A century from Northamptonshire’s Ben Duckett went a long way to frustrating Lancashire during yesterday’s opening day of their LV= County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford.

The 20-year-old opener, playing in only his fourth match of the season, posted the third hundred of his career in a close of play 388-6 from 96 overs after the visitors elected to bat against a side looking for their sixth win from ten matches in 2015.

Left-handed Duckett, Alex Davies-like in stature, finished with 134 off 151 balls, hitting 19 fours and two sixes. Adam Rossington will resume this morning unbeaten on 79.

Division Two leaders Lancashire, playing two spinners for the third home match in a row including the last two at Old Trafford, struggled to build pressure for the majority of a day aside from Australian seamer James Faulkner.

The Tasmanian was their best bowler, with his first 14 overs yielding one wicket and costing him only 23 runs. Faulkner finished with 3-48 from 21.

Duckett and Northants captain Alex Wakely (56) shared 176 inside 39 overs after Kyle Jarvis trapped Kyle Coetzer lbw with his fifth ball of the day - 1-1 in the second.

Faulkner broke the partnership after lunch when he uprooted Wakely’s leg stump with a yorker before left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan struck twice in three balls in the 50th over as Northants fell to 228-4.

Kerrigan trapped Duckett lbw as he attempted to reverse sweep, signalling the Lancashire man’s 250th first-class wicket. It was soon 251 when he had Rob Keogh caught at short-leg. Earlier, Duckett reached his century off 121 balls.

Play was watched by 4,000 school children for the club’s Schools Day. They were treated to an autograph session from ex-South Africa batsman Alviro Petersen, who is missing this match due to a back spasm.

Lancashire were unable to build on Kerrigan’s double strike as wicketkeeper Rossington and former South Africa limited overs international Richard Levi united to share 142 inside 41 overs for the fifth wicket either side of tea.

Rossington hit Arron Lilley for six to bring up the Northants 300. He reached his fifty off 84 balls in the 78th over, shortly before the Red Rose took the second new ball.

Levi (57) later reached his fifty off 104 before being caught behind off Faulkner, who also had Josh Cobb caught at second slip for a golden duck in the 91st over.