to the fact that both players will be playing first-class cricket at The Oval next summer.

Kerrigan and Haseeb Hameed started the day with promise, denying Warwickshire a breakthrough until nearly an hour had passed, but key wickets continued to fall and by lunch Lancashire's cause became nigh on impossible. The patient and resilient approach demonstrated by Hameed (27) all season made the 19-year-old opener a crucial scalp for Warwickshire and when he edged Chris Wright to Clarke at second slip, the reaction shown by fans and fielders alike demonstrated their relief. 

Crucial innings from Steven Croft against the likes of Nottinghamshire and Hampshire earned Lancashire valuable draws in the latter stages of this season, but he was unable to contribute another gritty knock for his side, nudging Clarke's first ball of the day to Sam Hain at short-leg for 1. With the captain and teenage Test opener in waiting both in the pavilion, a dejected Lancashire were left with an unenviable task and a relentless Warwickshire capitalised on their despondency to claim the last five wickets shortly after lunch.

While Kerrigan reached a century of deliveries, Liam Livingstone (7) edged Patel to Jonathan Trott at slip, as Lancashire reached lunch on 72/6. Kiwi spinner Patel struck either side of lunch, taking his season tally to 69 scalps with the wicket of Kerrigan, with his resilient rearguard coming to an end after 142 minutes at the crease. The nightwatchman feathered Patel to Clarke at slip at 73/7 shortly after the resumption and Jordan Clark followed when he was bowled by Rikki Clarke for 8.

Clarke wrapped up the innings by removing Tom Bailey (1) and Kyle Jarvis (4) to finish with four wickets, but not before Arron Lilley hit four boundaries and a six off Patel in an unbeaten run-a-ball 27 to take Lancashire beyond 100. Lilley finished the innings as Lancashire's joint top-scorer with Hameed and the tenth wicket worth 26 runs proved to be the highest of the second innings. 

Lancashire fell to 83/9 when Bailey was bowled for 1 by Clarke, who then had Jarvis held by Ian Westwood at short-leg to end proceedings and confirm Warwickshire's safety with a resounding victory. A potentially nervous wait for Lancashire was relatively comfortable, due to the efforts of Stoneman and Borthwick, as Durham wrapped up a six-wicket win to end the season on a high.