Specsavers County Championship
Division 1 - day two
Somerset 192 & 77 tied with Lancashire 99 & 170

SOMERSET's title hopes went up in smoke as they lost their last two wickets with the scores level to tie an extraordinary match at home to Lancashire, which came to a conclusion just after tea on the second day.

The hosts slumped to 23-5 and 37-6 in pursuit of a modest 78 as panic took hold on the second afternoon, but Lewis Gregory (12) and Dom Bess (19) edged Somerset towards their target.

With just one run needed and two wickets left, however, Bess charged down the wicket to Keshav Maharaj and was stumped before Jack Leach holed out to Tom Bailey at wide mid-on from the spinner's next over as Somerset recorded their first Championship tie since 1939.

Maharaj ended with 7-37, while Leach had earlier taken 7-74 to complete career-best match figures of 12-102.

Lancashire began the second day on 7-2, still 86 behind, and initially it was the pace of Craig Overton, rather than the spin of Leach, which was causing problems as the 24-year-old removed Karl Brown (1) and Tom Bailey (14).

Leach didn’t have to wait long for an impact, however, running through the visiting middle and lower order to add to his five wickets in the first innings.

Danny Lamb (20*) and Graham Onions (18) added 24 for the final wicket, extra runs which immediately looked valuable when Onions reduced Somerset to 5-2 by removing Trescothick and Ali for ducks.

Hildreth (7), Tom Abell (7) and Steve Davies (2) followed swiftly afterwards as the hosts slumped to 23-5, which became 37-6 when Ben Green - who had battled hard for 16 - edged Keshav Maharaj to slip.

The in-form Gregory joined forces with Bess to take Somerset to tea without further loss, Gregory reaching the break on 10 with Bess on six.

However, the final session lurched between drama and farce, as Gregory (12) and Craig Overton (4) fell to Maharaj.

Bess struck a boundary through mid-wicket to take the runs required down to three, and two more singles meant just one more was needed when he came down the wicket to Maharaj and was stumped.

Tension mounted as Jamie Overton played out a maiden from Graham Onions, and Leach's decision to take on Maharaj proved unwise as he picked out Bailey in the deep.

With Division 1 leaders Surrey rampant against Essex in their match at Chelmsford, and the potential for further punishment for Somerset over the condition of the pitch, the hosts' faint hopes of a first County Championship title look to be snuffed out now.

Leach said: "It feels like a defeat. We are all gutted in there.

"It was a serious game of cricket.

"My option against the left-arm spinner is to hit straight, use my feet and be positive. You live and die by those decisions - I got it wrong today, I apologise for that, but I felt that was my best way of scoring the runs."

Somerset director of cricket Andy Hurry said: "We are hugely disappointed. 

"Neither team applied themselves particularly well, with a few exceptions, but it is very disappointing not to be able to chase down 78."