Chris Woakes hands Warwickshire lead at Lancashire

England one-day all-rounder Woakes has passed 50 four times for Warwickshire in Championship cricket this summer

Chris Woakes hit a half-century to give Warwickshire a useful lead after two days of their clash with fellow Championship challengers Lancashire.

The Bears, 30-1 overnight at Liverpool, appeared to be in trouble after slipping to 133-5.

But captain Jim Troughton (49) steadied the ship before 60 from Woakes helped them eke out 280, a lead of 91.

Lancashire openers Paul Horton and Stephen Moore had cut that to 59 by the close, guiding their side to 32-0.

The hosts had enjoyed the better of the morning session as three wickets fell for 82 runs, the first coming when Kyle Hogg trapped William Porterfield lbw with the 17th ball of the day.

Saj Mahmood removed Laurie Evans the same way, and bowled Troughton with one of 12 no-balls, before Hogg also had Tim Ambrose caught behind.

But, after rain caused a 50-minute delay early in the afternoon, Warwickshire bossed the middle session, with Woakes sharing key partnerships of 40 with Troughton and 53 with Keith Barker.

Gary Keedy (3-48) removed Woakes, Barker and Jeetan Patel to peg Warwickshire back, before the Lancashire openers survived 16 overs to leave the game intriguigly poised.

CLOSE OF PLAY SUMMARIES

BBC Radio Lancashire's Liam Bradford:

"Lancashire will have been a little frustrated on the second day of their Championship game against Warwickshire. The Red Rose couldn't take wickets at the same pace as their visitors thanks to the weather conditions and sturdy batting.

"A first innings lead of 91 might prove to be tricky to overcome, but it's an easier wicket to bat on than on day one and the Lancashire side will be hoping for batting contributions through the order to try and put on a good total.

"Gary Keedy took 3-48 in the Warwickshire first innings and believes the pitch will start to take more turn. There's little chance of the game being concluded tomorrow and a wet weather forecast may put pay to a positive result one way or the other here."

BBC Coventry & Warwickshire's Clive Eakin:

"This promised to be an absorbing contest and it's living up to its billing. Sunshine on the second day changed the pitch, removing swing from the equation, and although they batted well Warwickshire may regret that none of their batsmen went on to make a really big score.

"The Bears bowlers will be hoping for the return of cloud cover on Wednesday morning so they can make the most of a useful first innings lead.

"The potential spoiler for the match is inclement weather forecast for the final day. It'll be a shame if the game doesn't get a chance to reach a natural conclusion."