Lancashire pile on the pressure

A second day of Lancashire dominance has left Hampshire facing an uphill struggle if they are to prevent their Specsavers County Championship Division One match ending in anything but a win for the hosts.
PICTURE BY ALEX WHITEHEAD/SWPIX.COM - Cricket - County Championship - Yorkshire v Somerset, Day 3 - Headingley, Leeds, England - 09/05/13 - Somerset's Alviro Petersen hits out.PICTURE BY ALEX WHITEHEAD/SWPIX.COM - Cricket - County Championship - Yorkshire v Somerset, Day 3 - Headingley, Leeds, England - 09/05/13 - Somerset's Alviro Petersen hits out.
PICTURE BY ALEX WHITEHEAD/SWPIX.COM - Cricket - County Championship - Yorkshire v Somerset, Day 3 - Headingley, Leeds, England - 09/05/13 - Somerset's Alviro Petersen hits out.

The visitors ended the day on 22 for one, still 325 runs behind after the Red Rose amassed a total of 456 all out in reply to Hampshire’s miserable first innings of 109 at Old Trafford.

The hosts resumed much where they left off in Sunday’s evening session, with Haseeb Hameed and Luke Procter both watchful as they reached their respective half-centuries with no major scares in compiling a decisive second-wicket partnership of 173.

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It was teenager Hameed who fell first to the leg spin of Mason Crane, edging to slip in the last over before lunch for a painstaking 62 off 225 deliveries.

If the morning session had been all about attrition, the introduction of South African batsman Alviro Petersen after lunch saw the run rate increase dramatically as he dashed his way to 81 off 85 balls before holing out to Michael Carberry off the bowling of Tino Best.

A charged-up Best also accounted for Steven Croft four overs later after the Lancashire skipper edged to James Vince at first slip, who pulled off a brilliant one-handed effort.

But at the other end it was Oldham-born Procter who received the plaudits after reaching the second first-class century of his career.

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After tea Lancashire looked to score quickly and Best profited, picking up the cheap wickets of Procter who finished on a career-best 137, Liam Livingstone for a duck and James Anderson bowled first ball before Neil Wagner (37) and Simon Kerrigan (21 not out) helped bludgeon the Red Rose towards their final total.

The always entertaining Best finished with five for 90 while Crane chipped in with three for 116 but the close of Lancashire’s innings left Hampshire with a nasty-looking spell of 14 overs to face and Anderson with the new ball.

The inevitable happened and it was Jimmy Adams who edged the England Test star to Karl Brown at second slip for a duck to leave Hampshire hoping the Mancunian heat wave gives way to rain fast.