Voges sees Notts home

Adam Voges © Getty Images

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A rapid 69 not out from Australian Adam Voges carried Nottinghamshire to a seven-wicket victory over Lancashire and stretched their lead at the top of LV County Championship Division One.

Nottinghamshire began the third day on 33 for one, needing just 112 more runs to win, although Sajid Mahmood gave them a scare with two early wickets at Trent Bridge.

But 28-year-old Voges combined with Mark Wagh for an unbeaten fourth-wicket partnership of 111 to finish of the game before lunch.

Voges, who is deputising for first-choice overseas player David Hussey, thumped 14 fours off just 60 balls, while Wagh made 43 not out from 59 deliveries with six boundaries.

Lancashire went into the game with six seamers missing through injury or England duty and captain Stuart Law saw his options further reduced when Dominic Cork was forced out of action by a back spasm overnight.

That left the visitors’ hopes resting on former England paceman Mahmood, and he responded in impressive fashion with two wickets in the opening over of the day.

Nightwatchman Paul Franks was leg before off the first ball, although there was a suspicion that the ball pitched outside leg.

That got Mahmood’s tail up and he removed Matt Wood’s off stump five balls later, beating the opener for pace with a fast, full-pitched delivery.

But Wagh and Voges saw him off and opted for aggression against the medium pace of Steven Croft, with Voges hitting the all-rounder for three fours in an over and despatching Mahmood for two more boundaries.

The flurry of runs brought the target down to 62 and, although Mahmood switched ends with left-arm spinner Gary Keedy, neither could not make the breakthrough.

Wagh twice cut Mahmood over the slips to the third man boundary before Voges struck three more crisp fours, and then cut Keedy through point to finish the game inside the first 20 overs of the day.