Sadler 'very proud' of Northants bowlers after day of toil under the sun against Lancashire

Lancashire took total control of the LV= Insurance County Championship Division One clash at Wantage Road, as the Northants bowling attack strained under a hot sun to claim just five wickets over the three sessions.

And in a match Northants need to win to keep alive their top-flight survival hopes, they are now very much on the back foot at the halfway stage.

In reply to the County's 232 all out, the visitors moved on from their overnight score of 54 for two to close on 392 for seven, a lead of 160, with the main reason for that being Josh Bohannon's marathon effort of 175 from 294 balls.

Bohannon, who has now passed a 1,000 first-class runs for the season, has become a real thorn in the Northants' side, as he also scored a century in the drawn match between the sides at Old Trafford in July, and another ton in the Red Rose's win over Northants last summer.

George Balderson also played a big role at Wantage Road on Monday with an unbeaten 83, as Lancashire recovered superbly from slipping at one point to 189 for six.

Jack White once again impressed as he claimed three for 79 from 27 overs, while the evert-reliable Ben Sanderson took two for 84 and Tom Taylor two for 77.

And Sadler felt his bowlers deserved more rewards for their efforts.

“I thought we bowled brilliantly, to be fair – they kept running in all day and I’m very proud of every single one of them," said the head coach.

"On another day we could have more wickets, a couple of lbw shouts and half-chances that didn’t quite go our way and we beat the bat a hell of a lot.

“We might have got away with a couple on Sunday, so it’s swings and roundabouts, but watching Sando (Ben Sanderson) and Jack (White) running in, backed up by Tom Taylor, is a pleasure.

“Jack’s getting better and better with age and experience, his skill level is sky-high and he’s become a good senior bowler.

“Fair play to Lancashire, they battled hard and ground us down – it’s old-school four-day batting.

"If someone goes on and gets 175, it’s going to put you in a winning position – that’s what we didn’t do with the bat and it’s why we’re behind the game.

“I was very impressed with him (Bohannon). I’ve seen him get runs too often, to be honest!

"He didn’t really change gear, he attacked when it was time to attack, he put the spinners under pressure and didn’t let them settle.

“He just stayed in his tempo, waited for the bad ball and, as soon as it came, he cashed in.”

With the sun once again set to shine all day, play resumes at 10.30am at the County Ground on Tuesday.

Quotes courtesy of Ben Kosky