Staffordshire manoeuvred themselves into a position to push for victory heading into the final day of their NCCA Championship game against Lincolnshire.
An enthralling second day at Checkley ended with Staffordshire on 83-0 as they pursued a victory target of 292 at the Four Trees venue.
The fact that Staffs have managed to stay in the hunt for an opening-round success was testament to their battling performance on the second day.
They kicked off proceedings on the back foot as they resumed on 159-8 in reply to Lincolnshire’s 246 all out.
Crucially, though, stand-in captain Michael Hill was in residence and he continued his love affair with Checkley by advancing his overnight score of 39 to an unbeaten 93.
Tom Brett and Jacob Garlick kept Hill company as Staffs managed to find their way to 218 all out to limit the first-innings deficit.
Hill plundered nine fours and five sixes in his latest vital knock and, in the process, went through 4,000 career runs in NCCA Championship cricket.
It was yet another indication about how integral Hill has been to the batting unit over the years – and without his input, it really would have been an uphill task.
‘Having a ball’
Staffordshire then performed heroically with the ball to dismiss Lincs for 263 second time around on a pitch which began to flatten out.
Spinner Tom Brett grabbed 5-54, Sam Atkinson added 3-44 to his first-innings five-for, but arguably the pick of the bowlers was paceman Garlick.
He pounded in for a 10-over spell after lunch, bowling with top-class pace and was rewarded with a couple of victims.
After Hill’s batting brilliance in the early part of the morning session, Lincolnshire managed to find their way to 36-1 at the lunch interval.
Ben Jones was the wicket to fall when he was trapped lbw by Atkinson for two.
The afternoon proved to be a case of Staffordshire maintaining their discipline as Lincs looked to extend their lead into a match-winning position.
They pushed on to 64-1, before Garlick picked up his first reward when Nic Keast was unfortunate to play on to his stumps to depart for 40.
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Garlick was pumped up and claimed his next scalp with the total on 96 when Ben Wright was bowled for 17.
And there was time for one more scalp before tea for Staffs when Tom Brett breached the defences of Sam Evans to fall for 49.
Lincolnshire would still have been happy with their lot as they took tea on 162-4 heading into the last session of the day.
‘Moving time’
This was the time for the match to really move on as Staffordshire gradually worked their way through Lincolnshire’s line-up.
Jordan Cook (35) was bowled by Atkinson for 35, and the same Staffs bowler then trapped Drew Sylvester lbw for five.
At 220-6, Staffordshire sensed their chance to wrap up the Lincolnshire innings in pretty swift fashion.
The main threat, though, was Tom Keast, who had an earlier reprieve when he was caught off a no-ball.
Keast batted nicely to make his way to 61, but just after Brett had accounted for Alex Moor, the Lincs skipper chipped a catch to Jack Redman.
Mark Footitt was bowled by Brett, who then wrapped up the Lincolnshire innings when he won an lbw verdict against Josh Knapton.
‘Key period’
Staffordshire would have been delighted to be chasing anything less than 300 – but there was still plenty of work to do.
A key 90-minute passage of play remained in the day which could shape the potential outcome heading into day three.
A flurry of wickets would leave Staffs praying for the forecast rain, while a solid start would raise hopes of pulling off a win to start off their divisional title defence.
It was tense and nervy at times, not least when Lincolnshire dropped four catches in the Staffordshire run chase.
At least three of them should have been comfortably taken, but sometimes you need a stroke of luck facing the new ball.
As it was, Tom Moulton (42no) and Matt Morris (35no) managed to see Staffs through to the close.
That has left Staffordshire requiring another 209 for victory on the third and final day.
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Both Staffs and Lincs will know that the first hour of play will be pretty crucial to their respective prospects.
Staffordshire will be confident, but know that there’s plenty more graft to put in to take the points.
Main image: Staffordshire captain Michael Hill hits another six on his way to 93 not out against Lincolnshire. Picture: David Peters