BOLTON’S Karl Brown narrowly missed out on a century for the second LV= County Championship match running as Lancashire enjoyed a strong batting day against Northamptonshire at Emirates Old Trafford.

Brown, who has not hit a ton in four-day cricket since 2011, hit 97 off 183 balls as the hosts replied to Northants’ 438 all out with 257-4 from 79 overs at close on day two.

The opener, aged 27, hit 96 against Leicestershire in Lancashire’s last Championship outing, one of four nineties since his only hundred four years ago.

Ashwell Prince went beyond 18,000 first-class career runs and became the first man in the country to pass 1,000 Championship runs this summer on the way to a 102-ball 83.

Brown posted a fifty for the fourth time in five innings, and recorded century partnerships for the second and third wickets with Alex Davies and Prince.

The Boltonian shared 109 inside 39 overs either side of lunch with Davies, who made 51 off 110 balls having been promoted to number three in the order after Alviro Petersen was ruled out through injury.

Brown and Prince added 116 inside 26 overs either side of tea before Brown edged left-arm spinner Graeme White to slip as he aimed a cut, leaving Lancashire at 226-3 in the 66th over.

Davies scored his fifth fifty of 2015, and he celebrated being shortlisted by sponsors LV= for their Breakthrough Player of the Season award alongside the likes of Yorkshire’s Jack Leaning and Gloucestershire’s Craig Miles.

Brown reached his fifty off 112 balls during the afternoon. Davies reached his fifty off 105 shortly afterwards before edging off-spinner Rob Keogh behind, leaving the score at 110-2 in the 41st over.

Prince reached his fifty off 74 balls before falling the same way as Brown, this time off Keogh, late in the day.

Lancashire’s innings started badly when Paul Horton was bowled shouldering arms by Olly Stone in the second over of their reply.

Earlier, Kyle Jarvis took two of four wickets to fall as Northants advanced their first-innings from 388-6 overnight.

The Zimbabwean trapped Adam Rossington lbw for 88 and Stone caught at first slip by Horton, who also helped James Faulkner claim his fourth wicket in similar fashion, that of White.

Tom Bailey wrapped up the innings, in which Faulkner finished with 4-63 from 28 overs, when he had Steven Crook (34) caught at long-on. Lancashire picked up the maximum three bowling points.