Date-stamped : 25 May97 - 06:15 Curran takes command By David Green at Old Trafford First day of four: Northants 281-4 v Lancashire LANCASHIRE showed few signs of emerging from their early- season depression as Northamptonshire, having won the toss, batted solidly through a day of attrition, Kevin Curran`s punchy unbeaten 91 providing the brightest moments for a sparse crowd. Other solid contributions came from Rob Bailey, 58, and Richard Montgomerie, 49, while Tony Penberthy, though struggling to time the ball, assisted Curran in a fourth-wicket stand of 110, valuable runs on a pitch already taking spin, albeit slowly. The ball swung in the morning for Peter Martin and Glen Chapple but neither controlled his line particularly well and Lancashire`s president, Brian Statham, must have been wincing to see so many balls passing harmlessly wide of the stumps. Montgomerie and Mal Loye batted comfortably enough until the latter, pulling at a ball too straight and full in length for the purpose, top-edged to the wicketkeeper. Bailey took time to settle but thereafter struck some hefty blows. The contrasting spin of Gary Keedy, slow left-arm, and Gary Yates, off-spin, was given plenty of use, the latter bowling more tidily but the former showing greater power of spin. It was Keedy who broke through. He had Bailey caught at silly point off bat and pad and Montgomerie neatly taken at slip but Curran swiftly imposed himself, his first scoring stroke being a straight six off Keedy. When 21 Curran was missed by Martin, who could not hold a fierce return hit, but he played some splendid shots. None was better than another straight six, struck on the rise off Martin, shortly after he had reached his 50. When Warren Hegg left the field after tea suffering from a back spasm, acting captain Neil Fairbrother took over the gloves. Bad light intervened at 6.15 and by then Northamptonshire, and Curran, were well on top. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Ripley and Walton set challenge By David Green at Old Trafford Second day of four: Lancashire (89-2) trail Northants (479) by 390 runs NORTHANTS, evidently considering that their best chance of victory was to make a stack of runs and seek to dismiss Lancashire twice, extended their first innings until 3.35 on another day of cool winds and leaden skies. Resuming at 281 for four they made minimal progress until Tim Walton, 60, and David Ripley, 79 not out, put on 115 together for the eighth wicket; Ripley emphasising again what a nuisance he is coming in at No 9. Glen Chapple was responsible for Northants` early difficulties. He troubled and finally dismissed Kevin Curran, but not before the Zimbabwean had reached his 24th century. Bowling straighter than on Wednesday, Chapple had earlier dismissed David Capel, lbw playing half-forward. Walton, though driving Gary Keedy for three big sixes, was pretty restrained and Ripley, while admirably watchful, does not have a wide range of strokes, so there was little excitement. The innings finally closed after only 10 hours. Nathan Wood, left-handed son of Barry, of Lancashire and England, soon edged one that Tony Penberthy angled across him but Jason Gallian and Steve Titchard both looked comfortable on a slow pitch taking some spin. However, after Gallian, having moved smoothly to 49, had been caught, bat and pad, off John Emburey, batting appeared less straightforward and the batsmen quickly accepted the umpires` offer of bad light at 5.55. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Austin puts his foot on the gas By David Green at Old Trafford Third day of four: Lancashire (410-8) trail Northants (479) by 69 runs LANCASHIRE, needing 330 to avoid following on, succeeded more comfortably than they might have thought on a pitch offering considerable slow turn, thanks principally to Neil Fairbrother`s 83 and Ian Austin`s aggressive, un- beaten 93. Not wishing to give Northamptonshire too many runs by an early declaration, Lancashire batted on as Austin, missed three times, punished an attack that became a little ragged late on. A feature of the day was the fascinating duel between veteran off-spinner John Emburey, whose figures at one point read 22- 15-8-0, and Fairbrother, who batted skilfully for more than four hours. Fairbrother received valuable assistance from Paddy McKeown, whose 46 came off 79 balls, Gary Yates and finally Austin, that most underrated of cricketers. Jeremy Snape`s off-spin, though tidy enough, caused fewer problems than Emburey`s and this led to Paul Taylor, whose left-arm seam got plenty of work, trying some orthodox slow left arm. In nine overs in this vein, Taylor had McKeown caught at slip and yorked Yates, but it was back to normal with the second new ball, with which he ended Warren Hegg`s useful innings via a slip catch. Had Austin`s first chance, off Taylor on 23, been accepted, Lancashire might have followed on. As it is, they could still face problems chasing runs on a surface which, though not spiteful, is not straightforward. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Lancs fail to meet expectations By Brian Smith at Old Trafford Lancs drew with Northants THE frustrating 19-month wait of Lancashire supporters for their side to register a championship win at the county`s headquarters continued yesterday as this game ground to a draw. Lancashire were set a target of 297 to win off a minimum of 36 overs by Northamptonshire, but fall well short, finishing at 114 without loss. At least it gave openers Nathan Wood, son of Barry, the distinguished Lancashire and England batsman, and Jason Gallian batting pratice, making an undefeated 48 and 56 respectively. Lancashire had declared their first innings at the start of play on the overnight score of 410 for eight. Consistent batting down the order gave Northants comfortable runs through Mal Loye (61), Robert Bailey (63) and Tim Walton (50 not out). But any thoughts of a purposeful day had been banished by the bad weather and slow batting of the previous three days. Northants eventually declared just after 3pm leaving Lancashire with some time to fill. For Lancashire the game continues a season of under-achievement, having lost their hold on the Benson & Hedges Cup in a faltering start in the group games. The defeat last week in the championship by Nottinghamshire brought further criticism from the large membership who felt the side, once again, had failed to play up to their individual cricketing CVs. However, Dav Whatmore, the Lancashire coach, can draw comfort from this draw and the continuing good form of Neil Fairbrother, who stood in as captain for the injured Mike Watkinson. Fairbrother`s 83 in the first innings steadied the ship. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)