The second day of Middlesex vs Durham at Lord's resumed with Middlesex being 126-5 in their first innings after a manic first day in which 15 wickets fell, and there were to be more, as Neil Dexter fished Graham Onions to Phil Mustard in the 5th over of the day to fall for 48. Ollie Rayner hooked his first ball for six, but fell in the same over repeating the shot and edging through to Mustard. And soon Onions was to have five wickets, with Gareth Berg edging to Mustard for 35 as Middlesex were now 149-8, with a lead of only 6. The rest only clawed out a lead of 25 as Finn edged to Richardson off Onions and Murtagh edged to Mustard off Onions as Middlesex crashed to 168 all out, Onions finishing with 7-62, having picked up 5-20 in 5.2 overs that morning,
Durham came out to start their 2nd innings and Mark Stoneman was promptly LBW to Tim Murtagh fourth ball for a duck, which was quickly followed by Keaton Jennings poking to Robson at slip off Finn for 2, 10-2. Scott Borthwick and Will Smith took Durham into the lead, but Borthwick was cleaned up by Murtagh for 25 and at 32-3 it looked like another collapse was on our hands. Smith and Ben Stokes averted anymore disaster before lunch and Durahm knew this was their last big chance to push for a decent lead of 200 or so to give Middlesex a tough chase given the rate of wickets falling.
A blast of boundaries after lunch brought up the 50 partnership in the 28th over but Smith gave in away soon after, heaving the ball straight to Finn at mid on for 30, 97-4. This was quickly 98-5 as Paul Colling wood was bowled first ball by Corey Collymore, and a collapse looked on again. Stokes meanwhile was carefully blocking and then whacking anything he could and he reached his 50 from 92 balls as the lead ticked past 100. He though threw it away, charging Rayner and being easily stumped by John Simpson for 51, and Rayner had 2 in 3 as Richardson popped an easy catch to Adam Voges as Durham were now 129-7 thanks to the double wicket maiden from Rayner.
Callum Thorp blasted a quick 23, when the return of Finn bowled him and then Onions 3 balls later for a duck. Chris Rushworth soon followed to end the innings propping a catch off Rayner to Robson at short leg for 2, Durham 171 all out, leaving Middlesex 2 and a bit days to score 147, Mustard unbeaten on 30, Rayner 3-25, Murtagh 3-32.
Middlesex survived six overs, before Robson edged Rushworth to Richardson for 6, 23-1. Joe Denly looked a bit nervous, trying to connect with anything he could for runs and he sliced the ball straight to Stokes to go for 32, and give Onions his 8th wicket of the match at 41-2. Eoin Morgan was then struck bang in front first ball by Onion's inswing, only for it to be called a no ball by the umpire, possibly the moment the game finally went away from Durham for good.
Voges and Morgan managed to see off the final 13 overs of the day with relative (given what had gone before) ease as Middlesex closed on 103-2, not taking the extra half hour and coming back to score the remaining 44 needed for the much needed victory.
Tuesday 20 August 2013
Rooting Around
The 2nd test in the Ashes had pretty much already been decided by the third day, thanks to Australia being bowled out in just over a session on the 2nd afternoon, as England looked to press home their advantage for the rest of the series and secure a 2-0 lead.
Joe Root and nightwatchman Tim Bresnan resumed with England 31-3, and batted like England were having a net, and the Australians were happy to give it to them. Back to back fours from Bresnan soon brought up the 50 with back to back boundaries off Siddle. Soon the lead passed 300 as it quickly became clear that Australia were happy to wait for England to declare. To 50 partnership for the 4th wicket was soon followed by Root reaching 50 from 122 balls, and then the 100 with Bresnan smacking a four through point. The England pair had little trouble lasting through to lunch against the bowling of Steve Smith and Ashton Agar as England went in on 114-3, light years ahead of Australia. After lunch, Peter Siddle and James Pattinson tried to make a difference with what was an old ball in friendly batting conditions, it was not an easy task as all England had to do was accumulate.
