Lancashire and Leicestershire draw on rain shortened final day
Today's match report presented by C&C Insurance Brokers
Rain had the final say in this Rothesay County Championship match against Leicestershire with just 24 overs possible on the fourth day with Lancashire finishing their second innings on 90 for three, 138 runs behind, with Marcus Harris 34 not out and Josh Bohannon unbeaten on 45.
But runs became unimportant once the weather had taken 72 overs out of the final day with Leicestershire needing seven wickets to force an unlikely result in the time available after play finally started at 4.30pm.
Apart from a couple of difficult chances to wicketkeeper Ben Cox there were few other scares for either Harris, who reached 12,000 first-class runs during his innings or Bohannon, and with eight overs left the players shook hands on the draw.
Lancashire take 11 points from the game and Leicestershire 15.
“I think when you look back at the four days, batting first on that surface was hard work,” said skipper Keaton Jennings.
“I thought to get to 263 was probably about par.
“We had opportunities to push ahead of the game and get above par but let them slide. And the same with the ball. I don't think we executed well enough.
“We chatted about it as a group. We missed too often. And obviously, they're going to get a big score as the wicket sort of levels out a bit.
“Last night was a crazy half an hour. Balls jumped and stayed low and all sorts. Where that came from, I'm not sure.
“Today, we were pretty clear with what we had to do. I thought Harry and Boshy went about that beautifully.
“Overall, it was frustrating. You feel like a bit of a stuck record coming in saying the same thing.
“I think with the ball we need to be more relentless, landing the ball in the right area often enough.
“You want guys getting hundreds, getting big hundreds, especially first innings. That's where the points are.
“We want to be playing that type of cricket first time round. We've seen Northampton and Leicester both put us under pressure with big first inning scores. We want to be the side doing that.
“It's cliched, but it's big scores and wickets that actually get you in a position to chase the game. You've got to make sure you're getting in and getting big scores first up.
“It’s partly down to being slightly more sporty surfaces here. We have tried to play around a little bit with the surface, leaving a bit more grass on it, trying to make sure that we can try and get results here.
“You've seen on day one, the ball jumped around. But it's no excuse. You want to be that guy on day one when the ball is going around that gets a hundred.
“That means you stick out as a batter, means you stick out in the group, and it means you've got your team to a seriously good target.
“When the wicket's flat, you want to be the bowler that gets a five-for, gets your team in a winning position. I think the belief is there. I think it's just the execution.
“I think the good thing is, when you look at it from our point of view, I suppose a positive spin is we haven't played our best cricket, but we're not a million miles off (the top).
“We haven't played good cricket. We've got a week now to correct it.
“The guys have got some time to reflect, learn and come with not a refreshed mindset, but a new outlook on what they want to do and how they want to do it. Time is good. You can't cheat time.
“Over the next week, the guys will put the hard yards in to try and make sure when we come back here to a home ground that we have historically played some really good cricket and we're in the best position to do that.
“We've got another million games of cricket this year, which is a good thing, but guys need to stay fit in your sides as you keep pushing through the season.
“ If you stay consistent, you stay good and you stay competitive with yourselves and with the opposition, you will come out near the top.
“One, we have to keep believing that, but two, we have to produce better when we cross that little white rope.”
Ken Grime
Photos: Luke Adams & Dan Adams
