Having won the toss and batted it was negative of Wells to set an unrealistic target on a fourth-day wicket. If he had declared overnight Somerset would have needed 362 to win. Successful fourth-innings chases of more than 300 are rare and need at least a couple of outstanding batting performances. Wells wouldn’t risk that, possibly because the wicket was still true and he did not believe his bowlers capable of taking 10 wickets. Watching the two spinners bowl it was hard not to agree with him.Carl Crowe and Daniel Marsh contributed only 14 overs of the 83 bowled. Despite making a century in the first innings of this match and taking a good catch, it is difficult to understand the logic of signing Marsh as an overseas player. He is not an out-and-out batter like Stuart Law or Darren Lehmann ­ he started his Leicestershire career atNo 6, his spot for Tasmania.

And he is not a left-arm tweaker to cause palpitations in opposition dressing-rooms as fielders scavenge for bat-pad catches. A decent cricketer he is, but surely overseas players need to be more than decent, to possess the potential to be match-winners.Instead, well-crafted innings by Piran Holloway and Mark Lathwell were match-savers. “Sometimes you have to accept that a good game of cricket can be a draw,” said Jack Birkenshaw, the Leicestershire manager. But his team need victories ­ for that they may need to gamble more.. A brilliant unbeaten century by Warren Hegg helped Lancashire pull off a stunning and unlikely victory over Northamptonshire and end a grim start to the season.

A brilliant unbeaten century by Warren Hegg helped Lancashire pull off a stunning and unlikely victory over Northamptonshire and end a grim start to the season.
Indeed, Lancashire must be glad to have put the month of May behind them. There was certainly nothing merry about it as far as they were concerned. They played a total of nine matches in all competitions and lost seven of them. Yesterday, though, all that changed as they recorded their first Championship victory at Wantage Road since 1979.