Warwickshire began the county season among the sides being tipped for the title but now go into the final day needing seven wickets to confirm their Division One status and leave that of their opponents then hinging on how Durham’s batsmen fare at Hampshire.
Having set Lancashire an improbable 347 for victory after declaring on 279 for seven in their second innings, Ian Bell’s side completed a dominant third day at Edgbaston by reducing the visitors to 28 for three following an 18-over burst with the new ball late on the third day.
“Those three wickets were very important because it put more pressure on them and gave us belief,” said Jeetan Patel, the Warwickshire spinner. “We are in a position where we can win the game and, if we can get ruthless and keep pushing and pushing, we can knock them over.
“It is very disappointing to be fighting to avoid relegation because we started the season aiming to win all the competitions. It is a tough division but I’m not going to lie. We are down at this end of the table not for that reason but because we just missed key moments.”
Already sitting 79 runs ahead going into the third day, Warwickshire’s lead swelled to 177 by lunch and exactly 300 at tea before Bell eventually waved the batsmen in at 4.30pm, giving his bowling attack 18 overs in which to inflict some early damage on the visiting side.
Keith Barker responded almost immediately, producing an inswinger to trap Rob Jones lbw in the third over, before Patel’s 67th wicket of another bumper season completed a tough match for Luke Proctor when the right-hander was struck in front offering no shot.
With four overs remaining, Chris Wright then teased an outside edge from Karl Brown with Haseeb Hameed and the nightwatchman Simon Kerrigan now set to resume in the morning.
Hope for Lancashire lies both in events going their way on the south coast – second-bottom Hampshire lead Durham by 226 runs with three wickets remaining – and the fact that the Edgbaston pitch, which had produced 20 wickets and just one half-century in the first two days, eased up a little as Warwickshire marched towards setting the imposing target.
It was Tim Ambrose, unbeaten on 59 from 114 balls, who top scored for the home side, with Jonathan Trott’s 42 in the morning the next best on show. Warwickshire’s innings was a collective effort rather than one of standouts, however, efficiently grinding the life out of Lancashire before Patel biffed two sixes down the ground in his 23 not out to finish it off with a flourish.
For the visitors Arron Lilley’s off-breaks returned three for 56 from 17 overs – including a big turning delivery to bowl Trott through the gate before lunch – while the pick of the seamers for the second time in the match was the nagging right arm of Tom Bailey, who claimed one for 62. Among the most fluent for Warwickshire was Sam Hain, who followed up his 52 in the first innings with 30 from 36 balls, including six fours.
It has been a frustrating season for the Bears batsmen overall, however, with Trott top-scoring in the Championship but still falling 25 short of 1,000 runs for the campaign, while Bell, in his first year as club captain, has averaged only 33 – two more than he made in his final innings before chopping on to Kyle Jarvis playing a late cut.
While safety beckons for Bell’s side, it remains to be seen what changes he looks to implement over the winter with their victory in the Royal London Cup last Saturday not masking what has been an underwhelming campaign for a club who, on paper at least, should not have been flirting with the drop in the first place.
Lancashire, who after the close were still talking up the possibility of the draw that would see them safe and likely send down their opponents, were always going to find life back in Division One tricky. They remain a side yet to mature, with their director of cricket, Ashley Giles, having invested in youth and been rewarded with individual performances if not the results that their supporters hoped for after three early wins raised expectations.
