Resilient Glos go so close to salvaging a draw at Old Trafford
LANCASHIRE wrapped up a second consecutive victory in the LV= County Championship Division One by an innings and 57 runs despite some brilliant resistance from a determined Gloucestershire side at Emirates Old Trafford.
Resuming on 67-3, the visitors faced the unenviable task of seeing off a Red Rose attack full of international class with James Anderson, Saqib Mahmood and Matt Parkinson all keen to prove their credentials to England’s new-look regime.
But it took until just before 6pm on the final day for Lancashire to seal the victory as Gloucestershire were dismissed for 247, with just 23 balls remaining, still 57 runs short of the host’s mammoth first innings total of 556-7.
Earlier in the day, the visitors’ resistance had lasted around an hour before Parkinson’s leg breaks made the difference in just his third over as he got one to turn and edge skipper Graeme van Buuren’s bat on its way to Luke Wells at slip.
With their leader departing for 15, it would have been easy for Gloucestershire to crumble and that looked like exactly what would happen when Ryan Higgins was dismissed first ball by a Parkinson beauty which turned from leg and clipped the top of off stump to leave them 85-5.
A lunch score of 115-5 became 122-6 soon after the interval when the previously redoubtable Miles Hammond, who had compiled 50 from 154 balls, was adjudged lbw to hand the returning Anderson his second wicket of the match.
Zafar Gohar was bowled by Parkinson for three to leave Gloucestershire staring into the abyss at 127-7 and the Bolton-born legspinner seemingly on a role as he looked to stake his claim for an England Test cap this summer.
But as Lancashire found out at Kent the previous week, victories seldom come easy in this division, and Gloucestershire found some much-needed fight in the form of Tom Lace and Josh Shaw.
Lace reached his half-century from 130 balls and the eighthwicket pair had put on 79 when Hassan Ali entered the contest in typically flamboyant fashion as he conjured up a follow up to his stump splitting exploits the day previously.
Shaw, who had reached 29 with a clever poke through the slip cordon, seemed to provoke the Pakistani paceman into bowling two bouncers accompanied by a chorus of verbals before the third ball ripped into Shaw’s off stump to thrilling affect.
Lancashire must have felt like the eighth wicket was the catalyst for victory but they reckoned without Lace and the incoming Jared Warner. By 5pm the pair had batted for 21 overs with barely an attacking shot between them save for a mistimed cut from Lace which was shelled by Steven Croft at second slip off Mahmood.
Lace’s determined vigil finally ended with a little over 30 minutes of play left when his leg bail was dislodged somehow by a wicked delivery from Mahmood that hit the top of off stump.
Lace faced 201 balls for his 71,
and along with Warner brought Gloucestershire to within sight of the finish line. But it was not to be. With just 23 balls remaining, the brilliant Hassan, who finished with match figures of 9-96 on his home debut, enticed Warner, who had faced 119 balls for his 10 runs, to edge one to wicket keeper Phil Salt to spark the celebrations.