By Peter Deeley at Trent Bridge

First day of four: Notts (61-4) trail Lancs (218) by 157 runs

LANCASHIRE'S quest for their third trophy in a matter of weeks had a stuttering start and but for a resolute Neil Fairbrother would not have earned a single batting point.

If their batsmen struggled to come to terms with the excessive movement of the ball that was nothing compared to Nottinghamshire's tribulations later in the day.

Though 14 wickets fell, the sluggish pitch was hardly to blame and Fairbrother rightly felt towards the end of his 3.5-hour stay that the only way was to go over the top.

Lancashire's 218 may be good enough in the end to earn them a victory that would see them still within challenging distance of Leicestershire coming to the last round of the County Championship next week when they take on Hampshire at Old Trafford.

But it would have been some 50 runs fewer had Notts captain Jason Gallian not inexplicably put down Fairbrother at first slip when he was 34. The un- expected angle of the ball leaving the bat may have deceived Gallian but it reached him slowly at waist height.

With Michael Atherton unable to play because of a recurrence of his back trouble, Mark Chilton opened with John Crawley when the visitors were put in and their 64-run stand was the result of considerable watchfulness.

Both were dismissed eventually by the alert catching of Graeme Archer at second slip. Archer dived forward to pick up Chilton via bat/pad then took a fine one-handed catch far to his right to get rid of Crawley. Archer's third catch was quite breaktaking a fast thick edge which the fielder took again one-handed in front of first slip. It all almost - but not quite - made up for Gallian's costly miss.

Chris Tolley, who nearly did not make this game because of his shoulder troubles, had a dream day, taking six for 74 as Lancashire's last six wickets fell for 43, with Fairbrother ninth out as he chopped on to Paul Franks.

Some of Lancashire's batting looked less than capable but Notts' start was truly abysmal. Gallian, who has not passed 25 since taking over as captain in early August, completed an unhappy day against his old county, edging Peter Martin to second slip in the fourth over. Usman Afzaal came in with a pair under his belt from the last game. This time he made one before unwisely playing back to Wasim Akram and being caught behind.

Then Guy Welton misread Martin and shouldered arms to one coming back and before four overs were lost to the light Paul Johnson was leg before to Ian Austin as yet another delivery came back sharply off the pitch.

Nottinghamshire batsman Paul Pollard is leaving Trent Bridge after 12 seasons to play for Worcestershire next summer.

Day 4: Lancashire stride on in title chase

By Scyld Berry at Trent Bridge

Lancashire (218 & 193-7) lead Nottinghamshire (115) by 296 runs

IF this does prove to be the last County Championship as we know it, it should have a fine old finish to remember it by. Three teams - Leicestershire, the leaders, Surrey, close behind, and Lancashire, assuming they win here - will all have a fine chance of the Britannic Assurance title when the last round begins on Thursday.

Indeed, so entertaining will the climax be that the counties might decide to keep the championship as it is. Domestic first-class cricket holds no appeal for mass audiences - not a thousand people watched Lancashire yesterday - but at least the championship as it stands means something to the players and diehard supporters.

Regional cricket, on the other hand, if it consists of six teams drawn from three first-class counties each, might not stir any pulses at all. This Nottinghamshire v Lancashire match may not have touched great heights of skill, but it has been contested with spirit, and it has the force of some tradition behind it; whereas if it had been North Midlands v the North, there would have been more skill on show, yet perhaps even less atmosphere and intensity.

So the latest proposal to emanate from the ECB might be a smoke-screen, like last year's even more inane scheme of three conferences, to disguise the real intention: that of introducing two divisions. And the more stirring the climax of this season is, the less likely such an innovation will be when the future is determined in October.

It has been the batting in this game which has been distinctly below the standard required to prepare English cricketers for Test level. The catching by both sides has been excellent, except for one bad miss by Jason Gallian at first slip before Neil Fairbrother had put together the only first-innings score of note; and the pace bowlers have all produced fine deliveries off the slow seaming surface, sometimes swinging the ball as well with the strong, cold, cross-wind.

The batting, however, has been similar to that in all too many championship matches of late, more dog-eared than dogged. Fourteen batsmen were dismissed on the first day, 11 more by tea on the second.

The West Indian master, George Headley, used to look at colleagues who got themselves out and quietly reflect: ``him not like to bat'', but there is more to it than that. County batsmen of the moment do like batting, but they do not build innings to last, or defend with soft hands. A third of the wickets here have fallen to slip catches, mostly when batsmen have pushed at the ball, rather than letting it hit their bats, as they would have done in the generations before one-day cricket.

Nottinghamshire, 61 for four overnight, were rolled over in only 70 minutes of the morning session, to concede a first innings lead of 103. Wasim Akram did not have to get out of bed to bowl, and it made little difference that he dropped Chris Tolley at gully. Ian Austin bowled straight and Peter Martin did the same when he was not swinging it away; that was sufficient.

Lancashire's opening pair were a substantial improvement as they began with 86 from 22 overs. John Crawley was as certain as ever on the leg side, pulling successive balls for four and six, and sometimes so outside offstump before he perished. Mark Chilton was more compact and composed than anyone before he cut low to gully, and the wickets tumbled again, although by then Lancashire were well-placed to win and maintain their title chase.