Petersen ton puts Lancs on top

The Red Rose, bidding to go top of Division One with a third win from five, made a strong reply to 191 before losing their first three wickets in a 16-run spell just after lunch on day two and then six wickets after tea.

Petersen’s 105 off 108 balls represented his 40th first-class hundred, including 17 fours and a six, as the hosts posted 342 for nine from 108 overs - a lead of 151.

The 99 shared between Tom Smith and Haseeb Hameed was Lancashire’s highest opening partnership of the season.

Smith made 59 and Hameed 44 before both fell as the score slipped to 115 for three in the 55th over.

Petersen, who reached 14,000 first-class career runs during his innings, and Steven Croft (42) then ensured Surrey’s fightback was only brief as they shared 148 inside 30 overs for the fourth wicket either side of tea.

The former South Africa Test player posted his fourth 50-plus score in his last five innings.

Gareth Batty made the breakthrough for Surrey when he trapped Smith lbw just after lunch.

Tom Curran then uprooted Luke Procter’s middle and off stumps as he shouldered arms before Stuart Meaker forced Hameed to chop on as he tried to cut a short ball.

Curran and Meaker were Surrey’s best bowlers with three for 64 from 32 overs and three for 59 from 20 respectively.

Petersen and Croft both hit sixes off Batty as they provided the impetus to Lancashire’s reply.

Thirty-five-year-old Petersen hit Batty for three fours in four balls early in his innings and later reached 50 off 63 balls.

The pair’s century partnership came up in the first over after tea as they took the score to 215 for three in the 77th over.

Seventeen runs came off James Burke in the 80th, immediately before the new ball, with the score moving to 237 for three.

Petersen reached his hundred off 104 balls with 16 fours and a six, going from 50 to 100 in only 41 deliveries before falling shortly afterwards to Meaker.

He was caught behind off the bottom edge as he tried to leave alone as the score fell to 263 for four in the 84th.

Croft followed lbw to Curran with 281 on the board before Alex Davies chipped Meaker to square-leg and Tom Bailey was run out following a mix-up, with both wickets falling in the 95th over to leave the score at 293 for seven.

Curran claimed his third wicket when Liam Livingstone edged behind before Batty trapped Neil Wagner lbw sweeping in the next leaving Simon Kerrigan and Kyle Jarvis looking to secure the eight runs needed in two overs on day three for a fourth batting bonus point.