Northamptonshire 355 for 5 (Zaib 111*, Sales 92, Procter 64) vs Lancashire

A superb century by Saif Zaib and a vital 92 from James Sales helped put Northamptonshire into the strong position of 355 for 5 against Lancashire after being put in to bat on the opening day of this Rothesay County Championship Division Two match at Old Trafford.

It proved to be an excellent day with the bat for the visitors as Lancashire's attack, featuring West Indies pace bowler Anderson Phillip for the first time this season along with loan signing John Turner, were made to work hard on a pitch not offering the bowlers much assistance.

Luke Procter made 64 and shared a century partnership for the third wicket with Sales during the first half of the day, and the latter then forged another excellent 97-run alliance with Zaib for the fifth either side of tea. Zaib reached his fourth first-class hundred from 149 balls just before the close, ending the day unbeaten on 111 after forging an unbroken partnership of 99 with Lewis McManus.

After two poor batting performances last week against Kent, Northamptonshire must have feared a potential repeat when they were 54 for 2 just an hour into the opening day, seamer George Balderson having Ricardo Vasconcelos caught behind for 16 and George Bartlett falling lbw for the same score to a searing yorker from overseas quick Phillip during a lively early spell.

Visiting skipper Procter, who produced a typically calm and unhurried innings, found an ally in Sales and the pair staged a superb fightback either side of lunch with a mixture of solid defence and a number of attractive drives. Procter, who reached 5000 runs for Northamptonshire in all forms of cricket during his innings, was the first to go to his half-century from 107 balls with Sales taking a brisker 78 balls to arrive at the same landmark in a 104-run partnership across 29 overs.

It was loan signing Turner, handed his Red Rose debut cap at the start of play by James Anderson - before the news of Anderson's impending knighthood broke - who made the breakthrough for Lancashire midway through the afternoon. The England fast bowler had made a tentative start earlier in the day but produced a much better sustained effort during his second spell and was rewarded when Procter gloved a leg side delivery to wicketkeeper Matty Hurst for 64. Balderson backed that up by trapping Rob Keogh lbw for a duck in the next over to leave the visitors on 159 for 4.

The day was in the balance at that point, but Sales and Zaib responded with a good, positive partnership that added 75 in 17 overs by tea, with Zaib becoming the third Northamptonshire batter to post a half-century soon after the break from 70 balls.

Just when a third first-class career century beckoned, Sales departed eight runs short to an injudicious shot, aiming to hit Tom Hartley over the top but picking out Marcus Harris at wide mid-on instead.

Zaib, who pulled Phillip over square leg for six, and McManus negotiated the rest of the day - and the arrival of the new ball - in some comfort to finish strongly and leave Northamptonshire in excellent shape going into day two.