LANCASHIRE faced a stiff target of 293 from a minimum of 77 overs to beat champions Surrey at The Oval this afternoon.
And they made a bad start when opener Jamie Haynes was caught by Butcher off Tudor's bowling for just nine. At lunch Lancas were 41-1 with John Crawley on 28 and Andy Flintoff on two. They had faced 11 overs.
Earlier, Surrey, who started on 285 for eight, eventually declared on 320 for nine. They took 17 overs to add 35 runs this morning in an attempt to bat the second-placed visitors entirely out of the match.
Realistically, they had already done so yesterday in nullifying the considerable threat of Muralitharan, who bowled 46 consecutive overs including eight this morning from the Vauxhall End.
But fellow finger spinner Saqlain Mushtaq, who will no doubt be excited by the turn on offer, could hold the key to this afternoon's events.
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