Surrey follow-on after Lancashire take charge

Lancashire set up the possibility of an unlikely victory heading into the final day at The Oval, forcing Surrey to follow-on after the hosts were bowled out two runs short of safety.

A miraculous flurry of wickets in the afternoon session saw Surrey dismissed for 319, before Simon Kerrigan made inroads to remove Rory Burns before the close.

At 67/5, Lancashire would not have expected to see the home side back in on the third evening, but a century from Shivnarine Chanderpaul was backed up superbly by the Red Rose spinners, with Stephen Parry (3-31) claiming two wickets in as many balls to leave Surrey short of their target.

The hosts started the day two men down after Kyle Jarvis (2-72) had Scot Borthwick caught behind with the penultimate ball of the day. Burns may have fallen cheaply in the second innings, but he and veteran Kumar Sangakkara enjoyed a blissful morning session and added 99 runs for the third wicket to steer Surrey towards Lancashire's score of 470.

Burns (91) went to a half-century inside the first ten minutes of the day in 140 balls and Lancashire continued to leak runs through third man, either through edges or subtle strokeplay from Sangakkara. 

Simon Kerrigan (2-35) came into the attack and forced an edge from Sangakkara, only for McLaren to fumble a sharp chance, but in the next over Jarvis struck to deny Burns a century.

The Surrey opener edged behind to Davies at 211/3 and five overs later Parry had the dangerman Sangakkara back in the hutch, with Liam Livingstone holding onto the drive from the Sri-Lankan ace. 

Surrey went into lunch knowing they could ill afford to suffer any further set backs and the hosts went into their shell to negate the Lancashire spin bowlers. It was an approach which backfired as they accumulate just 20 runs in 24 overs after the break for the loss of three wickets.

Two wickets fell in the space of four overs through a combination of good bowling and indifferent batting; the first came when Kerrigan yorked Ben Foakes (9) and Dominic Sibley was stranded halfway down the wicket and caught short of his ground by the quick-thinking sub fielder - Saqib Mahmood - who fired in a throw to see Sibley (10) run out at 230/6.

Kerrigan's Oval agony of 2013 seemed a distant memory as he continued to deceive the Surrey batsmen, with Zafar Ansari (3) lunging forward, only to be bowled by the left-arm spinner to become the third casualty since lunch.

Corners of the crowd became restless at the lack of urgency shown by the Surrey batsmen, with the Curran brothers now tasked with guiding their side away from danger. Not for the first time this season, McLaren struck with the first ball of a new spell and the first delivery with the new ball, as Sam Curran glanced one off his hip and straight into the hands of Kerrigan.

After a dismal hour of petering around after lunch, Gareth Batty (33) led by example in showing the better batsmen how to fight against Lancashire's buoyancy. He swatted five boundaries in a counterattacking innings alongside Tom Curran, only to throw his wicket away at a vital juncture with his side on the verge of saving the follow-on.

The older Curran sibling was left stranded on 33 when he watched his captain slap a drive off Parry straight to Luke Procter at mid-off, before Mark Footitt lived up to his tag as a true Number 11, as he was trapped lbw to give Parry two quick wickets.

Lancashire, unsurprisingly enforced the follow-on after Surrey were dismissed for 319 and still trailing by 151 runs, but a combination of light rain and poor light threatened the rest of the day.

The spinner were forced to bowl to prevent the players from leaving the field, improving an already formidable over rate, with Lancashire rattling through 102 overs on the third day. Kerrigan made sure Burns did not make another fifty, forcing an edge through to Davies, before the former Durham duo of Mark Stoneman (22*) and Scott Borthwick (4*) steered the hosts home in fading light.

It would be a miraculous turnaround from Lancashire to pull off victory tomorrow after they struggled on the first day with the bat, but Surrey proved it is possible to take wickets on the opening morning and the Red Rose spinners certainly showed that on the third afternoon.

Chanderpaul and Clark make history at The Oval

Shivnarine Chanderpaul (182) and Jordan Clark (140) entered the record books by recording Lancashire's highest seventh-wicket partnership against Surrey on a day that was dominated by batsmen on both sides.

