08-09-2022, 07:06
Luke Wells scored one of the great centuries for Lancashire today to keep Red Rose hopes of pushing for a vital LV= Championship victory alive on a memorable day at Emirates Old Trafford.
In a stunning demonstration of strokeplay and powerful hitting Wells raced to a 65-ball century striking 5 sixes and 9 fours and narrowly falling short of Ian Austin’s 61-ball hundred, also against Yorkshire, at Scarborough in 1991 and Andrew Flintoff's 61-ball effort against Gloucestershire at Bristol in 1999 which are believed to be fastest authentic centuries for Lancashire – excluding hundreds scored against declaration bowling.
Wells magnificent effort now stands third on that list.
Yorkshire skipper Jonny Tattersall was forced to put seven fielders on the boundary at one point - such was the ferocity of Wells and Keaton Jennings second innings’ onslaught - as Lancashire looked for the quick runs that may enable them to make a reasonable declaration tomorrow.
Wells produced an array of shots around the wicket; several sweetly struck drives and some beautifully timed sixes, one picked up off his hip and swung way back into the temporary stand was particularly memorable.
Jennings, who hit a six and five fours in reaching a slightly more measured half-century also posted 1,000 runs for the season when reaching 54.
For the second time in the match the pair reached a 180-run plus partnership, extending the lead to 200 runs before Wells tried to hit Dom Bess for another six only to fall a couple of yards short and caught by Will Fraine at deep midwicket having made 124 off 82 balls.
Jennings fell to the part-time leg spin of Tattersall for 68 with Kohler-Cadmore getting a stumping off Bess after Josh Bohannon had attempted to hit out just before bad light and then rain brought an early close at 5.20pm.
Lancashire ended on 203-3 and have a lead of 224 runs going into the final day and Wells’ astonishing innings will live long in the memory.
“It’s was obviously good fun,” said a smiling Luke Wells.
“The game and season situation dictated that we needed to do something with the time we had available and dark clouds rolling over.
“We knew we didn’t have much time to force a lead that could give us something to bowl at.
“Probably I wasn’t expecting to score quite that quickly!” he laughed.
“I just felt in a good groove, got a few out of the middle of the bat and went with it,” he concluded.
“Keaton just let me go with it," he added. "The rate I was scoring at took the pressure off him. So he didn’t feel like he had to go and blast away.
“It’s a short boundary and we just tried to put the spinner under pressure.
“We were still scoring at more than seven runs per over and he didn’t say much to be honest. He just let me get on with it and it worked for the best today.”
When play began on time at 10.30am Lancashire produced a good bowling performance to have Yorkshire on the back foot for the vast majority of the morning, but were then frustrated by a stubborn last-wicket partnership of 36 runs between Ben Coad and Steve Patterson.
Having resumed on 130-4 the visitors lost two early wickets both to catches at the wicket; Tattersall nicking Will Williams for 26 and Matthew Waite fencing at Tom Bailey after making three.
But Kohler-Cadmore led a positive White Rose reply in a 40-run alliance with Bess for the seventh wicket reaching a valuable half-century from 121 balls before top edging a sweep off Matt Parkinson that was well caught by Tom Hartley running in from deep square leg.
Bailey, armed with the new ball, then removed Jordan Thompson – caught at mid-wicket for 4 – and Bess for 26 from a nicely judged catch at square leg by George Balderson – his three hundredth wicket in first-class cricket.
That left Yorkshire on 219-9 but Coad and Patterson produced a defiant last wicket stand that importantly, from the visitor’s perspective, took 21 overs out of the game as well as reducing Lancashire’s lead to just 21 runs by the time Coad top edged a cut to Steven Croft at backward point off Parkinson to be last out for 26.
But Wells and Jennings outstanding partnership means this game is far from over.
In a stunning demonstration of strokeplay and powerful hitting Wells raced to a 65-ball century striking 5 sixes and 9 fours and narrowly falling short of Ian Austin’s 61-ball hundred, also against Yorkshire, at Scarborough in 1991 and Andrew Flintoff's 61-ball effort against Gloucestershire at Bristol in 1999 which are believed to be fastest authentic centuries for Lancashire – excluding hundreds scored against declaration bowling.
Wells magnificent effort now stands third on that list.
Yorkshire skipper Jonny Tattersall was forced to put seven fielders on the boundary at one point - such was the ferocity of Wells and Keaton Jennings second innings’ onslaught - as Lancashire looked for the quick runs that may enable them to make a reasonable declaration tomorrow.
Wells produced an array of shots around the wicket; several sweetly struck drives and some beautifully timed sixes, one picked up off his hip and swung way back into the temporary stand was particularly memorable.
Jennings, who hit a six and five fours in reaching a slightly more measured half-century also posted 1,000 runs for the season when reaching 54.
For the second time in the match the pair reached a 180-run plus partnership, extending the lead to 200 runs before Wells tried to hit Dom Bess for another six only to fall a couple of yards short and caught by Will Fraine at deep midwicket having made 124 off 82 balls.
Jennings fell to the part-time leg spin of Tattersall for 68 with Kohler-Cadmore getting a stumping off Bess after Josh Bohannon had attempted to hit out just before bad light and then rain brought an early close at 5.20pm.
Lancashire ended on 203-3 and have a lead of 224 runs going into the final day and Wells’ astonishing innings will live long in the memory.
“It’s was obviously good fun,” said a smiling Luke Wells.
“The game and season situation dictated that we needed to do something with the time we had available and dark clouds rolling over.
“We knew we didn’t have much time to force a lead that could give us something to bowl at.
“Probably I wasn’t expecting to score quite that quickly!” he laughed.
“I just felt in a good groove, got a few out of the middle of the bat and went with it,” he concluded.
“Keaton just let me go with it," he added. "The rate I was scoring at took the pressure off him. So he didn’t feel like he had to go and blast away.
“It’s a short boundary and we just tried to put the spinner under pressure.
“We were still scoring at more than seven runs per over and he didn’t say much to be honest. He just let me get on with it and it worked for the best today.”
When play began on time at 10.30am Lancashire produced a good bowling performance to have Yorkshire on the back foot for the vast majority of the morning, but were then frustrated by a stubborn last-wicket partnership of 36 runs between Ben Coad and Steve Patterson.
Having resumed on 130-4 the visitors lost two early wickets both to catches at the wicket; Tattersall nicking Will Williams for 26 and Matthew Waite fencing at Tom Bailey after making three.
But Kohler-Cadmore led a positive White Rose reply in a 40-run alliance with Bess for the seventh wicket reaching a valuable half-century from 121 balls before top edging a sweep off Matt Parkinson that was well caught by Tom Hartley running in from deep square leg.
Bailey, armed with the new ball, then removed Jordan Thompson – caught at mid-wicket for 4 – and Bess for 26 from a nicely judged catch at square leg by George Balderson – his three hundredth wicket in first-class cricket.
That left Yorkshire on 219-9 but Coad and Patterson produced a defiant last wicket stand that importantly, from the visitor’s perspective, took 21 overs out of the game as well as reducing Lancashire’s lead to just 21 runs by the time Coad top edged a cut to Steven Croft at backward point off Parkinson to be last out for 26.
But Wells and Jennings outstanding partnership means this game is far from over.
Why should a man go to work, if he has the health and strength to stay in bed?