SECOND XI REPORT: Close finish but Roses match ends in a draw
Harry Singh made his highest score for the second team, and after a fine century by Will Luxton had threatened to take Yorkshire to victory, wickets for Tom Hartley (3-90), Charlie Barnard (2-37) and Tom Walker (2-62) took Lancashire close before the teams shook hands on a draw at Southport.
Resuming the Lancashire second innings on 255-5, Singh soon added the 28 runs he needed to get to 150, the third time he has reached that landmark in four centuries for the second team.
His 150 came off 210 balls in just under four and a half hours, and six runs later Singh had eclipsed his previous best before his fabulous effort ended at 173 when the declaration was made.
Hartley made 31 in a partnership of 61, and Ollie Sutton contributed a rapid 32 off 29 balls that included two sixes in adding 47 for the seventh wicket, with Lancashire declaring on 372-7 to set Yorkshire a target of 324 in 70 overs.
The White Rose opening pair of Luxton and Will Bennison made a good start, scoring at four runs per over in a partnership of 68, before Hartley made the breakthrough having the latter caught at deep mid-wicket for 41 off 49 balls.
Hartley then struck a second blow when he trapped Harry Duke lbw sweeping for 13 to have Yorkshire 88-2 but Luxton and Noah Kelly responded positively, hitting 76 runs in 10.2 overs with Luxton reaching his half century off 77 balls.
Walker made the breakthrough, the seamer nipping one back to trap left-hander Kelly lbw for 26 to leave the visitors on 164-3 in the run up to tea with 160 required from 48 overs.
Luxton reached the break on 89 and went to his century off 108 balls in style soon after the resumption, hitting Walker for six over midwicket, but it was Walker who struck again having Jawad Akhtar caught at deep square leg for 20.
The wicket Lancashire desperately wanted was Luxton, and it was George Brown who succeeded in finding a faint brush of the glove to wicketkeeper George Bell when the Yorkshire opener attempted to pull a leg side delivery to depart for 114.
That left 95 runs required from one ball short of 26 overs, but Yorkshire hopes were dashed by the fall of three wickets for 14 runs. Hartley claimed his third wicket when Yash Vagadia drove to Rocky Flintoff at long-on for 8, followed by a double strike by Barnard who caught and bowled Owen Smith for 29 and then bowled Matthew Firbank for 3.
Jafer Chohan (13 not out) and Subhaan Ali (2 not out) settled to bat out the draw with Yorkshire 291-8 when the players shook hands at 6.05pm.
TEAMS
Lancashire
George Harris, Kesh Fonseka, Harry Singh, Rocky Flintoff, Joe Moores, Tom Hartley (capt) Ollie Sutton, Charlie Barnard, Tom Walker, Charlie Parkinson, Haider Hussain, George Brown.
Substitute: George Bell for Haider Hussain at the start of day 3. Bell also took over the wicketkeeping duties from Joe Moores.
Yorkshire
Will Luxton (capt), Will Bennison, Harry Duke (wk), Noah Kelly, Jawad Akhtar, Owen Smith, Jafer Chohan, Yash Vagadia, Matthew Firbank, Subhaan Ali, Rizwan Ishfaq, George Lancaster.