County Championship: Lancashire-Warwickshire ends in draw in Manchester

England one-day international legspinner Matt Parkinson ended up with match figures of 6-124

Matt Parkinson took three wickets in a dramatic afternoon session but some resolute defensive batting by Chris Benjamin and Danny Briggs ensured that reigning county champions Warwickshire drew with Lancashire.

Benjamin and Briggs shared a seventh-wicket stand worth 46 before hands were shaken with the Bears on 184-6.

Yet no tension had seemed likely during a morning session in which the only wicket to fall was that of former Lancashire opener Alex Davies, who had made 10 when he received a nasty lifter in the third over of the morning and gloved a catch to Keaton Jennings at second slip off Tom Bailey.

Otherwise there were few alarms, other than a nasty blow in the box for England opener Dom Sibley from a ball bowled by Luke Wood.

Warwickshire were 85-1 at lunch, 39 ahead, and a draw was becoming increasingly probable but the fall of two wickets in the first hour of the afternoon session put the outcome in doubt.

Having made 41 to go with his unbeaten first-innings 142, Sibley edged an excellent leg-spinner from Parkinson to Phil Salt behind the stumps, then Sam Hain was leg-before wicket to a Hassan Ali yorker that is clearly the Pakistan bowler's speciality.

Rob Yates reached his first half-century of the season but, four overs later, Yates was bowled for 55 by one from Wood that nipped back and kept low.

Things got worse a quarter of an hour later when Bears skipper Will Rhodes, who has now scored just 73 runs in six Championship innings this season, tickled a leg-spinner from Parkinson to Jennings at leg-slip. And in Parkinson's next over Michael Burgess could make nothing of a classic leg-spinner and was bowled.

At tea Warwickshire were 144-6, with a lead of 98 - but the pace of Hassan and the spin of Parkinson could make no further breakthrough.

Both sides are back in action on Thursday when the Bears host Northamptonshire and Lancashire head to Headingley for the first Roses Match of the summer.

Lancashire head coach Glen Chapple told BBC Radio Lancashire:

"We put in a good effort but we lost over a session and a half to weather, so a result was unlikely.

"We would normally want a bigger first innings lead. But, having lost that time we were mindful that we needed to increase the scoring rate a little bit and in trying to do that we came a bit unstuck.

"Keaton Jennings was playing well last year and got a bad injury. He took a part in pre-season and is playing well. He's just had 3-4 weeks where he's had to come back from a small calf strain so we were confident he was in good nick."

Warwickshire head coach Mark Robinson told BBC Radio WM:

"Dom Sibley batted outstandingly well to get us to a score that was competitive but we were looking down the barrel when they were 127 without loss going into the third day.

"Then Will Rhodes led the team exceptionally well and the bowlers responded brilliantly, backed up by the fielders.

"It looked as though things were calmer but then we had a little flurry of wickets and we needed Chris Benjamin and Danny Briggs to settle things down again. We're going home, happy with the points and the character we showed."

Report supplied by the ECB Reporters' Network.