LANCASHIRE faced a defiant Leicester today knowing they must produce one of their best bowling displays of the season to stay in the title chase.

Leicester, pounded into the Grace Road dust by Lancashire's batsmen, hauled themselves up and came out fighting in the closing session yesterday. And, as they cut deeply into Lancashire's lead of 202, it became more and more obvious that this belting pitch was still full of runs.

Schofield and his spin partner Gary Keedy held the key today as Lancashire aimed for a 20 points success which would put them joint top with Surrey.

If the two slow bowlers needed extra incentive, it was that England were watching their every move before deciding their spin attack for the winter tours of Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Almost every spinner in the country has a chance of making it but Schofield and Keedy could swing it their way by bowling their side to victory.

But the first three days have belonged to the run-makers, Neil Fairbrother, Warren Hegg and Saurav Ganguly pulverising the weakened Leicester attack yesterday in Lancashire's 574-5 dec.

Fairbrother took advantage of a weakened attack to chalk up an unbeaten 100, and the closest Leicester came to disturbing him was when his old pal Phil DeFreitas got him laughing so much with a joke that he had to pull away from the crease. Hegg slammed 65 and Ganguly pedalled sedately to 87.

All Lancashire needed to complete a superb day was a decisive breakthrough. However Sutcliffe began explosively, and Schofield's delight in having Maddy caught behind, trying to cut, was soon tempered by Ben Smith's confident start. LEICESTERSHIRE

D Maddy c Hegg b Schofield 9

I Sutcliffe not out 44

B Smith not out 17

Extras 5

Total (1 wkt) 75

Bowling: Chapple 6-0-33-0; Smethurst 2-1-5-0; Schofield 10-3-27-1; Keedy 6-1-9-0

LANCASHIRE

M Atherton lbw DeFreitas 48

M Chilton b DeFreitas 21

J Crawley c Stevens b Dakin 139

A Flintoff c Sutcliffe b Kumble 55

S Ganguly lbw Ormon 87

N Fairbrother not out 100

W Hegg not out 65

Extras 59

Total: 574-5 dec

Bowling: Ormond 29-3-76-1; Dakin 30-2-112-1; DeFreitas 47-7-112-2; Kumble 45-9-140-1; Crowe 20-2-74-0; Maddy 6-1-21-0