Alex Hales was the leading contributor as Nottinghamshire secured pole position in the race to win the LV= County Championship with victory over Lancashire.

Approached by Lancashire captain Glenn Chapple before the morning session, Chris Read agreed to set up a game after a complete washout on day three.

Notts are now 16 points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand on Somerset and Yorkshire who lead the chasing pack.

“Glenn came to me and asked if I’d be interested in setting up a game,” said Read.

“We agreed to chase 260 in two sessions which we were happy with and it suited Lancashire to do the deal because they need to win games to stay in contention.

“We’re in a good position but there are three very tough matches ahead of us and we have to continue to play positive cricket.”

Contributions of 93 and 98 demonstrated the boundless potential of Alex Hales who caught the eye of the captain.

“Alex came of age in this game with two great knocks,” said Read.

“I wanted to see him get the hundred that he deserved because he batted beautifully.”

Notts stuttered at the beginning of their run chase with Matt Wood (2) and Mark Wagh (3) departing but Samit Patel enjoyed better fortune making 37 having been dropped on one before being deceived by low bounce.

After Brown went for 65 and was immediately followed by Paul Franks leaving Steven Mullaney to hit the winning runs to secure victory by three wickets.