That was when Zaib arrived at the crease and he showed why Northants were keen to hand him a new contract during the winter with some really punchy strokes, including pulling Phillip over mid-wicket for the day’s only six.
He showed admirable support for Sales, who looked primed for a century only to hole out to mid-on as he tried a big shot off the left-arm spin of Tom Hartley.
But Zaib went on in the evening sunshine, in the company of McManus, as the pair took advantage of some tired bowling with the new ball.
And the 26-year-old left-hander brought up his hundred with a lovely four through point off the back foot, one of 16 boundaries in his 167 balls at the crease.
Having been bowled out in less than 78 overs in total in their defeat by Kent last week, it was a fine response from the Northants batters.
However, it leaves a lot of work to do for Division Two’s pre-season favourites Lancashire to get back into things over the next couple of days.
