Lancashire hang on to record

DAVE HADFIELD

reports from Old Trafford

Nottinghamshire 172-5

Lancashire 173-6

Lancs win by four wickets

Lancashire consolidated their position on top of the AXA Equity and Law League with a last-over victory after all had seemed lost for them here.

Graham Lloyd with 59 and Ian Austin with 36 steered Lancashire home with an unbeaten partnership but when they had been reduced to 94 runs for six wickets with the weather closing in and the run rate well short of that required such an outcome had seemed most unlikely.

Nottinghamshire had deservedly put themselves in contention with an energetic performance in the field, their chasing of even the most hopeless causes on the boundary was particularly tireless and James Hindson at point saved no end of runs with some acrobatic stops.

Nottinghamshire also benefited from some economical bowling, especially from Andy Pick, who got through his eight-over allocation for only 17 runs. Kevin Evans also did his share, removing Jason Gallian and John Crawley cheaply before Chris Cairns accounted for Steve Titchard and Nick Speak with Lancashire still not fully into their stride.

Both Mike Watkinson and Wasim Akram threatened to get Lancashire's reply moving in the right direction, but Watkinson was stumped off Hindson and Wasim was run out with a brilliant throw from Evans. The cause appeared lost as Lancashire headed for their first defeat in any competition this season.

Robust hitting from Lloyd and Austin, especially in one unnecessary and expensive over from the sixth Nottinghamshire bowler, Jon Wileman, turned matters around.

A wide from Evans with the first ball of the last of the 39 overs in a slightly shortened match was an unsatiafactory end but Lancashire, who face the same opponents in a Benson & Hedges quarter-final tomorrow, were not complaining

Earlier, Notts' innings had been anchored by a man of whom Lancashire had already seen too much in their county championship match at Liverpool, Jim Robinson.

His 63 was their backbone after Wasim, unfazed by the crisis of identity that could have been caused by having to wear one of Glen Chapple's spare shirts, had dismissed Matthew Dowman and forced Paul Johnson temporarily back into the pavilion with an injury to his hand.

Johnson returned and along with Cairns and Graeme Archer made a solid contribution to a total that initially looked inadequate but then would have been enough to win had it not been for the outstanding work of Lloyd and Austin.