Date-stamped : 12 Jul96 - 02:17 NatWest Trophy, Round 2 Lancashire v Northamptonshire Old Trafford 10 July 1996 ====> REPORT Martin gets Lancashire home in tense finale By Brian Bearshaw at Old Trafford Lancashire (225-9) bt Northamptonshire (223) by 1 wkt LANCASHIRE overcame an attack of the jitters to sneak home with their last pair together and eight balls remaining in this dress rehearsal for Saturday`s Benson & Hedges Cup final. Lancashire were in charge from the opening overs when Peter Mar- tin took four wickets. But Northants fought back to take three wickets in the last seven overs and leave Lancashire needing three runs from the last nine balls with that one wicket stand- ing. Martin, the man of the match, wasted no time, striding in and driving the first ball he received from David Capel for four. The morning started cloudy and murky, a gloom that lifted only occasionally, the sort of conditions that must have had Lan- cashire captain Mike Watkinson jumping around in delight after winning the toss. He put Northants in and Martin ripped the heart out of the batting. Wickets came in his third, sixth, seventh and eighth overs and Northants were sweating in the gloom. Richard Montgomerie, Mal Loye and Capel were all out to edged catches, Montgomerie and Loye in the slips, Capel to the wicket- keeper. Rob Bailey was bowled middle-stump round his legs. There was some bounce for Martin on a pitch on which more than 500 runs were scored in Sunday`s AXA League match. Two wickets in an over by Steve Elworthy kept the squeeze on Northants. Alan Fordham provided wicketkeeper Warren Hegg with another catch and Kevin Curran mistimed a pull to mid-on. And when Russell Warren was out in a similar fashion, Northants were 96 for seven. Lancashire`s supporters were jubi- lant. They thought it was all over, but it was not. The highest eighth-wicket stand for Northants in all one day matches was about to break over Lancashire, Tony Penberthy and John Emburey putting on 112 in 24 overs. Northants were 105 for seven at lunch and no doubt Emburey, the Northants coach, pressed home the need to bat through the remaining 25 overs. He promptly hit a six off fellow off-spinner Gary Yates straight after lunch, but when Martin came on for his remaining three overs, Emburey was mainly responsible in successfully resisting the England bowler. Penberthy, dropped off a steeple-high catch when he was 41, followed up by hitting Yates for a four and two sixes in his last over. The partnership was ended when Elworthy at last found a way through Emburey`s defence after he had scored 46. Curtly Am- brose did not hang around and only four balls were left in the innings when Penberthy was out, a fine innings of 79 runs includ- ing five fours and three sixes. In 25 overs before tea Mike Atherton and Jason Gallian smoothly saw off Ambrose. Yet nine balls after tea Lancashire were 68 for two, Atherton being caught off an inside edge, Gallian defensively providing a catch to second slip, and when John Crawley, playing his first match for a month after injury, was lbw sweeping Emburey, Lan- cashire were 86 for three. Neil Fairbrother hit a brisk 37 before giving the wicketkeeper a legside catch and when Emburey dismissed Graham Lloyd and Watkinson, both with the help of well-judged catches by Montgomerie, Lancashire were 182 for six and Northants sensed an upset. But it was not to be although they reduced Lancashire from 198 for six to 221 for nine and set up the unexpectedly ex- citing finish. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by Shash (shs2@*.cwru.edu)