Match report: Jennings' century leads Lancs in Blackpool
Ben Stokes picked up his first wicket of the summer and finished the day with 70 for 2 from 17 overs, while Keaton Jennings scored 28 runs.th On the first day of the Vitality County Championship match at Blackpool, Lancashire came into bat against Durham and made a competitive 350 for nine, a first-class century.
Stokes last played in a four-day match against Durham in May 2022. And with Lancashire at 163 for 1, England's Test match captain showed he still has a knack for taking wickets by bringing on Josh Bohannon when the team needs him. 39) Taking in a short delivery, the batsman top-edges it into the hands of Callum Parkinson deep behind.
Durham's determined fightback began on this wicket after Jennings and Luke Wells matched their best opening partnership of the season. After scoring 87 runs, Wells beat Matty Potts to slide to 27, with Jennings and Bohannon combining to add a further 76 to take Lancashire into the lead. strong position.
Stokes, who had struggled to stabilize his line and length in the first two innings before lunch, sometimes kicking the turf in frustration, batted with the first ball of the ninth over. The wicket probably brought some relief to Durham captain Scott Borthwick, as home skipper Jennings produced a brilliant century on 137 balls, including 15 fours.
Durham's attack continued to press on from there, with Paul Coughlin forcing George Bell eight runs behind before Callum Parkinson took the vital wicket of Jennings, who was caught on his way over the top. Potts were finally rewarded for a great afternoon as George Balderson put them 14 points behind and left Lancashire five points clear on 255 points.
The day was looking dicey at that point, but Tom Bruce pushed the scores up with a measured and determined innings. The Kiwi overseas batsman was well on his way to 46, but after tee Stokes struck again with a faster and more accurate fourth spell, smashing in a short delivery and leading edge as the ball slowly swelled towards the bowler. I found it.
Ben Lane backed up that progress with the next three wickets to tie the score on the day, Tom Aspinwall caught two at second slip and Matty Hurst took a superb catch for 20 with wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson diving to his left, then Will Williams LBW for nine.
A late onslaught from Saqib Mahmood, who hit a six from Laing and hit five more fours to score a Lancashire-best 40 from just 48 balls, capped off a happy day of camp for the hosts. Closed.
Keaton Jennings said:
“At the start of the day, looking at the moves we had to face, I would have scored 350.
“You have to have a little bit of luck in those situations. I thought Luke Wells played beautifully, and so did Josh[Bohannon].
“I think the way I rode and ran this morning was good.
“Hopefully we can beat them tomorrow with the new ball.
“It was a lot of fun, but it wasn’t the most enjoyable knock in terms of fluidity.
“This week we talked a lot about trying to compete. Thankfully today I was able to make a contribution that could move us forward towards competing in the game.
“Hopefully tomorrow morning we can keep them out for a little while and frustrate them. Saquib played beautifully, counter-punching and slamming the ball.
“The guys in the locker room really liked it and were moving around really hard during the innings.”
“We have to back up for the rest of the games today. We also have some high-class international cricketers playing against us.”