Keaton Jennings puts Lancashire on front foot but Northamptonshire fight back

A day which Lancashire’s cricketers had dominated was salvaged by Northamptonshire after tea, when their pace bowlers took four wickets in 10 overs with the new ball to reduce the home side from 188-2 to 209-6.

By the close of play Lancashire had recovered to 276-6, giving the Red Rose a first-innings lead of 46 with four wickets in hand after two days of this County Championship clash.

Skipper Dane Vilas ended the day on 30 not out, while Tom Bailey is unbeaten on 42. The pair’s seventh-wicket stand stemmed the flow of wickets and is so far worth 67 runs

Earlier in the day Keaton Jennings’ 97 and Rob Jones’ 67 had seemed to give Lancashire something near to dominance but Luke Wood, who is on loan from Nottinghamshire, hit back and finished the day with 3-44 from 19 overs. Ben Sanderson took two for 32 from 21 overs.

None of this drama had appeared likely during the first two sessions, in which Lancashire had added 154 runs for the loss of Joe Burns, who was caught behind off Luke Wood for 10 in the third over of the day.

For the next four hours, Northants’ six-man attack struggled on a pitch which looked to have flattened out since they were dismissed for 230 on the first day.

The visitors’ problems were compounded by the form of Jennings and Jones, who put on 152 for the third wicket in 63 overs.

Both batsmen survived chances which appeared likely to be expensive until Wood and Sanderson struck with the new ball immediately after tea.

Jones was dropped on 47 when Temba Bavuma grassed a regulation chance at second slip off Jamie Overton and reached his half-century four overs later with a scurried single off the same bowler. He had faced 157 balls and hit seven fours.

Jennings reached his 50 off 117 balls in the morning session but survived an alarm in the over before tea, when he was badly dropped on 92 by Sanderson at short fine-leg after top-edging a sweep off Rob Keogh.

However, the shape of the game was transformed on the resumption, when Jennings got a touch to a fine lifter from Sanderson in the first over with the new ball and Liam Livingstone was bowled for a three-ball duck by Wood in the next over.

Ten minutes later Wood struck again when he trapped Jones leg before for 67, and even a first-innings lead looked in danger when Steven Croft edged Overton to Vasconcelos and departed for eight.