Alviro Petersen and Ashwell Prince notched career-best scores as their 501-run stand put Lancashire in complete control of their English County Championship match against Glamorgan.
Petersen, who got his double hundred late on day one, finished on 286, while Prince, 154 overnight, opened up with a flourish to reach his double-hundred by lunch and press on to 261.
The 501 was the highest partnership for any wicket in Lancashire’s history, the second highest in the County Championship, and the first time two batsmen scored double centuries in the same innings.
Prince, was the first to go, miscuing a drive off David Lloyd’s medium pace to be taken short of the long-off boundary. By that stage the partnership was already the highest in Lancashire’s history, beating the mere 371 added by Frank Watson and Ernest Tyldesley against Surrey at Old Trafford in 1928.
He had struck 35 boundaries and seven sixes in an innings which lasted almost six hours.
Petersen’s overall innings was just 23 runs away from equalling Steve James’ highest score on the Rhos-on-Sea ground before he struck Lloyd to long off just six overs later. He had batted almost eight hours, picking up 35 fours and two sixes.
The carnage continued as Steven Croft blasted an unbeaten 57 from 51 balls, before calling a halt on 698-5. In all, 85 fours and 12 sixes were struck on the small ground, with one maximum narrowly missing a bus outside the ground.
While there was some criticism of the bland nature of the pitch, the 41-year-old Glen Chapple then took to the stage, and proceded to take 3-28 and help reduce Glamorgan to 165-6 by stumps. Among them were Jacques Rudolph, who was bowled for 32 (after hitting seven fours), Colin Ingram (0) and Chris Cooke (5). Craig Meschede followed soon after for 21.