SECOND XI REPORT: Warwickshire take charge as wickets tumble
Lancashire lost five second innings wickets cheaply to find themselves struggling to stay in the game after they ended the third day of this Second XI Championship match still trailing Warwickshire by 24 runs.
Earlier the Red Rose bowlers had taken eight wickets to have the hosts 281 all out in reply to Lancashire’s first innings 175.
Resuming on 77 for two the home side lost four early wickets for 34 runs, Harry Birkman having Chris Benjamin caught behind for 25 and Kai Smith bowled for 11. Danny Lamb bowled Ismail Mohammed for 37 and James Dunn had George Maddy caught behind for 4 to leave Warwickshire 125 for six and still 50 runs behind.
Jake Lintott and Jakob Bhula reduced that deficit by 30 before Lamb bowled Bhula for 24, but Warwickshire skipper Lintott and Henry Brookes took the hosts ahead with a 46-run alliance until Jack Morley trapped Lintott in front for 53.
Brookes (46 not out) and Che Simmons built on that recovery with a 60-run partnership for the ninth wicket until Simmons top edged a pull off Dunn (3-53) to Matty Hurst at mid-on for 28 and Lamb (4-75) finished off the innings on 281 when George Lavelle sprinted from behind the stumps to take a great catch at short midwicket after Sam Atkinson skied an attempted leg side drive.
That gave Warwickshire a first innings lead of 106 and the hosts did significant damage to the Red Rose top order in the final session.
Harry Singh was bowled by Simmons for 9, Lavelle chopped on to Yadvinder Singh for 2 and both Jon Fielding (4) and Lamb (15) were lbw victims to Singh and left arm spinner Lintott, with the latter also having Hurst caught at mid-on for 25.
Morley (15 not out) and Gennaro Reddy (11 not out) managed to reach stumps safely with Lancashire on 82 for five but still 24 runs behind.
Teams
Lancashire: Matty Hurst, Harry Singh, George Lavelle (capt/wkt), Jon Fielding, Jack Morley, Harry Birkman, Lucas Selby, James Dunn, Gennaro Reddy, Harvey Walker, Danny Lamb, Dominic Hayes.
Warwickshire: Amir Khan, Ismail Mohammed, Nikhil Gorantla, Chris Benjamin (wkt), Jakob Bhula, Kai Smith, George Maddy, Jake Lintott (capt), Henry Brookes, Che Simmons, Sam Atkinson, Yadvinder Singh.