The pair shared 243 runs - breaking a 115-year-old record -  to help Lancashire reach 470 after they had fallen to 67/5 on the first day, before Surrey responded by closing on 112/2, with Kyle Jarvis claiming a wicket in the final over of the day.

Clark brought up his maiden first-class hundred on the first evening with a towering six, leading to joyous celebrations, but for the veteran left-hander, it was a much more familiar feeling and he recognised his 74th century in first-class cricket in a much more modest way.

Chanderpaul's red-ball tally of more than 26,000 runs suggested he would hold the key after the Red Rose stumbled before lunch on Day One; by contrast Clark is yet to reach 1,000 first-class runs, but his performance in this match may be the start of a breakthrough season for the all-rounder.

The 42-year-old advanced from his overnight score of 85 to reach three figures inside the first hour of the day in 213 balls, opting against the dab celebration. The left-hander continued to frustrate the Surrey seamers against the new ball, while Clark continued with his free-scoring and contrasting approach to break the record for the highest seventh-wicket stand against Surrey.

Chanderpaul achieved a new high score for Lancashire before lunch, beating the 120 he made against Kent in 2010 and with a third century for the Red Rose under his belt, he hoped to push on and claim all five batting points. 

Problems started to emerge for the visitors; Clark initially appeared to be given out lbw to Gareth Batty, but was later confirmed as edging to Rory Burns at first slip, a decision he did not seem too pleased by. Clark fell for a brilliant 140 with his partnership with Chanderpaul six runs shy of a new record seventh-wicket stand against any side.

His loss was a big blow to the 400-run target and when Chanderpaul required treatment from the physio matter continued to become complicated for the visitors. Luke Procter emerged as a willing runner for the West-Indian, but the loss of Clark had signalled the end of Lancashire's interest in attempting to reach 400 before the end of the 110th over.

Lancashire went to lunch in a remarkable position considering they had slumped to 91/5 at the same time yesterday. Mark Foottit emerged as the caveat to the visitors renewed sense of superiority after the interval, continuing his buoyant early-season form to finish with figures of 5-118.

Stephen Parry (21) played a measured hand to add 42 alongside Chanderpaul, who was beginning to waver even with a runner. Foottit managed to get one to climb on the left-arm spinner and encourage an edge behind to Ben Foakes, before Kyle Jarvis fell in identical fashion two balls later to leave the score at 407/9.

Surrey's openers would have been preparing their response after these two quick wickets, but Lancashire's final pair had other ideas. Chanderpaul found able company in Simon Kerrigan and the duo added another 63 runs to prolong Surrey's frustration.

Chanderpaul's first score of 150 or more for the club came up in 296 balls with a flurry of boundaries and the shuffling left-hander started to open up his shoulders against the spinner to finish with a boundary count of 21 fours and two sixes in his 328-ball masterclass.

Batty finished with figures of 3-72, claiming the prized scalp of Chanderpaul when he picked out Mark Stoneman in the covers, as Lancashire were dismissed for a mightily impressive 470 after their top-order collapse.

Stoneman and Burns ensured there were no early setbacks in the ten overs before tea and the pair had enjoyed an untroubled partnership of 67 up until Clark (1-13) had Stoneman wrapped on the pads for 40. Scott Borthwick contributed a further 55 runs alongside Burns, before Jarvis (1-27) struck a blow in the final over of the day.

With two balls remaining the paceman encouraged Burns to feather an edge through to Alex Davies, signalling the end of the play, ahead of what is predicted to be a day of heavy rain on the third day.

Clark magic turns Surrey game around

Jordan Clark (108*) struck a counterattacking century - his first in Lancashire colours - to rescue the visitors after a collapse at The Oval.

A maiden first-class hundred came up with a huge six out of the ground, before bad light brought play to a close at 294/6 against Surrey.

Clark and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (85*) shared an unbroken stand worth 172 runs for the seventh wicket to help Lancashire recover from 67/5 after a top-order collapse.

Mark Footitt followed up a rampant bowling display against Warwickshire in the opening round of matches with three wickets before lunch to account for Alex Davies, Dane Vilas and Liam Livingstone, who captained the side for the first time in the absence of Steven Croft.

