LANCASHIRE are on the back foot heading into today’s fourth day of their LV= County Championship match against Northamptonshire at Emirates Old Trafford.

They are 19-0 from six overs of their second innings chasing 414 to secure an unlikely win, and Northants will be confident of inflicting only a second defeat of the season upon the Division Two leaders.

Northants bowled the hosts out for 308 before lunch yesterday in reply to a first-innings 438 before declaring their second innings on 283-9 shortly before close.

Arron Lilley and Simon Kerrigan claimed three wickets apiece in spinner-friendly conditions.

Lancashire resumed day three on 257-4, losing their remaining six wickets in the first 18.3 overs. In all, from late on day three, the last eight wickets fell for 82 runs from 226-2.

Former Red Rose seamer Steven Crook took three of the six wickets to fall yesterday morning, forcing Steven Croft, Jordan Clark and Tom Bailey to chop onto their stumps.

Lancashire went more than eleven overs from the start of play without a boundary before Clark steered seamer Olly Stone, who struck once, to third-man. Stone’s new ball partner Azharullah claimed the other two wickets.

Bailey had Northants’ opener Kyle Coetzer caught behind before lunch as Lancashire made an encouraging start to the second innings with the ball, leaving the score at 6-1 after one over.

And while wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals, Northants still built a commanding lead, with first-innings centurion Ben Duckett adding a useful 109-ball 88.

Alex Wakely was bowled by Kerrigan shortly after lunch as Northants fell to 36-2 in the tenth over before James Faulkner trapped Rob Keogh and Richard Levi lbw with successive balls in the 23rd – 91-4.

Lilley had Adam Rossington caught at short-leg with 110 on the board before getting Duckett caught at mid-off 45 runs later.

Crook and Josh Cobb (52 not out) then shared 70 inside 18 overs for the seventh wicket, the majority of which came in good time in the early stages of the evening before the latter was trapped lbw by Lilley for 37, leaving the score at 225-7.

Graeme White departed shortly after to Kerrigan, caught at deep mid-off. The left-armer picked up his third wicket when he had Stone, who had hit him for two sixes, caught at slip to signal the declaration.