LANCASHIRE captain Warren Hegg hailed his side's spirit as they gave themselves a chance of avoiding County Championship relegation with a draw against Worcestershire.

The Red Rose side condemned Worcestershire to the drop with a draw at New Road, and now face an all-or-nothing clash with Gloucestershire at Old Trafford on Thursday to avoid falling into Division Two themselves.

They must beat Gloucestershire by a 17-point margin to stay in Division One. The two sides would then finish on equal points and Lancashire would survive after a complex set of tie-breakers.

Their situation could have been much rosier, as they got very close to grabbing a late victory at New Road after reducing Worcestershire to 199-8 before running out of time.

Hegg said: "It was a great effort by the lads, and I'm absolutely gutted for them that we didn't managed to get the win, but we keep our heads above water for Thursday."

After no decision had been reached over a contrived run chase, Lancashire slumped to 71-4, with Stuart Law and Mal Loye out for ducks.

Carl Hooper (75 not out) finally found some form, adding 118 in a partnership with Glen Chapple (63) which steered the side to their declaration total of 242-6.

That left Lancashire a minimum of 45 overs to take 10 wickets.

But South African all-rounder Steven Rhodes, in his final game before retirement, defended stubbornly.