Haseeb Hameed was out in the second over of the day to the second ball of Sam Curran's (1-52) opening spell, taking an uncharacteristic flash and edging behind to Ben Foakes.

Davies and Luke Procter (12) initially showed signs of rebuilding in overcast conditions after Lancashire had won the toss and decided to bat first. Tom Curran (1-59) bowled a perfect outswinger and encouraged Procter to edge to Scott Borthwick at second slip before Footitt (3-90) started to rip in to the Red Rose batsmen.

The left-arm seamer followed up his nine over spell of 6-18 against Warwickshire by removing Davies lbw for 26. Livingstone was hoping to issue a captain's response to the early collpase and showed initial promise with typically flowing strokes, but he fell for 16 when he picked out Mark Stoneman at square leg.

Lancashire stumbled to 67/5 when Dane Vilas (4) was trapped plumb lbw second ball by Footitt, as Surrey claimed two scalps in the space of three balls to leave serious doubts in the Red Rose camp. 

Chanderpaul carried the greatest threat to Surrey's superiority and he was able to steer Lancashire to lunch without any further setbacks alongside Ryan McLaren. The pair added 55 runs either side of lunch to restore order for Lancashire, but the home captain had other ideas.

Gareth Batty (1-50) managed to get a low turner to trap McLaren in front of his stumps at 122/6 in the 37th over, the final reward for Surrey's bowlers thanks to a defiant stand between Chanderpaul and Clark.

The West-Indian veteran used his typically idiosyncratic stance to frustrate the seamers, leaving anything outside the off-stump. His patience was in stark contrast to Clark, who has already hit seven sixes in first-class cricket this season.

The first of three maximums in a 108-ball century came off Batty after Clark danced down the track and lofted the experienced spinner back over his head. It was by no means his biggest six of the day, but his positivity allowed Lancashire to play with a renewed sense of freedom.

Chanderpaul made the most of being dropped by Borthiwck on 47 to reach his first fifty of the season in 138 balls, as the partnership with Clark continued to flourish in the fading light. The umpires asked for the floodlights from mid-afternoon onwards and spinners were often instructed to bowl to prevent the players from having to leave the field.

It was business as usual for Clark in spite of the grey conditions, as he clobbered Zafar Ansari for his second maximum over mid-wicket. Clark raced to a 65-ball half-century just before tea, by which time Lancashire had recovered to 214/6.

The hundred-partnership came up inside 29 overs after tea, before bad light forced the players off the field at 249/6. Play resumed with 17 overs left, but only eight overs could be bowled before the light intervened again. Having said that, it was a memorable eight overs for Lancashire and in particular Clark.

He raced past the so-called nervous nineties by smashing 18 runs in five balls and he hit Footitt out of the ground to reach a maiden-first class century in the process. 

The current record for the seventh wicket against Surrey in first-class cricket is 198 between J I'Anson and A Eccles at Old Trafford in 1902 and the first day came to an end with Chanderpaul and Clark's partnership worth an invaluable 172 runs.

While the headlines will understandably heap praise towards Clark's impressive counterpunch, credit must also go to Chanderpaul for his 183-ball vigil to hold the innings together. Clark and James Faulkner shared a similarly impressive stand at The Oval in 2015, but it is fair to say this partnership and innings will mean slightly more to the Cumbrian all-rounder.

Lawrence rearguard thwarts Lancashire victory push

Daniel Lawrence (141*) batted throughout the entire final day at Chelmsford to deny Lancashire victory in the opening County Championship match of the summer.

The Essex batsman battled hard for more than seven hours, reaching his fifth first-class century after a 333-ball vigil. Lawrence and Westley shared 135 runs for the third wicket after Essex were put under pressure by two late wickets on the third day.

Lancashire failed to make a single breakthrough in the entire morning session, with a burst of wickets in the afternoon session renewing their optimism, but Lawrence failed able company from his captain, Ryan ten Doeschate, as the match was drawn with Essex on 316/6.

The hosts had been set a phenomenal target of 478 to record an unlikely victory against the Red Rose county after Alex Davies hit a maiden hundred in Lancashire colours. The removal of openers Varun Chopra and Nick Browne before the close left Lancashire with the task of taking eight wickets to record victory, but their bowlers toiled on an increasingly flat wicket.

