ENGLAND opener Keaton Jennings defied Worcestershire as they were forced to take their bid for a first Specsavers County Championship win of the season into a fourth day.

Jennings scored his third Division One century of the campaign as the visitors launched a strong response after being set a mammoth 602 victory target at Blackfinch New Road.

But the hosts were still edging towards victory after Lancashire closed on 269-4 with interim skipper Brett D’Oliveira and Charlie Morris picking up two wickets apiece.

Jennings profited from being dropped on 50 at first slip by Ross Whiteley off D’Oliveira.

He went to three figures off 166 balls with his 20th boundary ­— a slice down to third man off Ed Barnard.

It followed hundreds against Somerset and Nottinghamshire after his winter move from Durham.

Jennings was otherwise largely untroubled on a wicket offering little assistance and ended the third day unbeaten on 135 from 215 balls with 23 fours.

Alex Davies helped put together a century opening stand after D’Oliveira declared his side’s second innings at 484-7.

Jennings and Davies safely negotiated a tricky eight overs before lunch and then dealt primarily in boundaries, mixing solid defence with punishing the loose deliveries.

Davies was first to the 50 mark off 68 balls with 12 fours and Jennings followed him from 97 deliveries with 10 boundaries.

It was only after D’Oliveira brought himself into the attack that the duo started to look uncomfortable.

He broke through when Davies (64) rocked back to play the cut shot and was trapped lbw with the total on 126.

Haseeb Hameed accompanied Jennings in a stand of 58 but after making 20 he shouldered arms and became D’Oliveira’s second lbw victim.

Paceman Morris had West Indian legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul (28) caught behind after he prodded forward on adding 50 with Jennings.

The persevering Morris enjoyed another success with Rob Jones (10) also nicking through to Ben Cox.

The hosts had resumed on 361-4 and added 123 runs in 17 overs for the loss of three wickets before the declaration.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Cox was unbeaten on 58 from 45 balls with three sixes and five fours.

Danny Lamb, the first concussion replacement player in English cricket, joined the action after paceman Joe Mennie was diagnosed with mild concussion.

Mennie had been hit by a return drive on day two from Worcestershire opener Martin Guptill.

Lancashire paceman Tom Bailey struck two early blows as he bowled Joe Clarke (10) and trapped D’Oliveira (22) lbw.

Whiteley hit a typically quickfire 23 before he lofted Jordan Clark into the hands of Bailey at wide mid-off.

Cox continued the form he had demonstrated in the Royal London One-Day Cup, twice hitting Bailey over the mid-wicket boundary and repeating the shot against Clark before the declaration.