With the table-toppers on the verge of a 24 points win, Lancashire had it all to do in their penultimate game with Notts at Trent Bridge.
Only a maximum points haul would keep Lancashire in the race - and even then they would have to rely on Leicester coming unstuck in their last fixture at the Foster's Oval next week when Surrey will be without their match-winning spinner Saqlain Mushtaq.
Lancashire went into today's Trent Bridge clash fully believing they could stay in the title battle, but the situation at the top of the table has revived memories of 1970 when they landed a one-day double and finished third in the championship.
Chairman Jack Simmons who played in that year said: ``This side will keep going right to the end. There is still everything to play for.'
Lancashire were hoping that Mike Atherton had recovered from back trouble.