LANCASHIRE pulled off another stunning LV= County Championship win when all looked lost today as they beat Essex by three wickets with one ball to spare at Emirates Old Trafford.

The Red Rose county were handed an unlikely victory shot when rain prevented play starting until 2.30pm on day four, meaning Essex declared their second innings immediately on 203-3 and set a target of 253 in a minimum of 51 overs.

And they promptly took it after last week’s come-from-behind success against Glamorgan at Colwyn Bay.

Karl Brown and Ashwell Prince were key with 80 off 105 balls apiece in a brilliant stand of 169 inside 33 overs for the third wicket after seeing their side slip to 13-2.

But Simon Katich and Steven Croft shared a crucial fifth-wicket stand of 41 off 4.2 overs before Reece Topley took three wickets in the penultimate over to leave Lancashire needing five off the last. Wayne White hit the penultimate ball off Graham Napier to long-leg where Sajid Mahmood dropped the catch to hand his former employers the win.

That total of 51 overs left was reduced by three due to bad light, and Glen Chapple’s side lost openers Luke Procter and Paul Horton early.

But Brown and Prince batted at a run-rate of 5.2 runs per over to turn the contest on its head after an attacking declaration from visiting captain James Foster.

Brown hit sixes off David Masters straight down the ground and over mid-wicket off Topley on the way to a 72-ball half-century, which was shortly followed by Prince’s off 79 balls.

When Prince was bowled by Topley to leave the score at 182-3 in the 38th overs, the equation was 71 off 56 balls. Brown was bowled by Napier shortly afterwards, leaving Katich and Croft with 46 to get off 36.

Boltonian Mahmood conceded 16 runs off the 45th over of the innings, including a Croft six over mid-wicket to leave the equation at 12 off two.

Having hit a second six off Topley, Croft fell to the same bowler for 28 off 16 balls. Gareth Cross also holed out to mid-off before Katich (26 off 21) was caught and bowled.

Lancashire are back in action on Sunday when they face Derbyshire at the County Ground in the Yorkshire Bank 40 competition having lost their first match against Durham.