Lancashire and Durham struggle for supremacy

John Crawley struck his second century in a week and Michael Gough took four wickets in innings for the first time in over a year in the Division One championship match between Lancashire and Durham at Manchester.

Crawley, who had made 120 against Somerset at Taunton at the weekend, hit 117 to take Lancashire to 265-2 in response to Durham's 370. Then occasional off-spinner Gough dismissed Crawley and Saurav Ganguly to add to previous victims Michael Atherton and Neil Fairbrother. By the close Lancashire were still 71 runs in arrears on 299-4.

Resuming today at 355-9 the tenth-wicket partnership of Neil Killeen and Simon Brown prolonged their stand to 45 runs (a record last-wicket stand for Durham against Lancashire). Brown was caught eventually off Glenn Chapple leaving Killeen not out 38.

Atherton and Crawley got the Lancashire innings off to their second first-wicket century partnership in as many innings - on this occasion it was 135. The former England captain passed fifty by hitting Simon Katich for his sixth boundary from 132 deliveries and went on to 64 when he was caught by Jon Lewis at short-leg off Gough.

With Fairbrother out six overs later Ganguly and Crawley added another 108 runs (this, too, was their second consecutive century stand). The latter attained his century with eight boundaries from 229 deliveries in 275 minutes.

The more fluent Ganguly went to his fifty off 62 balls with five fours and one six. Crawley's concentration seemed to be disturbed when he swept a ball which hit Lewis painfully in the back of the head and in the next over he was caught by Gough from his own bowling. When Ganguly was out Graham Lloyd and Warren Hegg took Lancashire through to the end of the day.