AKRAM AND SAKER'S NEW-BALL BURST KEEPS EVERYONE INTERESTED by Marcus Hook
Lancashire 315 & 90-3. Surrey 284 &120. Lancashire win by seven wickets.

When the hosts were three down at lunch, chasing a victory target of ninety, and having just lost the imposing Stuart Law for one, everybody began to wonder if this contest had one more twist left in it. But, arguably, the break came at just the wrong time for Surrey, who, when they did re-emerge from the dressing room curiously did not run down the steps of the famous pavilion at Old Trafford and out on to the field with the sort of vigour one might have anticipated. After all, a couple more quick wickets and the spoils would have well and truly been up for grabs.

If the visitors did succumb to a reality check during the interval, doubts that they could pull off one of the most dramatic championship victories of all time were soon confirmed with Neil Saker's first over back going for seventeen runs, including three successive fours by Paul Horton to end it.

Mark Chilton, whose most telling contribution in this match was probably when he ran out Jonathan Batty on the second evening, before the Surrey wicketkeeper had faced a ball, then cut Mohammad Akram for four and edged him through the slips to the third man boundary. Thereafter, however, the visitors were thwarted by Horton, who made a case for keeping his place when Brad Hodge becomes available next week by hitting an undefeated 49 off 48 balls, including seven boundaries; all of them square of the wicket.

Lancashiremen aren't said to watch their pennies as closely as Yorkshiremen, but when the locals were greeted with the news that no entrance was being charged, it was as if some of them had put money on the winner of the Grand National; one of Lancashire's other institutions.

They had the added bonus of witnessing the fall of seven wickets in the opening session, which saw the visitors progress their second innings to 120; which coincidentally was the precisely the number of runs Stuart Law, alone, had put on the board the previous day.

Mark Butcher and James Benning traded boundaries, but when the tally for the day had reached four all, the Brown Caps' captain drove Glen Chapple to cover point. Two overs later Butcher was joined in the Surrey dressing room by Salisbury, who, having just failed to control a pull, played a similar shot only to pick out the man at deep square leg.

Benning, on the occasion of his 24th birthday, then pulled Tom Smith's first delivery through wide mid-on. Last year, Benning marked his birthday with his maiden championship century, against Gloucestershire at the Brit Oval. He may have failed to repeat the dose, but when the home side were in trouble at lunch his 36 off 49 balls, as well as being the highest score in the visitors' second innings, looked as if it might just be significant.

In the 32nd over, Jimmy Ormond was put down at second slip by Law, but in the same over Benning lost his off peg to Smith. Three overs later Oliver Newby drew a line under Surrey's second innings when he had Ormond, head back, thick edging the ball on to the base of his leg stump.

A victory target of ninety appeared to be a formality, but with Iain Sutcliffe departing in the Saker's first over, in identical fashion to his first innings failure, and Mal Loye holing out to deep square leg off the bowling of Akram, Lancashire were 4-2 in the third over with both not out batsmen on nought.

When Salisbury pulled off a brilliant catch at first slip to account for Law on the stroke of lunch, the unthinkable was suddenly thinkable. However, it was not to be and the visitors sank to their third championship defeat of the season. In 1973 and 1984 they opened their championship account with two losses; never before, though, have the Brown Caps lost their first three. It's not looking good.

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