LANCASHIRE failed to secure an LV= County Championship victory over Essex at Emirates Old Trafford yesterday despite making the visitors follow-on in reply to 402.

Essex, starting day four at 139-5 in their first innings, were bowled out for 203 in the closing stages of the morning session, leaving 70 overs for the Division Two leaders to push for win number seven from their 11th match.

Unfortunately, they struggled to break through regularly enough, and were thwarted mainly by an opening stand of 86 inside 24 overs between Nick Browne and Jaik Mickleburgh.

Browne made 50 to add to his first-innings 105, while Mickleburgh added 37.

Essex fell to 127-3 after tea in the 42nd over of the innings, with off-spinner Arron Lilley claiming all three wickets.

The visitors were 168-3 from 59 overs when the players shook hands on a draw at 5.20pm.

Lancashire, who claimed 13 points, are 30 points of second-placed Surrey, who have only played 10, and 50 clear of third-placed Glamorgan, their next opponents at Colwyn Bay a week on Sunday.

Glamorgan have only played nine matches.

There were 138.2 overs lost to weather in the match.

Australian James Faulkner completed his first five-wicket haul in Lancashire colours before lunch, adding two wickets to his overnight tally to return figures of 5-39 from 17 overs.

He had James Foster lbw and forced Greg Smith to chop onto his stumps, leaving the score at 164-7.

Fellow left-armer Toby Lester had Graham Napier caught behind to claim his third wicket of the innings before Lilley had Browne caught behind and forced Reece Topley to chop in with the space of two balls at the end of the 71st.

Lilley is playing as the only frontline spinner in this match in place of Simon Kerrigan, who took 4-8 in a second XI Trophy win against Yorkshire at Bradford yesterday.

And he made the breakthrough in Essex’s second innings, which started two overs before lunch.

Lilley had Mickleburgh caught at short-leg in the 24th over, the first of two wickets in successive overs for a man watched by England national selector James Whitaker yesterday.

He had Browne caught one-handed by Ashwell Prince at short cover off the leading edge before, shortly after tea, getting Ravi Bopara caught one-handed at short-leg by Karl Brown.