But finally a wicket came, with the partnership on 99, Bresnan went for a flaccid pull against Pattinson which lobbed off the face to Chris Rogers at square leg to go for 38, 129-4. Australia bowled well as only 17 runs came in the first hour after lunch, but the game had really gone from them. After a change of ball Ryan Harris got some movement and Ian Bell edged low to Smith at slip who took the catch and celebrated but after review by the third umpire, not out was the call even though it looked as though the catch was clean and everyone was surprised when the call came though. After that, Root and Bell settled down to score some easy runs, Siddle disappearing for consecutive fours and Root then drilling him straight for four to move within 10 of his hundred. Root then flicked Smith for four to bring up the 400 lead on the stroke of tea which he went to on 97 and soon after he cut Agar to the cover boundary to reach his 2nd test hundred from 247 balls.
Runs then appeared quickly as Australia had given up and were now waiting for the declaration, Pattinson came back and sprayed the ball everywhere, going for 18 in two overs as England passed 200 and then Bell to 50 from 82 balls as Smith and Agar served up some free runs. Bell was turning on the jets to get to his century, but cracked a long hop from Smith straight to Rogers at midwicket to fall for 74, 282-5. That didn't stop Root reaching 150 and then the 300 before taking Smith downtown in his last over of the day swinging one ball into the Tavern Stand then repeating the dose two balls later as 17 came from the over. England closed on 333-5, Root on 178, Bairstow on 11 and England 566 ahead.
Joe Root and nightwatchman Tim Bresnan resumed with England 31-3, and batted like England were having a net, and the Australians were happy to give it to them. Back to back fours from Bresnan soon brought up the 50 with back to back boundaries off Siddle. Soon the lead passed 300 as it quickly became clear that Australia were happy to wait for England to declare. To 50 partnership for the 4th wicket was soon followed by Root reaching 50 from 122 balls, and then the 100 with Bresnan smacking a four through point. The England pair had little trouble lasting through to lunch against the bowling of Steve Smith and Ashton Agar as England went in on 114-3, light years ahead of Australia. After lunch, Peter Siddle and James Pattinson tried to make a difference with what was an old ball in friendly batting conditions, it was not an easy task as all England had to do was accumulate.
But finally a wicket came, with the partnership on 99, Bresnan went for a flaccid pull against Pattinson which lobbed off the face to Chris Rogers at square leg to go for 38, 129-4. Australia bowled well as only 17 runs came in the first hour after lunch, but the game had really gone from them. After a change of ball Ryan Harris got some movement and Ian Bell edged low to Smith at slip who took the catch and celebrated but after review by the third umpire, not out was the call even though it looked as though the catch was clean and everyone was surprised when the call came though. After that, Root and Bell settled down to score some easy runs, Siddle disappearing for consecutive fours and Root then drilling him straight for four to move within 10 of his hundred. Root then flicked Smith for four to bring up the 400 lead on the stroke of tea which he went to on 97 and soon after he cut Agar to the cover boundary to reach his 2nd test hundred from 247 balls.
Runs then appeared quickly as Australia had given up and were now waiting for the declaration, Pattinson came back and sprayed the ball everywhere, going for 18 in two overs as England passed 200 and then Bell to 50 from 82 balls as Smith and Agar served up some free runs. Bell was turning on the jets to get to his century, but cracked a long hop from Smith straight to Rogers at midwicket to fall for 74, 282-5. That didn't stop Root reaching 150 and then the 300 before taking Smith downtown in his last over of the day swinging one ball into the Tavern Stand then repeating the dose two balls later as 17 came from the over. England closed on 333-5, Root on 178, Bairstow on 11 and England 566 ahead.
Sunday 11 August 2013
One Of "Those" Days...
The penultimate game of the t20 for Middlesex was the London Derby against Surrey at Lord's. Middlesex won the toss and fielded (as they have done all season), with Surrey star signing Ricky Ponting missing out with a groin strain. It soon looked to be a good decision as Gareth Berg picked up Steven Davies (5) and Jason Roy (11) in the space of three balls in the third over as Surrey slipped to 17-2. Then things started to go a bit wrong as Vikram Solanki and Kevin O'Brien started pommelling the bowling with each of them making early sixes as the fifth over went for 16 and the sixth over went for 15 as Surrey reached 60-1 at the end of the powerplay.
