SECOND XI: Lancashire on top v Essex after Bell 50
Lancashire Cricket’s Second XI dominated Day One of their two-day friendly away to Essex at Billericay Cricket Club.
The Red Rose made quick work of the home side, who batted first following an uncontested toss. They were bowled out within the first two sessions. before Lancs set a strong platform with the bat going into Day Two.
It was a strong side named by Lancashire for this clash, emphasised perhaps in the fact that Tom Bailey (2-13) and George Balderson (2-32) took the new ball.
Between them, they took two wickets within the first six overs of the Essex innings. Bailey dismissed Noah Thain for a three-ball duck and Balderson had Simon Fernandes out for 0 off 15 balls. Both batters were bowled by the new ball pair.
Essex managed to rebuild their innings from losing two early wickets, but all-rounder Ben Walkden struck to break a partnership between Areeb Rashid (19) and Ali Zeb that could have been dangerous.
It was Rashid who was the man out, caught by George Harris in the cordon. Charlie Parkinson (1-32) also picked up a wicket before lunch, that of Mitch Killeen, similarly taken by Harris, to leave Essex 89-4 at lunch.
After the interval, Lancs kept that morning momentum going. Bailey was brought back into the attack and took the wicket of Aum Patel, bowling the left-hander with a ball that angled in from round the wicket.
The big wicket to fall in the afternoon session was that of Zeb. Opening the batting, he’d provided lots of resistance against the Lancs attack but fell for a superb 85, just 11 overs after lunch. He was bowled by Arav Shetty (1-25), who is playing for the first time for the Red Rose since fracturing his thumb back in April.
Essex had 143 on the board for the loss of six wickets when Zeb fell, and it didn’t take long for Lancs to bowl them out. Balderson came back into the attack and picked up his second wicket, with Walkden taking two more to finish with standout figures of 3-38 off 10 overs.
Charlie Barnard (1-34) wrapped things up for Lancs, bowling Sam Bear and dismissing the hosts for 178.
Lancashire had the entire evening session to bat, and a chance to chip away at Essex’s lead. Kesh Fonseka (5) fell early on, LBW to Killeen, but George Bell and Josh Bohannon (21) began to put runs on the board.
The latter hit two flowing drives to the boundary, as he and Bell closed in on a half-century partnership. But Bohannon fell just before they reached that milestone, caught behind off the bowling of Bear.
That brought Harry Singh to the crease with opener Bell, and they continued to build on the platform laid by the second wicket partnership.
Bell looked in fine form, sending the ball to the boundary seven times, including some sweetly struck shots through cover and a glorious drive past mid-on.
The opener brought up his half-century from 83 balls and is not out on 51 overnight. As for Singh, he more than ably supported Bell, racing to 30 by stumps, hitting six boundaries along the way.
The pair have so far put on 54 for the third wicket and leave Lancashire in an excellent position. The Red Rose are 108-2, trailing by just 70 ahead of the second and final day.
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