Lawrence and Westley both recorded fifties in the morning session, taking the overnight score from 89/2 to 162/2 by lunch. Chances were nonexistent for Lancashire, although Westley had been shelled twice in the evening session on the previous day.

Stephen Parry (2-52) broke their defiance with a perfectly flighted delivery to bowl Westley for 61, ending a stand of nearly 60 overs. Essex lost another two wickets in quick succession and three batsmen for the addition of nine runs when Kyle Jarvis (3-58) was introduced after lunch.

The Zimbabwean first enticed Ravi Bopara (4) into a thin edge behind to Davies, before relying on a smart low catch from Haseeb Hameed in the covers to account for Adam Wheater, reducing the hosts to 198/5.

Lancashire's renewed optimism was stamped out by another century partnership, this time between teenager Lawrence and his captain. Ten Doeschate (41) provided the perfect foil against an experienced bowling attack, with James Anderson (0-54) failing to take a single wicket in 24 overs.

Lawrence reached tea with a century to his name, advancing to three figures in 216 deliveries, with Lancashire's bowlers beginning to doubt their chances once again. With a minimum of 11 overs left in the day, the Red Rose needed a minor miracle and Jarvis returned to provide a last-ditch revival for the visitors.

With ten Doeschate approaching a half-century, the paceman struck a blow to his rearguard by trapping him lbw at 300/6. Lancashire had finally exposed the first signs of Essex's lower order, but Lawrence shepherded the strike alongside kolpakd spinner Simon Harmer to ensure there were no further setbacks.

Match drawn: Essex 8pts, Lancashire 11pts.

Lancashire 319 and 317-3 dec: Davies 140*, Vilas 92

Essex 159 and 316-6: Lawrence 141*, Westley 61, ten Doeschate 41; Jarvis 3-58

Davies scores maiden ton to help Lancashire turn the screw on Essex

Alex Davies hit his first century for Lancashire and shared a mammoth stand with Dane Vilas (92) worth 183 runs to help the visitors close in on victory at Chelmsford in the first match of the season.

The wicketkeeper-batsman spent last season sidelined with a persistent knee injury, but he advanced from his overnight score of 50* to reach three figures shortly after lunch.

Vilas, meanwhile, scored his second half-century of the game and his third in four innings including the pre-season game at Cambridge, helping Lancashire to declare on 317/2 and set a daunting target of 478.

On the hottest day of the year so far, Essex's bowlers toiled throughout the morning and much of the afternoon while Davies and Vilas made the most of an increasingly flat wicket. Essex replied by closing 89/2, still needing 389 more runs to achieve the third-highest run chase in County Championship history.

Liam Livingstone (28) was the only casualty of the morning session for Lancashire when he picked out Nick Browne in the covers off Aaron Beard (2-45), shortly after achieving a fifty-partnership with Davies. Boundaries started to flow regularly before lunch, as Davies attacked Neil Wagner's (0-54) hostile approach by rocking onto the back foot and opening up room through the off-side.

He took a similar liking to the spinner Simon Harmer (0-78), who was nowhere near as potent as he was on the first day. Davies advanced at will, pulling out the reverse-sweep frequently to edge ever close to a so far elusive first-class hundred.

Vilas' approach was not too dissimilar and the free-scoring approach of both batsmen allowed Lancashire to reach lunch on 212/2 with a healthy lead of 372. Davies entered the interval three runs shy of a maiden century in Lancashire colours, but he soon reached his hundred in 214 balls with 17 fours.

Having retreated into his shell on the approach to his century, Davies resumed his carefree approach to help register the hundred-partnership with Vilas, who soon had his second fifty of the match in 106 deliveries. Davies had his share of luck on the way to three figures after being dropped by Tom Westley on 10 and Ryan ten Doeschate on 26, but Wagner's drop at long-on came when Essex were already throughly dejected, only serving to rub salt into the wounds.

