LV COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE, Old Trafford:
Lancashire 320 & 177-3 dec drew with Kent 213 & 45-2
Lancashire 9 pts, Kent 7 pts
Match scorecard

Lancashire were denied the chance to push for a final-day victory over Kent at Old Trafford by persistent showers.

The home side had hopes of starting the season with three Championship wins for the first time in 15 years.

But after declaring at their overnight 177-3, setting Kent 285 to win, less than 12 overs of play were possible.

And, despite Saj Mahmood bagging two wickets, Kent finished on 45-2 before the rain intervened and were also docked a point for a slow over rate.

Although only 11.5 overs were possible on the final day, the lively Mahmood still managed to rough up four Kent batsmen, as well as claiming his two wickets in a hostile spell either side of lunch.

The England fast bowler produced a quick, accurate delivery which burst through Joe Denly's loose defence, then found the edge of Geraint Jones' bat, Paul Horton holding onto an excellent catch at first slip.

Glen Chapple had also offered home supporters hope of further breakthroughs, extracting plenty of life from the Old Trafford pitch to beat Robert Key on a number of occasions.

Indeed, Kent appeared so concerned about the state of the wicket and the dangers posed by Chapple and Mahmood with the new ball that they promoted Matt Coles up the order as a 'lunch-watchman'.

The 19-year-old, who had batted as well as anyone except centurion Darren Stevens in the first innings, again enhanced his reputation with a composed 10 not out.

Rain had already prevented play for 90 minutes in the morning session, leaving a result unlikely and the weather finally closed in to abandon the game in mid-afternoon (1545 BST).

BBC Sport's Scott Read offers his final day verdict from Old Trafford:
Manchester's weather wins for the first, but perhaps not the last time this summer.

That's a shame because Lancashire were in a terrific position.

Despite the record books stating 'match drawn', Lancashire in truth dominated thanks to some fine bowling by Saj Mahmood, who took seven wickets in the game, and a century knock by Ashwell Prince.

This match also saw a milestone for Lancashire captain Glen Chapple who, now into his 19th season, has now surpassed 700 first-class wickets in Lancashire colours.

Kent team director Paul Farbrace told BBC Radio Kent:
"We thought we had a reasonable chance of chasing the 285 we were set in the second innings.

"We were woefully behind on the first innings and Ashwell Prince played very well for his hundred.

"But we dropped him on 16 and that's been the pattern for all three of our (Championship) games - missed chances have put us in difficult situations.

"On a positive note, Darren Stevens played one of the best innings I've ever seen him play, his century and his partnership with Matt Coles kept us in it, and on the last day we had a chance to win."

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