County Championship: Hameed helps Lancashire build lead against Warwickshire

Lancashire leg-spinner Matt Parkinson marked his Championship debut with a five-wicket haul against Warwickshire.

But it was former Bolton School team-mate Haseem Hameed who then helped the Red Rose build a useful lead with an unbeaten 81 as the hosts ended the day on 170-5, 215 runs in front.

Resuming on 202-6, Tim Ambrose stayed to hit an unbeaten 70 as the Bears got to 263, 45 behind on first innings.

But, after three Keith Barker wickets, Lancs recovered from 104-5 to 170-5.

Aided by Liam Livingstone's 39, opener Hameed passed 50 for the third time this season in an unbroken stand of 66.

Earlier, 19-year-old Parkinson added three wickets to finish with 5-49, figures fully reflecting the skill and control with which he bowled.

Ambrose and Barker and took their partnership to 125, a Bears seventh-wicket record against Lancashire.

But, after Barker edged Tom Smith to wicketkeeper Steven Croft, Jeetan Patel top-edged a sweep to short fine-leg off Parkinson, who then spun a beauty into the stumps to provide Boyd Rankin with the third golden duck of the innings before his caught and bowled accounted for Oliver Hannon-Dalby.

The home side went into tea on 77-1, only for four wickets to fall in quick succession as Barker's burst of three wickets in 14 balls was followed by Karl Brown nicking Jeetan Patel to the wicketkeeper.

But Lancashire's other 19-year-old Hameed helped Livingstone tilt a see-sawing match back Lancashire's way.

Lancashire captain Steven Croft told BBC Radio Manchester:

"We are in for a result, which is exciting, and hopefully it will go our way. We scrapped hard and finished off their innings well.

"Matt Parkinson bowled really well and thoroughly deserved his five wickets. He dismissed some very good players and in all the spells he bowled hardly bowled a bad ball. You won't see many more accurate spells from a leg-spinner.

"We tried to bat a bit more positively after tea but Keith Barker bowled well and Jeetan Patel bowled well all day. It's quite a hard wicket to force runs upon which augurs well for us.

"Haseeb Hameed has a really mature head on his shoulders and has played a really good and important knock for us."

Warwickshire director of cricket Dougie Brown:

"At the minute Lancashire are just in the ascendancy, but tomorrow's a different day.

"We fought really hard. All day we were excellent with the ball. Everyone came in exceptionally well and maybe we haven't got what we deserved, but take nothing away from Lancashire - they are at the top of the championship for a reason.

"It's turning out of the footmarks but not out of the flat part of the pitch, so that's something that is good for us, having to bat last.

"They have got a leg-spinner who bowled very well in the first innings but we are going to have to negotiate that. Whatever the target we will probably have a crack at it because the best way of taking this game on now is by being aggressive."