It became a question of when Lancashire were prepared to call it a day and set Essex a target, although with Vilas also approaching his first ton for the Red Rose, it was unlikely they would declare in a hurry. With Lancashire intent on having a crack at the Essex openers before tea, Vilas was forced to play outside of his comfort zone and he had his stumps rearranged by Jamie Porter (1-60) on 92.

Lancashire declared on 317/2 with Davies unbeaten on 140, with Luke Sutton's record (151*) as the highest first-class score by a wicketkeeper still intact. A partnership of 183 runs inside 48 overs threatened to leave Essex distracted from their purpose, but Varun Chopra and Browne (18) ensured there were no mistakes in the seven overs before tea.

Stephen Parry (1-26) struck soon after the break at the start of his third over, although Browne will have been disappointed to swat a half-tracker straight to Haseeb Hammed at mid-wicket. Chopra (29) fell shortly afterwards when Ryan McLaren (1-18) removed his off-stump after a consistent spell, reducing the hosts to 52/2 towards the end of the third day.

Westley (27*) and Dan Lawrence (13*) steadied Essex through this rocky patch to finish on 89/2, with James Anderson performing captaincy duties in the absence of Steven Croft, who was off the field with a bruised thumb.

Red Rose excel at Chelmsford

Lancashire enjoyed all-round perfection on the second day of their trip to Chelmsford, achieving a first-innings lead of 160 runs before closing on 114/1.

James Anderson (3-56) and Stephen Parry (3-28) spearheaded a strong bowling display as Essex were dismantled for 159, with only Ravi Bopara (46) showing any form of long-term resistance.

Alex Davies (50*) and Haseeb Hameed (46) compounded the host's misery by adding 83 runs for the opening stand, taking the overnight lead to 274 runs.

Two late wickets from Anderson and Kyle Jarvis (2-49) had pegged Essex back to 39/2 by the end of the first day and by lunch they had stumbled to 97/5, showing no real intent to take the game to the opposition.

Jarvis enticed Chopra (15) to play at a wider delivery which caught the edge and sailed through to Davies at 49/3. Davies was called upon again when the other overnight batsman fell, this time Westley nicked a rising delivery from Anderson.

In his first four-day appearance since facing Yorkshire towards the end of the 2014 season, Parry struck with the final ball of his first over, as Dan Lawrence edged to Liam Livingstone for a brisk 37.

Bopara opened his shoulders after lunch, but Wheater soon became Parry's next victim when he was trapped lbw for 1 at 99/6. Any hope of achieving a batting point soon rested on the shoulders of the experienced Bopara, but he joined a long line of players to fall short of a half-century when he picked out Parry at mid-wicket attempting to flick Anderson off his pads.

Wickets continued to tumble even after Anderson's spell finished, as McLaren had Simon Harmer (4) plumb lbw with his first ball of a new spell, with Essex indebted to a 48-run partnership from Bopara and their skipper, Ryan ten Doeschate (19).

The South-African seamer stuck again with the first ball of his next over to see the back of the Essex captain, with Davies claiming his fifth catch of the innings.  Parry concluded a woeful effort from the hosts when he had Jamie Porter out lbw for 1, as he finished with figures of 3-28 in 14.4 overs.

Lancashire opted not to enforce the follow-on and instead consolidate an already formidable lead in the Chelmsford sunshine. Davies and Hameed were happy to rotate the strike and make the most of a degree of fortune, particularly Davies, who was put down by Westley on 10 and ten Doeschate on 26.

The wicketkeeper-batsman capitalised and would enter the close with a 113-ball fifty to his name, hitting eight boundaries against a dejected seam attack. Neil Wagner's hostile short-pitched approach reaped little reward and an otherwise inexperienced attack without Graham Napier and David Masters began to waver towards the end of the day.

Hameed, who fell three runs shy of a half-century yesterday, again failed to convert a typically solid platform into a fifty, edging Aaron Beard behind to Wheater. Davies struck two boundaries in the final over of the day to reach fifty with one ball to spare, while Livingstone was happy to shoulder arms to a generally wayward line to finish unbeaten on 13.

Vilas shines in Championship curtain-raiser

Dane Vilas struck a vital half-century on the opening day of the season for Lancashire to help the visitors post a competitive total at Chelmsford.

