Staffordshire face an uphill task to avoid defeat in their NCCA Championship Division One East game against Lincolnshire.
A second-innings batting collapse proved to be Staffs’ undoing at Cleethorpes as they wilted in the sweltering heat.
The two sides had been virtually level-pegging after their respective first innings – with hosts Lincs carving out a three-run lead.
That was down to Jordan Cook’s maiden Championship ton as he finished on an unbeaten 166.
And with skipper Tom Keast (77) and Ben Wright (58) also in fine fettle, Lincolnshire managed to achieve parity with the bat.
But the home side then roared into the ascendancy with an excellent bowling performance in the early evening to leave Staffordshire’s second venture to the crease in tatters.
Staffordshire limped their way to 106-7 at the close – a paltry lead of 103 – to leave them teetering on the brink of a horrible loss.
‘Digging in’
Reeve Evitts showed plenty of fight to end the day on 49 not out… and it was a good job he did.
There will still be some faint hope that Staffordshire can eke out a total which may challenge Lincolnshire on the final day.
But any betting man would be sticking their hard-earned cash on a Lincolnshire victory when the final blows are traded on the east coast.
Staffordshire wouldn’t have been too bothered about conceding that slender lead, but they then found themselves in dire straits before wiping out those three runs.
Captain James Kettleborough and opening partner Matthew Morris were both back in the pavilion before scorers Caroline Cartwright and Shelley Clayton had been forced to put a run on the board.
Kettleborough was snapped up off the fifth ball of Staffs’ innings when he nicked a Matty Mills delivery and was brilliantly caught low down by keeper Drew Sylvester.
And Morris followed him back in the very next over when Josh Knapton won an lbw verdict from the umpire – a decision which clearly disappointed the Staffs left-hander.
‘Bad start’
Lincolnshire now had their tails up and 0-2 became 14-3 when Tom Moulton was struck on the pad and trapped lbw by the impressive Mills.
Reeve Evitts and Michael Hill were then tasked with what head coach Andy Carr calls ‘stopping the bleeding’.
However, their efforts were more of a sticking plaster rather than major surgery as the Lincs bowlers got on a roll.
Hill, gunning for a fourth successive hundred at Chichester Road – and boy did Staffordshire need it – fell with the score on 40.
He was undone by spinner Nick Keast and exited for 13.
Callum Hawkins, fresh from scoring his first red-ball half-century for the county on day one, produced a couple of attractive strokes, including bringing the reverse sweep out of the locker.
But having made 12, he was bowled by a handy delivery from Tom Currie as Staffordshire found themselves 54-5.
And it became 55-6 in the very next over when Joe Pocklington had Liam Hurt lbw for a duck.
‘Resistance’
At that point there was the very real prospect of the match being done and dusted inside two days, which would have been a humiliation for Staffordshire.
However, Evitts and Sam Atkinson managed to repel the Lincolnshire attack with a stand which at least ensured the contest will head into a final day.
The way the day finished would have been a huge blow to Staffordshire after going into it with high hopes of putting Lincs under pressure.
Lincolnshire resumed on 68-2 as they chased down Staffs’ imposing 386-7 on the first day.
Staffordshire knew it was going to be a day requiring patience with the ball, but they managed to pick up their first victim with the scoreboard showing 91.
‘Early success’
Opener Qundeel Haider fell lbw to Rory Haydon for 35… and the Lincs man was less than impressed with the verdict bestowed on him.
Then came a key passage of play with Wright and Keast occupying the crease – two key men in Lincs’ quest to put a decent total of their own on the board.
Wright, who was shelled on 30, had made his way to 58 in pleasing fashion before he was dismissed with the score on 136.
Medium-pacer Evitts managed to extract some extra bounce and enticed an edge from Wright to Kettleborough at first slip, who clung on after a juggling act.
And Staffordshire could rightly feel that they were in the driving seat when Nic Keast looked to launch spinner Tom Brett over the ropes.
But his shot execution was all wrong and he could only manage to lob the ball to Hill lurking at mid on.
Lincolnshire then progressed from 150-5 to 211-5 at lunch, but Staffs would have been happy with their work in the morning session.
‘Runs flowing’
The sunshine did begin to take its toll as the afternoon unfolded, though, which enabled Lincs to wear down the visitors’ attack.
And Kettleborough’s options were not helped by spinner Anis Raza being off the field with a back problem.
There was some early joy for Staffs, however, when Hurt accounted for the dangerous Tom Keast.
He took on a Hurt short ball, but banged it straight to Moulton at mid-wicket.
Staffordshire would have harboured hopes of establishing a reasonably big lead at that point.
Cook, though, had other ideas as he made his way to a first three-figure red-ball score for Lincs.
Staffs were convinced they had him lbw when he was on 99 – and Brett couldn’t believe it when the umpire didn’t agree.
Cook did manage to reach his ton and then kicked into overdrive as the overs ticked by.
Staffordshire kept plugging away and were rewarded with wickets for Moulton and Haydon as they accounted for Knapton and Joshua Joy.
But Cook’s innings, which contained 19 fours and six sixes, ensured that Lincs nudged their noses in front after the first innings.
‘Familiar tale’
We’ve seen plenty of times when Staffordshire have folded in their second innings to hand the initiative to the opposition.
However, it was still a fairly dramatic decline as the top order was blown away.
Lincs bowled better lines and forced Staffs to play as they piled on the pressure in the evening session.
Evitts and Atkinson showed some valuable resistance, but Atkinson fell in the closing over of the day.
Spinner Haider was brought into the attack and Atkinson edged him to slip to depart for 19.
That dismissal, thanks to a fine catch, probably summed up Staffs’ evening endeavours.
They will be hoping that Evitts can now marshal the tail to get the visitors up to a decent target.
Main image: Reeve Evitts made 49 not out in Staffordshire’s second innings. Picture: Pete Stonier
