Lancashire face up to naked truths

Chris Nash spent almost four and half hours over his hundred © Getty Images

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The number of bare chests in the crowd comfortably reached double figures during the morning session at Old Trafford despite a distinctly gloomy weather forecast.

While the optimism of Lancashire fans was to be applauded, one suspects it was in short supply by the close of play on the second day of the LV County Championship encounter with Sussex.

As it happens, the predicted rain did not arrive, allowing Sussex sufficient time to strengthen their hold on a game they have dominated almost from the moment the sides took the field.

Having bowled Lancashire out for a meagre 206, Sussex established a first-innings lead of 110 today before Robin Martin-Jenkins made early inroads into the hosts’ top order for a second time as they closed on nine for one.

A tan is as about the best a Lancashire supporter could take from a largely dispiriting day, which was compounded by news that title rivals Durham would not be punished by the ECB pitch inspectors for producing a surface that saw 38 wickets fall in less than two full days.

Durham appear poised for victory over Kent in an astonishing game at the Riverside, a victory that would take them above Nottinghamshire at the top of the First Division table and lengthen Lancashire’s odds of capturing that elusive championship crown

Optimists in and around Old Trafford may point to Lancashire’s committed performance with the ball this afternoon, when they claimed the last seven Sussex wickets for just 83 runs, as reason not to give up hope of a fourth championship win of the season.

Indeed, they can take pride in the manner in which Dominic Cork strived manfully despite numerous close shaves to claim 2-37, while Steven Croft proved himself a useful fourth seamer by removing Chris Nash and Matt Prior, Sussex’s top scorers, in the space of three overs.

The day will also be remembered fondly by left-arm spinner Gary Keedy, who claimed his 500th first-class victim en route to figures of 2-74, but the fact that the pitch continues to offer the slower bowlers considerable encouragement threatens to prove Lancashire’s undoing in this game.

Sussex’s advantage, sizeable already, appears all the more decisive when set against Lancashire’s woes with the bat in the first innings and the presence of two quality spinners in the visitors’ team.

Matt Prior illuminated the second day at Old Trafford with a thrilling 73 off 98 balls

Mushtaq claimed only one wicket in 28 overs yesterday – he found himself overshadowed by his younger, off-spinning partner Ollie Rayner – and he moved with all the mobility of an arthritic pensioner while batting this evening.

But those who discount the threat posed by the Pakistani would be advised to cast their mind back to the pivotal role he played in Sussex’s title triumphs in the past two years: 194 wickets at 22 apiece.

Nor should they underestimate the patent lack of confidence in a Lancashire batting line-up that has struggled for the majority of the summer.

No side has collected fewer batting points than Lancashire’s tally of 21, testament to the fact that only Paul Horton and Stuart Law of the current side are averaging over 40.

Sussex have hardly been prolific with the bat in 2008 but, in Nash and Prior, they at least found two batsmen capable of occupying the crease for some length of time today.

Nash, who was unbeaten on seven overnight, batted for just shy of four and half hours in making 108 – his maiden first-class century – while Prior extended the excellent run of form that earned him a recall to the England one-day squad this week.

The wicketkeeper-batsman provided the bulk of the day’s entertainment, hitting 11 meaty fours in his authoritative 98-ball 73 before slapping Croft to point when a fourth hundred of the season seemed a certainty.

Nash and Prior added 125 for the fourth wicket, more than double the next biggest partnership of the match, but their departures in quick succession saw Sussex slip from 233 for three to 316 all out.

Lancashire’s afternoon renaissance may have maintained their slim hopes of a pulling off an unlikely victory, but there was an unmistakeable sense among the crowd as they shuffled out of Old Trafford – with the sun sinking behind the stands and naked torsos long since covered up – that the damage had already been done.