Draw puts pressure on Lancashire (7 June 1999)

7 June 1999

Draw puts pressure on Lancashire

The Lancashire Evening Telegraph

Lancashire found themselves third from bottom of the county championship today after their rain-ravaged draw with Gloucester at Bristol.

And, after netting only 49 points from six matches, they need a winning run to ease the fears of Second Division cricket next season when the championship is split into two.

Captain John Crawley hopes the revival will start on Wednesday when they take on Warwickshire at Southport.

"We have to put some wins together, and from now on we should have virtually a full strength squad to choose from," he said. "Our younger players have tried hard, but things have not gone for them, and the return of players like Neil Fairbrother and Ian Austin will give us that extra experience.

Crawley himself will also return after missing the Bristol game with a thumb injury.

He admitted: "The weather has affected us badly and it has been a depressing period, we feel as though the season hasn't started properly because we have been on and off so much."

Lancashire have lost 1,000 overs already with eight full days lost in the championship. The Bristol game was hit so hard by rain that Muttiah Muralitharan's debut was restricted to a brief performance with the bat.

Source :: The Lancashire Evening Telegraph