MATCH REPORT Lawrence century puts Essex in charge
A marvellous century by Dan Lawrence put Essex firmly in charge of this LV= Insurance County Championship match at Blackpool after Lancashire were bowled out cheaply on the third day.
Lawrence hammered 9 sixes and 8 fours in a brutal assault on the Red Rose attack over the second half of the day that ended on 135 in the final over when he was caught at long-off by Keaton Jennings off Luke Wells with Essex 292 for eight, ahead by 429 runs.
No side has ever score more than 301 runs to win in the fourth innings of a match at Blackpool and realistically the equation tomorrow for Lancashire will be to try and bat out the day, the assumption being that the visitors will declare on their overnight score.
That will be no easy task with Essex confident, having bowled Lancashire out for 145, they can clinch a victory that will keep them on the heels of Championship leaders Surrey.
Lancashire suffered a batting slump during the morning, at one point losing seven wickets for 40 runs, during a truncated 24 overs session after rain had delayed the start until 11.45am.
Resuming the day on 37 for one, Jennings and Josh Bohannon had progressed steadily in adding 39 runs to that total before Jennings edged Sam Cook to Matt Critchley at second slip.
Without addition to the score Dane Vilas was run out attempting a quick single but beaten by a superb pick up and throw by Doug Bracewell.
Bracewell then produced a great delivery to have Rob Jones caught behind by Will Buttleman for 11 but the innings subsided quickly once Bohannon edged left arm seamer Paul Walter to Simon Harmer at slip for 44 with Lancashire 114 for five.
That was the start of a sequence where four wickets fell for two runs in a disastrous 13-ball spell immediately before lunch as Essex duo Walter and Sam Cook bowled an excellent line and length that brought reward.
Cook had Colin de Grandhomme lbw for 0 second ball pushing forward, while Walter (3-20) dismissed Tom Hartley first ball via an edge to Alastair Cook at first slip and then trapped Jack Blatherwick lbw for a four-ball duck to have the hosts 116 for eight at the interval.
Will Williams edged behind off Sam Cook for 3 three overs into the afternoon and it took two big blows from Phil Salt, who slog/swept Walter for six over midwicket and out of the ground, and Tom Bailey to help Lancashire avoid the follow-on.
Salt’s innings was the one bright spark for the Red Rose as the wicketkeeper/batsman batted purposefully in making an unbeaten 35 off 40 balls but nobody was able to stay with him.
Sam Cook, with four for 42, wrapped up the Lancashire innings by bowling Bailey for 13 with a full toss that the batsman, having hammered a six over point the previous ball, appeared to lose in the flight offering no shot.
Leading by 137 runs, Essex immediately lost two wickets without scoring a run with Bailey trapping Nick Browne lbw and Alastair Cook cutting Williams to Vilas at point.
First innings centurion Tom Westley had only made 5 when he edged Williams into the gloves of Salt, but Dan Lawrence, looking to boost his England prospects, and Matt Critchley prospered as conditions eased in the evening sunshine, the pair adding 95 for the fourth wicket.
Critchley was bowled by Hartley for 40 and Walter perished for 24 hitting out at Bailey as Essex pushed their advantage well beyond 300.
Their innings was underpinned by a marvellous century by Lawrence, who struck 9 sixes and 8 fours in making a brutal 135 off 125 balls, the Essex batsman reaching three figures with a six over midwicket off Hartley before going on to savage the Lancashire attack with some powerful hitting.
Lawrence was joined in the late evening assault by Bracewell who smashed an unbeaten 61 off 35 balls (with 4 sixes) in a 106-run partnership that arrived in a hurry from one ball short of 9 overs and included three balls lost over the boundary walls.
That leaves Lancashire facing a very tough challenge tomorrow if they are to extend their 15-match unbeaten Championship run.
"It was a tough day," said Carl Crowe, Lancashire's assistant coach.
"We haven't had too many of those this season. We've been on top for many days this season so it was going to happen at some stage and from our perspective it's now about how we respond and show some character.
"We're behind in the game and we need to show character and fight and see where it takes us. We've made a habit this year of coming back when we've been under the pump so I expect us to do the same thing tomorrow.
"We'll probably be batting very quickly tomorrow and it's one of those grounds where you can score very quickly - once you get going it's very hard to stop scoring. But we're nowhere need there yet - we need to get in, play well and see where we're at."
Ken Grime
Photos: George Franks & Luke Adams
