A stoic seventh wicket partnership paved the way for a dramatic draw between Nottinghamshire and Lancashire, after the visitors had looked on course for victory at Trent Bridge.
The Red Rose batted for a solitary session before declaring on the final day, leaving the Green and Golds 67 overs to chase a target of 295, but three wickets for George Balderson reduced the hosts to 55/6.
Joe Clarke and Brett Hutton combined in a defiant stand spanning 34 overs, though, and Nottinghamshire hung on to finish 138/9, despite losing two wickets in the remaining 13 overs, the ninth with just four balls remaining, leaving Olly Stone to block out the remaining deliveries alongside Stuart Broad, who faced 50 balls for his three not out.
The home side move up to sixth in the LV= Insurance County Championship Division One table as a result, whilst condemning Lancashire to their fourth game without a win this season.
All results were possible when play resumed earlier on the final day, in a fixture adversely affected by inclement weather.
The visitors had a lead of 184 with six wickets in hand, but that quickly became four after George Bell feathered Lyndon James to Clarke and de Grandhomme had his off stump rocked back by Luke Fletcher.
Croft, not out overnight, resisted the Nottinghamshire charge, however, and he and Harley set about removing the sting from the hosts’ tail.
Fours off Fletcher, James and Broad moved the latter into double figures in speedy fashion, with Lancashire’s lead stretching beyond 200.
It had climbed closer to 250 shortly before the arrival of the new ball with Hartley playing positively to add further boundaries off Mullaney and James.
Only Croft’s ambition to make the most of the final overs before lunch saw the partnership broken, caught behind off Hutton for 49 after Hartley had slapped straight for an 80-ball fifty, with Tom Bailey run out with the final before the interval.
Upon resumption, the home side signaled their intent; Hameed drove Anderson handsomely through the covers whilst Duckett punched and cut Bailey for two fours in the opening overs.
The latter was undone seeking to guide the same bowler to third man, though, chopping on to his own stumps, whilst Hameed was caught behind off Anderson six balls later to reduce Notts to 17/2.
A fightback of sorts arrived through the yin and yang of Matthew Montgomery and Ben Slater.
The left-handed number three was watchful as he looked to see out Anderson and Bailey’s opening spells, whilst the former crunched four boundaries from 13 balls to race into the twenties.
But it took the same number of balls for Notts to lose three wickets for the addition of one run.
Will Williams’ dismissal of Montgomery, bowled through the gate for a positive 30, was sandwiched by Balderson’s first and second scalps; both Slater and James caught by Bell.
And Mullaney could only add two before he was caught at first slip to give Balderson his third, Nottinghamshire slipping to 55/6.
But it was Hutton and Clarke to the rescue for Nottinghamshire’s next, and crucial, spell of stubbornness.
The pair appeared untroubled as they combined for 10 overs before tea, and resisted spells from the full Lancashire attack, which included Anderson, after the break.
Their fifty partnership arrived after 143 balls, and looked set to carry Notts to a draw before Clarke turned Anderson to leg slip for an 88-ball 42 to heighten the tension.
Broad withstood a barrage from England teammate James Anderson to see his side towards safety, before Hutton was bowled by the England seamer, whilst Luke Fletcher occupied the crease for half-an-hour before departing to set up a climactic four deliveries at Stone.