Josh Bohannon again defied Northamptonshire with a well-crafted 90 off 167 balls as Lancashire made the most of winning the toss, closing on 346-7 on day one of the County Championship match against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.
Bohannon struck 14 boundaries, sharing an untroubled second wicket stand worth 132 with opener Luke Wells who contributed a fine 87.
Bohannon’s knock came a year after his valiant 155 saved Lancashire after they followed on at Emirates Old Trafford. Michael Jones also smashed an aggressive 71 although he was fortunate to survive two dropped catches.
The bowlers stuck at their task all day. Australian quick Harry Conway (2-80) and Ben Sanderson (2-55) fought back with three late wickets for 10 runs in five overs with the second new ball to keep the hosts firmly in the game.
With Lancashire electing to bat, Saif Zaib was unable to impress watching England men’s managing director Rob Key with the bat but made the key breakthrough with his left-arm spin when he bowled Bohannon. Leg-spinner Calvin Harrison, who toured with England Lions in the winter, also struck to remove the dangerous Wells.
Earlier Lancashire had the better of the morning, although Sanderson and Conway troubled openers Wells and Harry Singh (18) in the first hour with plenty of balls nibbling off the seam, both bowlers having shouts for lbw turned down.
Singh hit the shot of the morning, a gorgeous cover drive off Sanderson, before he tightened his line and made the first breakthrough. Sanderson nipped one away just enough to draw the edge to fourth slip.
Wells stroked consecutive boundaries through the covers off Conway and took on James Sales, pulling a short, slow one before smacking two further fours through extra cover as he registered his half-century off 70 balls.
While Conway deployed the bumper during a quieter period leading to lunch, Bohannon took a couple of boundaries via a backfoot punch and a sweetly timed cover drive.
Lancashire moved past 100 after the break, steadily accumulating, content to put away the bad balls on offer. While Northamptonshire kept rotating their attack, they were unable to build consistent pressure or create many chances beyond a couple of optimistic lbw shouts.
Wells drove Sanderson sweetly for four to bring up the 100 partnership and cut Sales behind square, while Bohannon celebrated his half-century before collecting back-to-back boundaries as Sales strayed in line and length.
Harrison finally broke the stand, claiming the key scalp of Wells when he charged down the wicket and was sharply stumped by Lewis McManus.
Conway was much more threatening when he returned from the Lynn Wilson End, getting the ball to lift and beat the bat.
It was Procter though who struck, albeit with a wayward short delivery which George Bell helped around the corner into the gloves of McManus. Jones then gifted an early life when he hit Harrison down the ground, but Procter shelled a chance above his head.
Zaib struck on the resumption after tea when Bohannon was bowled by a ball that was too full to cut. But Jones picked up the mantle, driving Zaib and cutting Sales for boundaries as Lancashire moved past 250. He clubbed Harrison down the ground for four and punched him through the covers.
Jones was almost undone by Sanderson with the first over with the new ball, but McManus dropped a simple catch behind the stumps, the batter responding by swatting Conway for three consecutive boundaries.
Conway’s perseverance paid off though when he nipped one away slightly, Jones edging to slip.
Conway almost dismissed George Balderson twice on one, a half-chance to a diving McManus and an edge over the slip cordon, before having Matty Hurst caught by Harrison at second slip. Sanderson nipped one back to trap Tom Hartley lbw before the close.
Report by ECB Reporters’ Network.