Petersen century steers Lancashire to safety against Somerset

Alviro Petersen struck a vital 155 against his former county to ensure that Lancashire avoided the follow-on on the penultimate day of their County Championship match against Somerset at Old Trafford.

The South-African batsman shared big partnerships with Liam Livingstone (57) and Steven Croft (58) in reply to Somerset’s mammoth first-innings total of 553/8 declared, as the visitors failed to take hold of the match despite a late flurry of wickets.

Lancashire lost six wickets for 44 runs following the 157-run partnership between Petersen and Croft for the fourth wicket, but Petersen’s third hundred of the season in red-ball cricket went a long way towards preventing a miraculous victory for Somerset, as the hosts closed on 422/9.

Petersen had earlier shared 117 runs with Livingstone for the third wicket, extending their overnight partnership from 42, as both batsmen made half-centuries before lunch. Following the loss of Livingstone, Petersen and Croft battled hard for 50 overs to frustrate Somerset, but a late burst from Lewis Gregory (3-74) saw the visitors end the day in the ascendancy.

Livingstone and Petersen achieved a fifty-partnership in the early stages of the day in 117 deliveries, with Petersen making a brisk start to the day. The Proteas veteran launched Jack Leach’s second ball of the day back over his head for a huge six on his way to a 99-ball fifty, his tenth half-century of the season.

The hundred-partnership followed in 171 balls when Livingstone also lofted Leach for a straight six, helping him to reach his eighth fifty of the season in 95 deliveries. Leach finally found a shred of luck when he had Livingstone caught behind by Ryan Davies, with his attempted sweep encouraging a thin edge through to the keeper at 213/3.

Petersen and Croft added 30 runs before lunch, guiding Lancashire to a second batting point shortly after the resumption. The South-African continued to play with a degree of urgency, moving into the nineties with a flurry of boundaries, also bringing up a fifty-partnership with the Lancashire captain in 117 balls.

His naturally aggressive temperament allowed Lancashire to achieve three batting bonus points and his partnership with Croft also means that both teams will walk away with a ten-point draw tomorrow, providing that rain washes out the final day.

Petersen went to his third Championship century of the season in style with his second lofted six off Leach, a proud moment for the South-African against his former county. After reaching a 170-ball ton, Petersen ensured that the fourth wicket continued to blossom in the afternoon session, as Croft found timely form with a gritty half-century.

With their partnership worth 147 runs at tea, Lancashire were just 44 runs away from avoiding the follow-on, but Somerset fought back after the break to make their task much more uncomfortable. Having batted together for more than 50 overs, both Petersen and Croft were back in the pavilion in the space of six balls, leading to a collapse of six for 44 before the close.

Petersen, who made 191 at Lord’s earlier this season, advanced to 152 after facing 246 balls, but his five-hour stay at the crease was halted soon after reaching this milestone when Tim Groenewald (2-73) had him caught at first slip by Marcus Trescothick, with an inside edge looping off his pad into the cordon for a simple catch.

With a 139-ball fifty to his name, Croft (58) followed in the next over to Leach (2-105) when he edged to Jim Allenby at an acute first slip, as both Petersen and Croft fell with the score on 370. Somerset enjoyed a period of success with the ball for the rest of the day, as Lancashire’s middle order continued to struggle after the loss of both established batsmen in quick succession.

Luke Procter had been unable to open the batting yesterday due to an illness and his 40-minute stay at the crease profited just two runs before he was trapped plumb lbw by Craig Overton (1-70). Lancashire were able to reach the follow-on target of 404 despite losing four wickets for 34 runs, with Jordan Clark (16) falling to Gregory when he edged behind to Davies at 404/7.

Gregory claimed the first of three wickets for ten runs to finish with figures of 3-74, removing Kyle Jarvis (10) and Simon Kerrigan (0) cheaply, but with Lancashire already beyond the follow-on and heavy rain forecast for tomorrow, Somerset’s late rally seems to be in vain.