The introduction of Ravi Patel (who picked up four wickets in the reverse fixture) did little to slow the rate as Solanki smacked him into the Tavern Stand before O'Brien swung Voges for six (to bring up the 100) and with another single, completed a 22 ball 50 with 5 fours and 3 sixes. His luck finally ran out, being bowled by Patel in the next over for 54, 107-3. Things looked up in Patel's next over as well, with Solanki holing out to Dexter for 37 and Gary Wilson being stumped by Rossington for 4, with Surrey now 117-5 after 13 overs, there was a chance they could be kept below 160. But the problem was Azhar Mahmood, who came in with the mood to give it some tap, with consecutive fours off Voges and a huge six off Kyle Mills as runs came quickly. Mahmood and Zafar Ansari added 59 in seven overs before a late flurry of wickets (Mahmood run out looking for the strike and Jon Lewis bowled by Berg) didn't detract from what was a good score that would be a good chase on a fairly flat pitch as Surrey finished 178-7, Patel (3-28) and Berg (3-37) the best bowlers.
Middlesex's reply got off to a horrible start, as Malan's heave off Mahmood went straight to Dernbach before Denly's top edge off Tremlett flew to Lewis at third man who took a good catch over his shoulder, 16-2. Then Tremlett bowled a no ball, which Stirling leaned back to and cut with full power, high over the Mound stand and out of the ground, a huge shot, but it was to be the highlight of the innings as first Voges off Tremlett (0) and then Stirling off Mahmood (19) picked out O'Brien in what was turning into a nightmare as everything in the air was caught. Eoin Morgan prodded one short of the fielder, before having a massive swing at Tremlett, and getting four down to the Mound Stand boundary before picking out Roy at point off Lewis to fall for a terrible 9 on his comeback from injury, 40-5 at the end of the powerplay and the game was up, which was soon 40-6 as Rossington offered up an easy catch for Wilson off Dernbach.
At least Gareth Berg showed some fight, hitting 2 fours off Dernbach then mashing Batty for 16 off his first over, including a straight four and a six that the man at long on parried over the rope. That was to be it though as Dexter fell LBW to Ansari for 3, then Berg was bowled by Batty for 33 off 19. Patel was also bowled by Ansari then Mills charged, missed and was stumped by Davies off Batty as MIddlesex crumbled to a pitiful 92 all out in only 14 overs to give Surrey the win by 86 runs, Ansari 2-7 and Mahmood 2-12 having the best figures, O'Brien was unsurprisingly given the man of the match award.
The introduction of Ravi Patel (who picked up four wickets in the reverse fixture) did little to slow the rate as Solanki smacked him into the Tavern Stand before O'Brien swung Voges for six (to bring up the 100) and with another single, completed a 22 ball 50 with 5 fours and 3 sixes. His luck finally ran out, being bowled by Patel in the next over for 54, 107-3. Things looked up in Patel's next over as well, with Solanki holing out to Dexter for 37 and Gary Wilson being stumped by Rossington for 4, with Surrey now 117-5 after 13 overs, there was a chance they could be kept below 160. But the problem was Azhar Mahmood, who came in with the mood to give it some tap, with consecutive fours off Voges and a huge six off Kyle Mills as runs came quickly. Mahmood and Zafar Ansari added 59 in seven overs before a late flurry of wickets (Mahmood run out looking for the strike and Jon Lewis bowled by Berg) didn't detract from what was a good score that would be a good chase on a fairly flat pitch as Surrey finished 178-7, Patel (3-28) and Berg (3-37) the best bowlers.
Middlesex's reply got off to a horrible start, as Malan's heave off Mahmood went straight to Dernbach before Denly's top edge off Tremlett flew to Lewis at third man who took a good catch over his shoulder, 16-2. Then Tremlett bowled a no ball, which Stirling leaned back to and cut with full power, high over the Mound stand and out of the ground, a huge shot, but it was to be the highlight of the innings as first Voges off Tremlett (0) and then Stirling off Mahmood (19) picked out O'Brien in what was turning into a nightmare as everything in the air was caught. Eoin Morgan prodded one short of the fielder, before having a massive swing at Tremlett, and getting four down to the Mound Stand boundary before picking out Roy at point off Lewis to fall for a terrible 9 on his comeback from injury, 40-5 at the end of the powerplay and the game was up, which was soon 40-6 as Rossington offered up an easy catch for Wilson off Dernbach.
