LIKE his Lancashire team, John Crawley is ending a disappointing season in impressive style.

Crawley has been unable to reproduce his amazingly consistent 1998 form in his first year as Lancashire captain, failing to score a century until the trip to Hampshire in late July, whereas last summer he piled up eight first class centuries and 1,681 Championship runs.

But he resumed today at Old Trafford on 117 against Durham after batting for virtually all of the second day.

And he quickly moved on to 141 as Lancs progressed to 391-7.

And with Graham Lloyd chipping in with a quickfire 86, Lancashire already had a handy lead of 126 with three wickets in hand - leaving them wlel-placed for a sixth win in even Championship games.

It certainly wasn't Crawley's best-ever century, as it came against a Durham attack weakened by the absence of seamer John Wood with illness. He took 201 balls and 267 minutes to pass three figures late yesterday with 13 four and a straight six off toiling off spinner Nick Phillips.

But it was still an important knock as Lancashire were in danger of squandering Chris Schofield's five firt innings wickets when they slipped to 134-4 soon after lunch.

Mike Atherton wa bowled for 15 by Neil Killeen, Mark Chilton just mised out of a 50 when he edged Phillips to wicket keeper Martin Speight, then Neil Fairbrother and Andy Flintoff went in the space of four overs, Flintoff bowled for a duck playing no shot at Phillips. But Crawley linked up with Lloyd in a fifth wicket stand of 140 in 32 overs, Lloyd dominating with his 86 coming from only 111 balls and including 14 fours as well as several cheeky reverse sweeps. Lloyd was denied a century when he was caught at long off by Gary Yates, who was fielding as 13th man for Durham because they had lost Wood and also Jon Lewis, who was struck a nasty blow on the back of the head fielding at silly point to Fairbrother.

But Crawley added 51 more for the sixth wicket with Warren Hegg to make Durham sweat on long, hot September day, which also featured a farewell Old Trafford appearance by their occasional batting coach Graham Gooch as a fielding substitute before he handed over to Yates.

Mike Watkinson took 5-71, making it 10-125 in the match, as Lancashire's second team completed a 120-run victory over Gloucestershire at Aigburth yesterday.

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