Date-stamped : 01 Jun95 - 10:25 Benson & Hedges Cup Quarter Finals : Lancashire v Nottinghamshire Old Trafford, 30 May 1995 Lloyd in the driving seat as Lancs roll on - Geoffrey Dean Lancashire (204-4) bt Notts (201-8) by 6 wkts THE Lancashire juggernaut keeps thundering along, apparently un- stoppable even though it never quite got into top gear yesterday. It hardly needed to, for Nottinghamshire`s batting was as disap- pointing as the pitch, which was not ideal for one-day cricket. The injured Paul Johnson and Paul Pollard were badly missed. Victory - Lancashire`s ninth in nine completed one-day games this season - was ultimately achieved with ease with 32 balls remain- ing although, at 90 for three from 30 overs, there was still work to do. But once the chief threat, Andy Afford, had been seen off, Lancashire - who have no tail - were near-certain victors. Graham Lloyd`s fourth-wicket stand with the admirable Neil Fair- brother of 70 in 15 overs was good batting, nonetheless; Lloyd, in great one-day form all season, was given too many opportuni- ties to display his extensive array of shots. He was dropped when 29 and went on to make an excellent 72 off 68 balls which earned him the Gold Award. Nottinghamshire made the worst possible start when Jon Wileman, in his first Benson and Hedges Cup innings for the county, edged the second delivery of the match from Wasim Akram low to second slip. Ian Austin`s accurate wobblers also proved difficult to get away on this pitch Even though Wasim and Glen Chapple did not get their customary degree of swing, run scoring proved difficult throughout the in- nings, for the pitch was awkward and few bad balls were bowled by an attack missing the injured Peter Martin (thigh strain). The wicket was the one used against Leicestershire in the quali- fying stages of the competition when 629 runs were scored in the match and yet it was of a very different quality, being conducive to spin. Gary Yates did an excellent job and Mike Watkinson reverted to off-spin after bowling his military medium for his first six overs. Ian Austin`s accurate wobblers also proved difficult to get away on this pitch and it was partly out of frustration that Tim Robinson mishit him to deepish mid-on; it was not a good shot and nor was Chris Cairns`s when he edged Austin in his next over to the solitary slip. Cairns`s dismissal left Nottinghamshire at 65 for three in the 23rd over and, with no Johnson to rally them, their predicament already looked dire. That they managed to reach a total that at least gave them something to bowl at was largely due to Chris Lewis`s very sensible innings of 48 from 82 balls. Colin Banton also contributed usefully with a solid 40 in 34 overs before Yates bowled him with one that turned appreciably. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)