At least Gareth Berg showed some fight, hitting 2 fours off Dernbach then mashing Batty for 16 off his first over, including a straight four and a six that the man at long on parried over the rope. That was to be it though as Dexter fell LBW to Ansari for 3, then Berg was bowled by Batty for 33 off 19. Patel was also bowled by Ansari then Mills charged, missed and was stumped by Davies off Batty as MIddlesex crumbled to a pitiful 92 all out in only 14 overs to give Surrey the win by 86 runs, Ansari 2-7 and Mahmood 2-12 having the best figures, O'Brien was unsurprisingly given the man of the match award.
Saturday 10 August 2013
Spirit of 74
Another day, another t20, with Middlesex paying a visit up the A12 to Chelmsford to take on Essex. Essex won the toss and batted, injuries to Pettini and Bopara had led to a slightly unusual side being picked. Greg Smith opened with Hamish Rutherford, and Kyle Mills struck quickly with Smith edging behind to Adam Rossington 2nd ball for nought (he didn't think he hit it). The Essex hero Graham Napier was then cleaned up 2nd ball for another duck, 0-2 and Mills completed a maiden. Essex were rocked by this start, and it only got worse, as Rutherford looked to swipe Mills down the ground, only to top edge to Joe Denly at cover, 10-3 and Mills was on his way to figures of 3-4 from 3 overs. Gurjit Sandhu then came on to bowl on debut and amazingly had Jaik Mickleburgh caught behind fifth ball for 1 (echoing his first over in List A cricket last season) and then yorked the dangerous Ryan ten Doeschate first ball as Essex found themselves 12-5 in five over with their innings in tatters.
Owais Shah at least looked like scoring some quick runs as he hit 13 off Sandhu's next over but Foster was then bowled by Dexter for 3, 39-6 in the ninth over. Middlesex didn't panic and the run rate wasn't going anywhere fast as Ravi Patel and Dexter shut down Shah and Tim Phillips from scoring, and Shah was next to go, charging Patel and being easily stumped by Rossington for 39, 59-7. Phillips hit Dexter for four then hit to Malan at cover, 65-8. Adam Voges then got a bowl, and Shaun Tait attempted a huge hoick first ball, only to edge to Rossington for his fourth dismissal of the innings, 65-9. Tymal Mills then planted Voges straight into the river for six, but Topley was bowled by Berg for 1 as Essex crashed to 74 all out with 19 balls unused in their innings.
Tait came steaming in and had Stiring caught behind for two as Essex knew the game was really up but fought anyway. Denly then powered three fours off Napiers next over before skying one off Tait that Greg Smith backpeddled at mid on to, went up for the catch, and grassed it summing up Essex's night. Malan was then bowled by Tait for 10 as Middlesex found themselves 30-2 after four overs. Denly and Voges took a sensible approach to scoring the runs, as they only needed 2.5 an over, and were helped out by Tait having a meltdown, sending one wide down the legside then following it up with one even wider that went for five wides. The end came soon after, Denly hitting Phillips for four to seal the win with a club record 61 balls remaining, and bringing up the fifty partnership, Denly 34 not out, Voges 22 not out. The local booed Essex off the field and the whole game was over by 9PM, Kyle Mills taking the man of the match award for his career best 3 for 4.
Owais Shah at least looked like scoring some quick runs as he hit 13 off Sandhu's next over but Foster was then bowled by Dexter for 3, 39-6 in the ninth over. Middlesex didn't panic and the run rate wasn't going anywhere fast as Ravi Patel and Dexter shut down Shah and Tim Phillips from scoring, and Shah was next to go, charging Patel and being easily stumped by Rossington for 39, 59-7. Phillips hit Dexter for four then hit to Malan at cover, 65-8. Adam Voges then got a bowl, and Shaun Tait attempted a huge hoick first ball, only to edge to Rossington for his fourth dismissal of the innings, 65-9. Tymal Mills then planted Voges straight into the river for six, but Topley was bowled by Berg for 1 as Essex crashed to 74 all out with 19 balls unused in their innings.
Tait came steaming in and had Stiring caught behind for two as Essex knew the game was really up but fought anyway. Denly then powered three fours off Napiers next over before skying one off Tait that Greg Smith backpeddled at mid on to, went up for the catch, and grassed it summing up Essex's night. Malan was then bowled by Tait for 10 as Middlesex found themselves 30-2 after four overs. Denly and Voges took a sensible approach to scoring the runs, as they only needed 2.5 an over, and were helped out by Tait having a meltdown, sending one wide down the legside then following it up with one even wider that went for five wides. The end came soon after, Denly hitting Phillips for four to seal the win with a club record 61 balls remaining, and bringing up the fifty partnership, Denly 34 not out, Voges 22 not out. The local booed Essex off the field and the whole game was over by 9PM, Kyle Mills taking the man of the match award for his career best 3 for 4.
