Lancashire v Surrey: Steven Croft hits 115 but Surrey regain lead

Lancashire captain Steven Croft hit 17 fours on the way to his 115

A fine opening stand from Mark Stoneman and Rory Burns helped Surrey regain the lead against Lancashire, for whom captain Steven Croft scored a century.

Resuming on 17-0 and trailing by 184 runs, Rikki Clarke (3-29) took three wickets as the Red Rose slumped from 68-0 to 75-4 inside six overs.

Croft hit a 173-ball 115 to rescue their innings as they posted 268.

However, Surrey took lead again as Stoneman and Burns helped them finish the second day on 79-0, ahead by 12.

Clarke first removed Rob Jones for 15 before Alex Davies, who had scored an excellent 54, was caught by Stoneman off the veteran seamer.

Gareth Batty (3-70) took a further three wickets as Lancashire struggled to open a sizeable lead against Surrey, with sides battling for second place in Division One.

Looking to overhaul a 67-run lead at the end of Lancashire's first innings, Stoneman and Burns - who passed 1,000 Championship runs this season - hit nine boundaries between them as they moved narrowly ahead going into day three.

It was a busy day for the hosts, who announced that Andrew Flintoff would join their board and Paul Allott would join as director of cricket, along with the signings of Keaton Jennings and Graham Onions from Durham and the departure of Kyle Jarvis, who is heading back to his native Zimbabwe.

Lancashire captain Steven Croft told BBC Radio Manchester:

"It was a good day with the bat. We would have liked a bigger lead but we did really well and got into a great position.

"The first session was one of two halves. Rob Jones and Alex Davies set a good foundation but when Rikki Clarke came on he bowled a really good spell. He really tested us.

"I was a little bit disappointed with the way we bowled. We leaked a lot of runs where we were looking at getting two or three wickets. It was a little bit of a downer on the day but it's still all to play for.

"We still feel confident of chasing a score. It's a nice deck. And I'm very pleased to have got some runs myself. To get that hundred at Old Trafford was very pleasing for me personally."

Surrey assistant coach Stuart Barnes told BBC Radio London:

"It was a really good session for us and maybe they showed us how to bat on this wicket. It's still doing a little bit but it's put us in a great position.

"Rikki Clarke did what he's good at. He got the ball to swing and got his rewards. It was a great little period for us.

"This morning was interesting because when we started the ball did very little. Then it became cloudy and started doing bits for us.

"There's been pockets where the bowlers have been on top. But Steven Croft, Rory Burns and Mark Stoneman have really showed the way that you do need to bat on this wicket."