Pressing On:
Dawid Malan and Owais Shah resumed on 179 for 2, looking to build on the most dominant day Middlesex have had all season at headquarters. Shah proved his detractors wrong, reaching an excellent half-century in just 62 balls with eight boundaries, including two maximum shots. Shah attempted to pull a delivery from Jade Dernbach, but edged it to wicket-keeper Steven Davies to depart after 89 balls for 63. He had added two more fours.
Meanwhile, Malan was approaching his fifty, which he reached with his ninth four. He had occupied the crease for exactly 100 minutes. After getting a start Dexter threw his wicket away for 24 with an awful shot that simply provided catching practice to Tim Linley at mid-on within half an hour of lunch. Off-spinner Matthew Spriegel took the wicket. Malan continued after lunch converting a good knock into a much needed century for his team achieved with his fifteenth four. His hundred took 166 balls to reach and included a six.
“Any century is important,” former West Indies fast bowler Pedro Collins told us. “It’s how he batted. He would get starts and be frustrated. He’s one of the very best – first out there in the nets, hitting the ball. As a young player that's good to see and I know he’ll be one for the future – definitely. I rate him very, very highly already. Hopefully he can finish the season on a high.”
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Honours:
It was clearly the best day of the season for Middlesex. “I can’t think of any other day that’s been as good as that,” an elated Tim Murtagh told us after his best bowling return of the season helped his team to dominate his former employers. “Pretty much everything went to plan.
Having dismissed Surrey for a meagre 167 with former star batsman Mark Ramprakash, top-scoring with just 44, Middlesex’s batsmen took Surrey’s bowlers to task as well. By close of play Owais Shah was unbeaten on 44, having hit five fours and two sixes. He had faced just 47 balls. Dawid Malan was not out on 35 with power to add. The hosts were twelve runs ahead with eight wickets in hand.
The honours of the day belonged to Middlesex, as Surrey captain Rory Hamilton-Brown quickly had cause to regret his decision to bat. The hosts reduced the cross-town visitors to 80 for 4 at lunch. Steven Davies was bowled by former Surrey right-arm fast-medium bowler Tim Murtagh for 24 before his new-ball partner, former Surrey and West Indies pace-man Pedro Collins stamped his authority on the session with two wickets.
39 for 1 soon became 43 for 3 as opening batsman Tom Lancefield was trapped leg before wicket for 15 by Collins. He repeated the dose first ball to Hamilton-Brown – also lbw – but missed the hat-trick. He was unfortunate not to add to his tally. The wicket may have been helpful, but Collins looked a different class as he beat the bat a few times without luck in that first session.
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Incredible:
Steven Finn and Eoin Morgan staved off what seemed destined to be certain defeat. With eight wickets down and last man Iain O’Brien injured, Finn had to prove his mettle as a batsman. He did so with a triumphant unbeaten 0. Finn kept out 35 balls from Monty Panesar, who had just achieved his second consecutive five-for and former West Indies fast-bowler Corey Collymore, who just missed out on a five wicket haul in the first innings.
The pair survived 76 balls. Morgan reached his fifty in 122 balls. He finished on 58 not out. Meanwhile, Finn will never work harder or play a more satisfying innings without scoring. The England bowler helped his team earn three points for a draw. As draws go, this was an exciting one.
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Destructive:
Was that the best two days cricket that Middlesex had played all season. “Definitely,” said the centurion Dawid Malan. “We decided we had to start playing more as a team. I think it's about self-belief. We started the first day and suddenly Pedro [Collins] and Murts [Tim Murtagh] just cleaned them up. Suddenly we got that self-belief. If you look at our players, we’ve got decent players – we haven’t got world beaters, but we’ve got decent players and if we all perform well enough as a team together, we’re going to win games. It just proves what we done today.”
Surrey could not bat as badly as in the first innings, or so it seemed, especially after their openers got a fine start, chasing Middlesex’s imposing total of 423 all out. They trailed by 256 on the first innings. They needed a miracle to stand a chance of avoiding defeat, let alone setting a target for Middlesex to have to chase. Toby Roland-Jones, playing just his third Championship game, was determined that would not happen.
The young medium fast-bowler recently bowled alongside England’s Steven Finn in Middlesex’s Second Eleven. The benefits were obvious. Fresh from his four wicket haul against Sussex at Uxbridge last week, the bowler, listed as medium-fast was too hot for even the best Surrey batsmen to handle. He conceded 11 runs in his first 4 overs before taking his first wicket.
By close of play he had exposed Surrey’s tail. He was given a standing ovation as he led the team off at Lord’s. Roland-Jones ended the day with victory in sight having reduced Surrey to 110 for 6 with figures of 5 for 29 from ten overs. In a devastating spell of slightly more than 4 overs Roland-Jones ripped the heart out of Surrey’s second innings, taking 5 for 6, including the prized wicket of former Middlesex stalwart Mark Ramprakash for just 6.
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Emphatic:
Former South African international, turned Kolpaker Jacques Rudolph took 115 balls to destroy a lacklustre Middlesex. The Panthers were outplayed with ball and bat. Led by England’s fast-bowler Ajmal Shahzad with his best ever figures in competitive List A cricket 4 for 34, Yorkshire contained a lacklustre Middlesex effort, restricting the hosts to 183 for 9 from their 40 overs.
Led by a magnificent unbeaten 86 from the left-handed opening bat Rudolph, who has not played for his country for four years, the unbeaten CB Pro40 group leaders produced an emphatic 8 wicket win with three overs remaining. “It’s not my first time [playing at Lord’s],” says Rudolph. “I’ve been privileged to play a Test and a one-day international here, so first game for Yorkshire and it’s special to do well for Yorkshire. I pride myself on trying to bat through and be the backbone for the team and fortunately I got the chance to do that and it worked out for me.”
Rudolph hit the only six of the match, along with seven fours, but this was not his best innings in the CB40. “No, I got a hundred this year,” he said. Rudolph brought up his personal half-century and and his team’s hundred in the same over, but his opening partner Andrew Gale was dismissed by Tom Scollay for 39, having been enticed so far out of his crease that the stumping looked like a run out by wicket-keeper John Simpson.
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Baffling:
After a poor run of form, Michael Thornley had an opportunity to shine. Promotion-chasing Sussex resumed against bottom of the table Middlesex on the final day at Uxbridge on 109 for 5 – a lead of 211. Sussex needed runs, but wickets were at premium also. Luke Hatchett was caught by wicket-keeper John Simpson to give England’s joint tallest ever fast-bowler Steven Finn his third wicket of the innings. At 121 for 6, Sussex needed to regroup, but fast.
The fightback was once again led by Luke Wright. There can’t be many genuine all-rounders that come in at number 8, even allowing for a night-watchman, but that is what has happened to Wright. “I’ve had five-fors,” Wright told us after making a first innings century. A century and half-century in this match spoke for itself.
Sussex claimed that they wanted to win this match rather than settle for a draw, but the morning session yielded less than three and a half runs per over – a poor rate at Uxbridge. Thornley has struggled for form – making just two scores of note, 64 against Gloucestershire and 51 against Northants, all season. He came into this match he had seven single-figure scores in nineteen innings. Thornley took three hours to post his second best total of the season, 53. It required 142 balls and contained only two boundaries – again a poor return at this ground.
He preserved his wicket, but his scoring-rate was pedestrian at best and would cost Sussex dear – giving the lie to their stated intent to play for a win.. He had 27 to his name when joined by first innings centurion Wright. He was beaten to fifty by Wright on his way to the top score of 62. Wright took 65 balls to reach his half-century with nine fours, whereas Thornley more than twice as many.
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