LANCASHIRE are buzzing again - thanks to Glen Chapple and Warren Hegg.

They snatched a thrilling victory from the jaws of defeat at Northampton on Saturday with an unbroken eighth wicket stand of 136, ending Lancashire's miserable record of not winning at Wantage Road since 1979.

They go into Wednesday's home game against Leicestershire hoping to close the gap on leaders Yorkshire, rather than looking over their shoulders at the relegation zone.

After his unbeaten 107, the sixth Championship century of his career, three of them against Northants, Hegg said: "This will do everybody a heap of good."

He was referring to Lancashire's short of confidence batsmen, who flopped again to leave Hegg and Neil Fairbrother to repair the damage from 68 for five.

But Hegg's heroics, not forgetting Chapple who ended with 72 to go with a handy 34 in the first innings and match bowling figures of nine for 137, have transformed the mood at Old Trafford.

Suddenly the disappointment of failing to qualify for the quarter finals of the Benson and Hedges Cup, and losing their first two National League matches, can be forgotten.

Lancashire are now fifth in the Championship table 23 points behind Yorkshire.

Other than the in-form Tykes, they are the only other team to have won two matches, following their crushing victory over Somerset at Taunton back in April.

And Lancashire would be much better placed if it weren't for the two Old Trafford washouts against Surrey and Glamorgan, which have left them with a feeble 14 bonus points - while all four teams above them have at least 23.

Now they are praying for the dry weather which has blessed the Old Trafford Test to continue all week, and give them the chance to win a home game at last.

Yet they were seemingly heading for a morale-sapping defeat as Northants seamer Darren Cousins steadily eroded their batting order.

Ryan Driver had gone cheaply on Friday evening, and after a promising stand between Mark Chilton and John Crawley, Lancashire lost four wickets in a hurry - with failures for Andy Flintoff and Tim Roberts - to leave them in all sorts of trouble.

The old firm of Hegg and Fairbrother steadied the ship with a sixth wicket stand of 67. But even after that, when Fairbrother and Chris Schofield went in quick succession, Lancashire were still apparently doomed at 169 for seven.

Then came the crucial incident, as Northants spinner Jason Brown was unable to take a difficult caught and bowled chance offered by Chapple before he had scored.

Northants may not have thought that was too important at the time, but that was reckoning without the improved batting form which saw Chapple hit a half century as Mike Atherton's opening partner in the National League defeat at Durham, as well as making a valuable 44 in the last Championship game at Leicester.

The 27-year-old seamer struck 11 fours and two sixes in his best knock since he made 83 at Derby in 1999.

Meanwhile for Hegg, a 158-ball century was bringing back "happy memories" of his first-ever hundred for Lancashire, when he was a teenager way back in 1986.

"It's a great feeling to have scored another one here, and to have got such a good win," he said. "Now we've got build on it."