Bossing from Rossington
The first T20 game covered this year was between Middlesex and Kent at Uxbridge, Middlesex won the toss and fielded first, and Kent were 12-1 after 2 overs as Rob Key chipped Toby Roland-Jones to Josh Davey at mid off for 7. It was soon 16-2 when Sam Northeast skied to Dexter at mid on off Kyle Mills for 4. Darren Stevens then hit Ravi Patel for consecutive fours before Sam Billings lifted Berg over midwicket for six as Kent had recovered to end the powerplay 38-2. Stevens hoisted Patel for another six, before holing out to Dawid Malan on the boundary for 25 off 15, 61-3. Kent's momentum stalled again as Billings edged Dexter to Rossington for 22 as Kent were 74-4 at the halfway stage.
Alex Blake and Geraint Jones were on the rebuild operation but couldn't sustain any power hitting, and Jones soon had his stumps scattered for 21, 97-5. Kent struggled to fins boundaries, and in the last four overs, they only managed two fours and a six (that too coming off a free hit by Blake off Mills) as Kent finished 140-6, a score that looked 20-30 runs light as Middlesex bowled and fielded well to give themselves a good chance of the win.
Dawis Malan and Adam Rossington opened the batting, with Malan hitting two fours in the opening over from Vernon Philander Rossington added a six and four in his next over as Middlesex made 24 after three. Stevens was unable to stop the flow, Rossington powering four fours off the over all round the wicket before hammering Mat Coles over midwicket for a massive six as Middlesex made 58 from the powerplay overs. Things didn't get much better for Kent, with Coles disappearing for another flat six over midwicket, before a cover drive for four brought up Rossington's maiden t20 fifty from 28 balls. A reverse sweep off Tredwell brought four, before he slog-swept Adam Riley over midwicket for another six (fielder caught it on the rope, but then fell over it). It was soon to end, Rossington bowled reverse sweeping Tredwell for an awesome 74 from 37 ball, 10 fours and 4 sixes. At 103 for 1 in the 11th over, the rest was a stroll really as Joe Denly found a couple of early boundaries, then lofted a lovely six into the midwicket crowd, before creaming a cover drive to end it, a nine wicket win with 26 balls remaining, Denly 33 not out, Malan 31 not out.
Alex Blake and Geraint Jones were on the rebuild operation but couldn't sustain any power hitting, and Jones soon had his stumps scattered for 21, 97-5. Kent struggled to fins boundaries, and in the last four overs, they only managed two fours and a six (that too coming off a free hit by Blake off Mills) as Kent finished 140-6, a score that looked 20-30 runs light as Middlesex bowled and fielded well to give themselves a good chance of the win.
Dawis Malan and Adam Rossington opened the batting, with Malan hitting two fours in the opening over from Vernon Philander Rossington added a six and four in his next over as Middlesex made 24 after three. Stevens was unable to stop the flow, Rossington powering four fours off the over all round the wicket before hammering Mat Coles over midwicket for a massive six as Middlesex made 58 from the powerplay overs. Things didn't get much better for Kent, with Coles disappearing for another flat six over midwicket, before a cover drive for four brought up Rossington's maiden t20 fifty from 28 balls. A reverse sweep off Tredwell brought four, before he slog-swept Adam Riley over midwicket for another six (fielder caught it on the rope, but then fell over it). It was soon to end, Rossington bowled reverse sweeping Tredwell for an awesome 74 from 37 ball, 10 fours and 4 sixes. At 103 for 1 in the 11th over, the rest was a stroll really as Joe Denly found a couple of early boundaries, then lofted a lovely six into the midwicket crowd, before creaming a cover drive to end it, a nine wicket win with 26 balls remaining, Denly 33 not out, Malan 31 not out.
Saturday 3 August 2013
Club Against Country
As a warm up for the Ashes, England played a warm up four day game against Essex at Chelmsford, with Sky broadcasting the game and a full house present. Essex won the toss and in an obviously planned move Ravi Bopara decided to bowl first, saying something like "It looks like the sort of pitch to score lots of runs on, but we've got to take 20 wickets, so we'll bowl first".
