Northamptonshire hero George Bartlett defies Jimmy Anderson in tense draw
06.04.26, 23:58 Updated 07.04.26, 00:03
Jeremy Blackmore
George Bartlett defied a vintage bowling performance from Lancashire captain Sir Jimmy Anderson (3-45) to secure an unlikely, but hard-earned draw for Northamptonshire with a valiant, rearguard 95 off 197 balls on a gripping final day of this Rothesay County Championship match at Wantage Road.
In a tense final session, which ended with men crowded round the bat, Anderson claimed his 400th first-class wicket for the Red Rose, taking 3-45 to follow his first innings 5-66 as Northamptonshire slumped to 181 for nine chasing a notional 321 to win.
But Bartlett, who showed great composure in steering his side from a precarious 63 for six at lunch, held his nerve. With a solid looking Ben Sanderson keeping him company in a nail-biting, unbroken last-wicket partnership of 32, the pair saw their side to safety at 213 for nine, Lancashire left to rue dropping Sanderson in the slips early in his innings.
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Jeremy Blackmore is the founder and editor of The Steeler. Jeremy is a freelance cricket writer and Wantage Road regular. He has written extensively for a host of publications including The Cricketer, The Cricket Paper, Wisden Cricket Monthly and ESPNcricinfo. He also covers Northamptonshire for the ECB Reporters Network.