Cricket: Lancashire Reel But Anderson Waltzes Back

It was a day of surprises in Manchester. Lancashire's all-powerful line-up was skittled for 187, the most fluent innings was played by a man with a bad back and James Anderson put a winter of discontent behind him to york Graeme Hick, who two days earlier had bludgeoned a double-century against the New Zealanders. Other than that it was entirely predictable.

The general wisdom is that this is Lancashire's year. The defending champions Sussex have already been thrashed and Surrey, potential rivals, have problems of their own.

There is even talk here of squad rotation - usually the preserve of that other Old Trafford - because the seam-bowling cupboard is so richly stocked. Everything, it seemed, has been falling into place and a crowd of 1,800 buzzed expectantly when Lancashire chose to bat first.

What followed had Sod's law written all over it. There were healthy amounts of seam movement for Worcestershire's pace quartet and plenty of late swing under grey skies but the England and Wales Cricket Board's pitch-liaison officer Phil Sharpe had no concerns. The implication was that the same Lancashire batsmen who between them last season hit 28 championship hundreds should not have collapsed to 119 for eight.

Had it not been for Mal Loye they might not have got much further. Dropped on nought by Steve Rhodes, he retired on four with back spasms, then returned with a runner and the scoreboard reading 117 for six. Soon afterwards the lively Nadeem Malik struck twice in three balls and Loye promptly decided valour was the better part of discretion.

Andrew Hall was cut and driven for two fours in an over and Matt Mason picked up over long-leg for six. When Loye reached a half-century made up of as many balls (71) as winces, the members gave him a standing ovation, which he acknowledged with another grimace. His ninth-wicket stand of 60 in 18 overs with Gary Keedy had kept Lancashire in the game.

All eyes now turned to Anderson. After a winter in which he was given only 146 overs in six months by the England management, Duncan Fletcher's request that he should play here had a nice irony about it. He began rustily but Anderson's brief career has been full of dramatic entrances and with the last ball of his third over he persuaded a static Stephen Moore to play on.

The big prize was still to come. Hick arrived in confident mood after his plundering at New Road, but Anderson was starting to find late in-swing and there was nothing the batsman could do about a searing yorker which took out his off-stump.

Keedy found real turn to remove Ben Smith and Stephen Peters and give Lancashire hope of better things today but they were still left to regret their earlier failings.