IF the Northampton weather can do Lancashire a favour, they could be celebrating a third successive LV= County Championship victory this evening after enjoying a productive third day at Wantage Road.

Lancashire excelled with bat and ball against Northamptonshire yesterday as, replying to 385, they posted 436 having been 3-2 on Monday and 221-6 in the early stages of play on day three.

Rain has affected the first and third days of this Division Two fixture, with 16 overs lost yesterday due to rain and then bad light, and the fear is it could do again today as the Red Rose look to add to wins over Derbyshire and Kent.

Northants closed on 42-2 from 22 second-innings overs, and they trail by nine runs.

When play started at 1pm, it was even too windy to use bails, with the umpires using their own discretion for any situations of a batsman being bowled, stumped or run out.

But the heavy winds did not prevent Ashwell Prince, Peter Siddle and Tom Bailey from impressing with the bat.

Prince completed a fine 153 having been 104 overnight, while Australian overseas bowler Siddle scored a polished 89, his sixth first-class score above 50, and Bailey a career-best 34.

After the early losses of Alex Davies and Jordan Clark, Prince and Siddle shared a counter-attacking 100 for the seventh wicket in 21 overs before Siddle and Bailey added 71 in 21 for the eighth as Lancashire passed 400 just after tea.

South African Prince’s 153 added to last season’s career best 257 against the same opponents, and both innings totalled 13 hours and 24 minutes.

Prince was caught at cover off Steven Crook’s seamers as Lancashire were reduced to 321-7 midway through the afternoon, and Siddle brought up 50 shortly afterwards off 95 balls.

After Bailey and Siddle secured a fifth batting bonus point just after tea, Bailey was bowled by Josh Cobb’s off-spin before Simon Kerrigan was caught behind off Azharullah, leaving the score at 427-9.

When Siddle was trapped lbw by Rory Kleinveldt, eleven short of a second career century, it wrapped up the innings and handed the South African seamer his fifth wicket.

Kyle Jarvis and Siddle increased Lancashire’s advantage by reducing Northants to 13-2 inside nine overs of their second innings, getting Rob Newton caught at mid-wicket and Alex Wakeley caught behind.