MATCH REPORT: Wells hits fifty as Lancashire build lead
Today's match report presented by C&C Insurance Brokers
Lancashire bowled Derbyshire out for 314 before extending their lead to 285 runs with four wickets left in their second innings going into the final day of this Rothesay County Championship match where all results are still possible.
Two good partnerships between Brooke Guest and Jack Morley and some late hitting by Ben Aitchison and Zak Chappell during the first two sessions steered the visitors five runs past the follow-on target of 309.
The evening session saw Lancashire move quickly to add to the lead but lose late wickets to reach the close on 141 for six with Luke Wells adding a fifty to go with his first innings century and Matty Hurst unbeaten on 43.
Resuming the third day with Derbyshire on 112 for four, Guest and Morley extended their partnership through most of the morning with some steady, sensible batting.
The pair looked to be in little trouble with Morley passing his career-best of 28 and their fifty partnership arriving from 116 balls after one hour’s play.
Their serene progress was disrupted twenty minutes before lunch by George Balderson taking two wickets in one over, accounting for Morley – after the former Lancashire player was nicely caught at midwicket by a tumbling Keaton Jennings for 41 – followed four balls later by Martin Andersson lbw for a duck.
Further success for Lancashire followed straight after the break when Anuj Dal miscued a cut off Tom Hartley caught by Anderson Phillip at gully for 19 before Josh Bohannon took his first wicket for four years when bowling Guest for 77.
That big breakthrough left Derbyshire on 236 for eight and still needing another 73 runs to avoid the follow-on.
They got there after a tremendous ninth-wicket partnership of 68 between Aitchison and Chappell, the former hitting consecutive sixes off Wells along with 6 fours in his 45 off 63 balls while the latter made 24 before popping up a catch to George Bell at short leg off James Anderson with five runs still required.
Blair Tickner edged Anderson over slip for four and then drove the next ball to the cover boundary to ensure Lancashire had to bat again.
Aitchison holed out to deep midwicket off Tom Hartley moments later to end the innings with Derbyshire 148 runs in arrears.
Wells and Jennings began in attacking fashion as Lancashire looked to add quick runs in their quest to set a significant target tomorrow, the pair racing to their fifty partnership by the 11th over.
But the loss of three wickets for 8 runs in 22 balls slowed the Red Rose charge.
Jennings fell for 35 after late cutting a short ball from Tickner to Andersson at third man, followed by Bohannon for 2 who gave a steepling catch to Chappell at deep mid-on attacking Morley plus a rare failure from Marcus Harris, nicely caught by a diving Guest off Aitchison for 1.
Wells and Hurst steadied matters and then pushed on, Hurst hammering David Lloyd into the pavilion seats and Wells reaching his half century off 65 balls before being bowled by Morley attempting to hit out in a partnership worth 56 runs off 83 balls.
Derbyshire inflicted further late damage to dent Lancashire ambitions with Bell caught and bowled by Morley for two and Hartley going in similar fashion, also for two, to a stunning diving catch by Lloyd.
Hurst, 43 not out, and Balderson 2 not out survived the remaining 15 deliveries to reach the close with Lancashire 285 runs in front and an intriguing final day ahead.
“We've spoken all year about trying to get results here at Emirates Old Trafford,” said George Balderson.
“Once they got past the follow-on this afternoon, we knew that we were going to have to come out and play positively to set up a game.
“We lost a couple more wickets than we wanted to in doing that, but I think that we've given ourselves a chance to come out tomorrow and bowl them out to win the game.
“They're going to have to play extremely well to get the runs.
“It's hard work when the ball gets soft,” he added.
“When the ball's new, it feels like you can hit the gaps and the outfield's quick.
“But because the surface is so abrasive, the ball gets soft really quick and then it's hard to force the rate that quickly, especially with a spinner bowling into a bit of rough or some short ball tactics that we've seen where the pitch is a little bit two-paced, it seems hard to score.
“Hopefully that will work in our favour tomorrow.
“You've always got to believe there's enough in there to take ten wickets and I definitely think there is on that pitch.
“There's a few (balls) that are starting to stay low. There's a bit of rough for the spinners to work with. We've got an attack that will come all day and give absolutely everything to try and get a result.”
It was Balderson who struck first today with two wickets in one over and he said:
“I think I have a slightly different role in this attack at the moment to the other lads.
“I think we've had Jimmy, Bails, Anderson (Phillip) use the short ball quite a lot, and I've just been trying to attack the stumps as much as I can. See if I can get one to scoot a bit lower and build a bit of pressure so that everyone else can hopefully benefit.
“So it was nice to chip in with a couple of wickets as well as trying to build that pressure.
“Hopefully, I can do more of it tomorrow.”
Ken Grime
Photos: Luke Adams & Dan Adams
