Lancashire 383 for 4 (Jennings 135, Harris 71) beat Leicestershire 362 for 8 (de Swardt 126, Shaikh 91, Bailey 3-48) by 21 runs

With Ben Cox (43 off 25) and Tom Scriven (39 not out off 24) chipping in as well, in falling short the Foxes were left to rue a poor performance in the field that saw five catches dropped, a costly missed run-out and 26 conceded in wides and no balls.

“We bowled really nicely and we batted well,” Jennings said. “It was a good pitch but hard work up front with the new ball for both sides. That’s where I thought with the ball we were exceptional. If you knock over four up front as we did, it’s always going to be hard work.”

This was Jennings’ first hundred of the summer in any format, having missed the very start of the County Championship season with a calf injury. “I haven’t put in performances like that this year, so hopefully that kickstarts my season,” he said. “I should have been run out in the 90s but you take the rub of the green; sometimes you don’t nick one and get given out.”

From 56 without loss after 10 overs after being put in, Lancashire powered to 139 for 1 at halfway, losing Matty Hurst for 22 when he gloved a short ball from Scriven, who held a good catch at mid-on as Bohannon departed at 178 for 2.

It was the chances that got away that haunted the Foxes. Cox dropping Hurst on 20 was swiftly corrected. More costly was the run-out Josh Davey failed to complete when Jennings was sent back by Harris on 92.

The Australian was dropped by fine leg Josh Hull on 6 and backward point Jonny Tattersall on 16. He reached 50 from 37 deliveries, lofting two sixes each off Scriven and Ajaz Patel before ‘keeper Cox safely pouched a top-edge off de Swardt.

Harris added 101 for the third wicket with Jennings, who punished any errors in line and length in hitting 18 fours and was just four short of a List A career-best when Tattersall caught him at deep square leg.

Even then, the Foxes’ torture was not over as Moores and fellow teenager Rocky Flintoff shared five sixes, adding another 72 in the last five overs.

In reply, irrespective of the impressive way in which de Swardt and Shaikh rebuilt their innings, Leicestershire’s fate appeared sealed after just 33 balls, by which point they were 22 for 4.

Stephen Eskinazi was leg-before to Mitch Stanley, then Tom Bailey bowled Ian Holland and Tattersall and had Rishi Patel caught behind in a superb opening spell.

But Shaikh, on his Grace Road debut after moving from Warwickshire, added 179 with de Swardt for the fifth wicket and looked odds on to follow his unbeaten century against Surrey at Guildford on Friday with another, hitting nine fours and three sixes, before he was undone looking for a second in three balls off offspinner Arav Shetty.

De Swardt, in his final outing before Nick Kelly returns from international duty, completed his fourth List A hundred from 105 balls, marking the achievement by launching Shetty for two sixes in an over.

But after Cox and de Swardt holed out in the same over to left-arm spinner Charlie Barnard, any outside chance of a remarkable home win realistically disappeared.