Lancashire opener Keaton Jennings is the first player in cricket history to have managed four consecutive Roses match centuries
| LV= County Championship Division One, Emirates Old Trafford (Day 1): |
| Lancashire 272-8: Jennings 119, Well 84; hills 6-26 |
| Yorkshire: Still to beat |
| Lancashire 2pts, Yorkshire 2pts |
| scorecard |
Lancashire opener Keaton Jennings made history with the bat before a brilliant bowling magic from Yorkshire’s George Hill made for an intriguing first day of the Roses match.
Jennings hit 119 as he was the first batsman to hit four hundreds in four straight innings in that famous game when he put on 180 for the first wicket with Luke Wells hitting 84.
But Jennings’ sacking sparked a Lancashire meltdown as Hill scored the first five-wicket pull of his career.
Hill finished 6-26 from 16 overs, including a breakout of 5-5 as Lancashire fell from 231-1 to 251-6 before finally limping to 272-8.
It was unbelievable how the ball dominated the racquet in the last session, as in the first two sessions the Red Rose made quiet progress after captain Dane Vilas won the throw.
Lancashire start this game 34 points adrift of leaders Surrey and know they need to realistically win all three remaining games if they are to overtake the south London and Hampshire side to clinch the title.
That meant putting a big score on the board and it came as a surprise as Wells was out short of tea when a century seemed to have gone for him as he got trapped in the depths of the hill.
But Jennings was unstoppable. He nailed his century from 220 balls, becoming the first player in that game to hit centuries in four consecutive innings, surpassing Yorkshire’s Herbert Sutcliffe and Lancashire’s Geoff Pullar, both of whom had three in a row.
After previous records of 238, 132 and 114 in Rose’s innings and a career-best 318 against Somerset in July, Yorkshire must have feared the worst as the opener was just starting to drive before Hill produced the ball of the day to cut off the batsman-stump .
The Yorkshire opener, who threw the ball only as a sixth choice from the White Rose’s new skipper Jonny Tattersall, was then inspired to bowl by the James Anderson end.
He sped through the middle order, with Tom Kohler-Cadmore scoring three catches in the slip as Hill found the ideal line and length under cloudy skies and the floodlights on.
By the time George Balderson was the sixth man to leave, Hill had threw a 5-5 in 41 ball spell, including a double wicket maiden.
Ben Coad then took two wickets in back-to-back balls just before the end as the visitors ended the day on the rise, with Lancashire’s hopes of a big first innings result and a maximum of five points almost dashed.
Lancashire Centurion Keaton Jennings:
“I’ve never felt particularly fluid at any point, but me and Wellsy have ended up in a lovely partnership that has grown and grown. It was nice batting with my fellow giraffe!
“We started the day well and it’s a bit disappointing to finish in the position we are in. But we have 278 on the board.
“The new ball that came out after the other got wet was pretty new. They saw him kick and fly off the surface.
“It still had gold writing on it. It’s not a smack on the umpires. It was the oldest that was still in the box. It’s just like that when we were running well.”
Yorkshire sailor George Hill:
“I haven’t bowled in a while and when Tatts threw me the ball I was glad to be back bowling and just enjoying it. When the second ball came it was much more difficult.
“My role is usually to try to make it as dry as possible and hit one area as consistently as possible. It was just that the odd one nibbled enough. I felt I was in a good rhythm – and that’s key was to run in and meet the same area.
“I said to Tatts after my second or third wicket, ‘Pick me up and put on the strike bowlers.’ But luckily he kept me.
“Our main concern was to keep that run rate below three and above and to control that rate. But we are very happy with the way it happened. If we can roll them out for 320, we’ll be good in the game.
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