Harrison leads way as Northants beat Lancashire

BBC News

11-05-2025

Rothesay County Championship Division Two, County Ground, Northampton (day three)Northamptonshire 238 & 273: Sanderson 65, Zaib 50; Phillip 3-51, Williams 3-70Lancashire 276 & 165: Harris 43, Bohannon 41; Harrison 4-32, Guthrie 3-34Northamptonshire (19 pts) beat Lancashire (4 pts) by 70 runsMatch scorecard
Leg-spinner Calvin Harrison turned the game with a decisive spell of 4-32 as Northamptonshire fought back against Lancashire to seal their first County Championship win of the season.Harrison, on a short-term loan from Nottinghamshire, dismissed Marcus Harris and Josh Bohannon in quick succession after the pair had guided the Red Rose county to 116-2 – almost halfway to their 236 victory target at Wantage Road.That triggered a rapid collapse, with seven wickets falling for 28 to leave Lancashire, pre-season favourites for promotion, winless and bottom of the Division Two table.Earlier, tailender Ben Sanderson blazed a remarkable 65 from 28 balls – his maiden half-century and the second fastest in Northamptonshire's red-ball history – sharing a ninth-wicket stand of 81 with Liam Guthrie as they rallied to total 273 in their second innings.With their overnight lead at 102 and four wickets intact, the home side adopted a positive approach from the start as Saif Zaib hammered Anderson Phillip through the covers for successive fours.Harrison took his cue from Zaib, hitting three boundaries as they built a partnership of 49 and the left-hander advanced to his half-century, having spent almost three hours at the crease overall.When Tom Bailey slanted one across to have Zaib caught at slip, just two balls after Harrison had fallen lbw to Will Williams, Lancashire might have begun mentally preparing for the run chase – but Sanderson had other ideas.Having survived a sharp chance to gully with just four to his name, he went on the offensive with a combination of straight drives, square cuts and slashes over the slips, as well as flaying Williams past long-on for six.He also heaved Bailey over the rope to lift Northamptonshire's advantage beyond 200 and a flurry of four boundaries from a single Bailey over brought up the 36-year-old's maiden 50 in his 112th game of first-class cricket.A miscued pull off Phillip that looped to deep square leg eventually sent Sanderson back to the dressing room, accompanied by warm applause before Guthrie holed out for 16 in the bowler's next over.It left the visitors to chase 236 and Keaton Jennings seemed in a rush, hitting a trio of leg-side fours in the first over after lunch only to be fall victim to a smart catch by James Sales at square leg off Guthrie.Opening partner George Bell soon followed, snapped up at short midwicket by Zaib and, with over 200 still required, Bohannon and Harris had to maintain their composure and regroup.Harris, who had top-scored with a hundred in the first innings, looked well set for another big score as he lifted Lancashire's total into three figures with a clinical cover-driven four off Sanderson.The pair added 83 but Northamptonshire's decision to bring Harrison on before tea paid dividends as the leg-spinner prised out both the set batters, with Harris (43) lured down the track for a stumping and Bohannon (41) leg before pushing forward uncertainly.Those dismissals sandwiched that of Matty Hurst, who lost his off stump to a beauty from Harry Conway – and Harrison struck again in the first over after the interval, turning one to bowl Luke Wells through the gate.Conway and Sanderson collected a wicket apiece and Phillip's top edge provided Harrison with a routine return catch for his fourth scalp before Guthrie (3-34) had Williams caught behind to end Lancashire's late resistance.ECB Reporters' Network supported by Rothesay