County Championship: Rob Jones ton in vain as Essex force late win over Lancashire

Rob Jones' 111 at Stanley Park was only his third first-class ton, his first in four years - and his only one not scored on a Test match ground

Lancashire's Rob Jones hit a battling century in vain as the hosts fell just short of a record-breaking run chase to lose at home to Essex at Blackpool with just 10 balls to spare.

Essex's fourth win of the season lifted the 2017 and 2019 title winners up to second in the County Championship Division One table, within 13 points of leaders Surrey.

An overnight Essex declaration on 292-8 set Lancashire, bowled out in their first innings for 145, an unlikely 430 to win - their highest ever to win a county game.

Jones' brilliant 111, along with half-centuries from Luke Wells (75) and Josh Bohannon (68), made for an enthralling contest in which all results were possible going into the last hour.

But with Essex fielders crowded around the bat, Lancashire finally succumbed with 10 balls to go when Jones edged Doug Bracewell to Dan Lawrence at slip.

The visitors got off to an encouraging start, taking the attack to Simon Harmer, as Wells swept the South African spinner for six.

The only wicket to fall in a near perfect morning session was home captain Keaton Jennings, caught spectacularly one-handed by wicketkeeper William Buttleman off Bracewell for 30.

After reaching lunch at 140-1, Wells only added six more runs before he was the first of two wickets in an over for Lancashire-born Matt Critchley.

He reverse swept Critchley into the hands of a diving Paul Walter before the horribly out-of-form Dane Vilas bagged a pair in the match when he walked all around a wrong'un for a fifth-ball duck, three balls longer than he had lasted in the first innings.

Bohannon was then caught by Harmer trying to pull Walter but Phil Salt came in to continue the run-chase with a degree of calm urgency.

The fifth-wicket pair constructed a crucial partnership of 85 before Salt became Critchley's third victim when he top-edged to Sam Cook on the fine leg boundary.

Colin de Grandhomme hooked Walter to Porter, while Tom Hartley hung around long enough to hit 17 before being caught behind, but Jack Blatherwick and Tom Bailey added just nine runs between them.

When Bailey fell to a brilliant diving catch in the deep by Harmer off Bracewell with 54 still needed, Lancashire finally stopped seeking victory and dug in, with 44 balls for Jones and Will Williams to face - but they only got to the second ball of the penultimate over.

Both Essex and Lancashire are back in action in six days' time in the next round of Championship fixtures, which start next Wednesday.

Essex are at home to lowly Kent, while Lancashire head to Edgbaston to face third-placed Warwickshire.

Lancashire centurion Rob Jones:

"It's bittersweet. I'm personally proud of this performance but the team didn't win and that's the most important thing.

"I'm gutted we couldn't get over the line to draw. We were in a good position to go for the win until we lost a couple of wickets."We were right on track to do that, scoring at four and five an over for most of the day but we didn't quite get there."It was never the plan to do anything stupid but to stick to the game plan - the out field was pretty quick and the wicket was good and the sun was out so it was case of getting behind the ball and scoring when you could."

Essex skipper Tom Westley:

"It's an unbelievable win. Lancashire are a very good team and we know how dangerous they are. But this puts us in a nice position with five games to go.

"Because the points for the draw have been taken away we did expect them to keep going for the win for a long time and testament to them they did.

"Even when Tom Bailey came out they were still looking to hit boundaries. Credit to them for wanting to force the win."It was an outstanding team performance from Essex. We've been blessed for a number of years now that Simon Harmer will take six or seven wicket in the fourth innings but he didn't take one - and that's the way it goes sometimes so for the other lads to stick their hands up and chip in."

Report supplied by ECB Reporters' Network.