The South-African import has shown great promise since signing over the winter striking a fifty in the pre-season at Cambridge and his innings of 74 was the backbone of Lancashire's 319 all out.

Haseeb Hameed (47) and Steven Croft (48) demonstrated strong application against the Essex seamers, sharing 68 runs for the third-wicket, while a crucial last-wicket stand between Kyle Jarvis and James Anderson earned the visitors a third batting point.

The tenth-wicket pairing added 61, helping Lancashire to recover after a middle-order collapse saw them slump to 160/6, before claiming a wicket apiece and reducing the newly-promoted side to 39/2 before the close.

The match had been billed as the battle between England teammates - James Anderson and Alastair Cook - although the latter was forced to pull out at the last minute with a hip injury. Lancashire won the toss and chose to bat on a sun-bathed April day, with former overseas seamer Neil Wagner (3-100) in the opposing ranks. 

Alex Davies (5) hit a fifty in both innings at Fenner's after a season on the sidelines with reoccurring knee troubles, but he edged a rising delivery from Jamie Porter (2-64) into the gloves of Adam Wheater.

A counter-punch to this early breakthrough came in the form of Liam Livingstone, who has continued  to increase his stock over the close-season with hundreds for England Lions and impressive displays for the North Team. He hit six boundaries in a brisk innings of 28, before edging Aaron Beard (3-47) to Varun Chopra, who had to dive after Tom Westley parried his effort at first slip into the air.

Hameed and Croft excelled for the rest of the morning session, guiding Lancashire from 50/2 after Livingstone's departure to 114/2. It is fair to say lunch arrived at an unfortunate time for the Red Rose, with four wickets falling in a cluster after the break, including both overseas imports.

Croft could easily have fallen to the second ball of the afternoon session off spinner Simon Harmer, but Wheater failed to collect the ball and missed a straightforward stumping. In the next over Hameed - who hit 1, 198 runs at an average of nearly 50 last summer - shouldered arms to Porter and was bowled for 47.

Harmer had impressed before lunch without finding any reward, but he played a key hand in the next two wickets to fall, enticing the Lancashire captain to sweep straight to substitute fielder Callum Taylor, as Croft also fell short of a half-century.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul showed early promise to the short ball with his trademark side-on stance at the crease, but miscommunication meant the West-Indian was walking back to the pavilion with only 15 runs on his return to Lancashire, after his first spell in 2010. The left-hander wandered from the non-strikers end and was sent back by Vilas, but Harmer had the bails off in quick time to reduce Lancashire to 160/5.

The visitors lost their fourth wicket after lunch for 42 runs when Ryan McLaren fell first ball, edging Wagner to Westley at slip. Kolpak signing Vilas showed maturity and impressive touch to Harmer, while Clark looked to counterattack with a straight six off the young spinner. 

A fifty-partnership before tea revived the innings after a middle-order blip, before Beard claimed his second scalp of the day, trapping Clark lbw for a hard-fought 24. Vilas registered a fifty in 68 balls with eight boundaries to guide Lancashire to 240/7 heading into the evening session, while Stephen Parry made able company in a rare four-day appearance.

Wagner employed his typical short-pitched approached to remove Parry (19), forcing a good diving catch from Harmer at gully. A third wicket arrived for Beard (3-47) when Vilas mistimed a drive to Wagner at mid-off, leaving Lancashire a long way short of a third batting point at 268/9. 

Jarvis and Anderson dug deep to stand up against the best efforts of the Essex seamers, spearheaded by their former Kiwi teammate. A reverse-sweep from Anderson ensured Lancashire reached 300, while a drop from Essex skipper Ryan ten Doeschate allowed the tenth-wicket stand to reach 61 runs.

Wagner finished with three wickets after forcing Jarvis to edge behind to Wheater for 28, but the Zimbabwean paceman struck an early blow for the visitors in reply. Nick Browne struck four early boundaries before edging Jarvis behind to Davies in the sixth over, while nightwatchman Beard (3) fell seven balls later, with Anderson forcing the edge through to Davies on this occasion.

Essex finished on 39/2 after Westley struck three quick boundaries, reducing the deficit to 280 runs, while Chopra survived the nine-over spell from the Lancashire quicks.