England began quite quickly, scoring 33 off the first seven overs, before Alistair Cook edged Tymal Mills to keeper Ben Foakes for 18. Mills had some early hustle, getting Cook out with a 92 mph ball and following it up with one that was over 94 mph in the resulting maiden. The incoming Trott and Root began to tame the Essex attack, adding 40 in 10 overs, before Root edged to Tom Westley for 41, 73-2. This brought Kevin Pietersen to the crease and he treated the bowlers with some early disdain hammering 16 off his first 9 balls as the 100 came up on the 22nd over. Trott was the next to fall, edging a rocket from Mills to Foakes to go for 32, and it was fairly obvious by now that England weren't taking this game particularly seriously at this stage.
Pietersen came out attacking after lunch, hitting more boundaries, and greeting Tom Craddock's spin with a straight driven four first ball, but then he drove the ball back to Craddock next ball, who grassed the chance, but he wouldn't have to wait much longer for another chance. KP repeated the shot first ball of his next over, where Craddock took the return catch (49 off 58), England 163-4. Craddock soon had his 2nd, Ian Bell going for a sweep shot, Jaik Mickleburgh at short leg anticipated the shot, moved to his right and flung himself at the ball to take a great reaction catch, 172-5. This brought together Prior and Bairstow to bring up the 200 in the 51st over, but England failed to build any consistency as Prior edged behind for 20 to give Craddock a third. It was soon 212-7 as Saj Mahmood blasted one though Bairstow to bowl him for 23.
This left the unlikely pair of Bresnan and Swann to put together the partnership that would enable England to make a decent score. They didn't try anything stupid and steadily accumulated runs off the bowlers before attacking the bad balls, Swann taking 4 fours off the over against Craddock. Swann was first to 50, from 67 ball (also bringing up the 100 partnership) with 3 consecutive fours off Mills. Bresnan soon followed, his 50 coming from 114 balls. That was pretty much it for the day as England finished 332-7 from 90 overs, Bresnan 55 and Swann 62, Craddock with 3-63 being the pick of the bowlers
England began quite quickly, scoring 33 off the first seven overs, before Alistair Cook edged Tymal Mills to keeper Ben Foakes for 18. Mills had some early hustle, getting Cook out with a 92 mph ball and following it up with one that was over 94 mph in the resulting maiden. The incoming Trott and Root began to tame the Essex attack, adding 40 in 10 overs, before Root edged to Tom Westley for 41, 73-2. This brought Kevin Pietersen to the crease and he treated the bowlers with some early disdain hammering 16 off his first 9 balls as the 100 came up on the 22nd over. Trott was the next to fall, edging a rocket from Mills to Foakes to go for 32, and it was fairly obvious by now that England weren't taking this game particularly seriously at this stage.
Pietersen came out attacking after lunch, hitting more boundaries, and greeting Tom Craddock's spin with a straight driven four first ball, but then he drove the ball back to Craddock next ball, who grassed the chance, but he wouldn't have to wait much longer for another chance. KP repeated the shot first ball of his next over, where Craddock took the return catch (49 off 58), England 163-4. Craddock soon had his 2nd, Ian Bell going for a sweep shot, Jaik Mickleburgh at short leg anticipated the shot, moved to his right and flung himself at the ball to take a great reaction catch, 172-5. This brought together Prior and Bairstow to bring up the 200 in the 51st over, but England failed to build any consistency as Prior edged behind for 20 to give Craddock a third. It was soon 212-7 as Saj Mahmood blasted one though Bairstow to bowl him for 23.
This left the unlikely pair of Bresnan and Swann to put together the partnership that would enable England to make a decent score. They didn't try anything stupid and steadily accumulated runs off the bowlers before attacking the bad balls, Swann taking 4 fours off the over against Craddock. Swann was first to 50, from 67 ball (also bringing up the 100 partnership) with 3 consecutive fours off Mills. Bresnan soon followed, his 50 coming from 114 balls. That was pretty much it for the day as England finished 332-7 from 90 overs, Bresnan 55 and Swann 62, Craddock with 3-63 being the pick of the bowlers
Plenty To Wright About
The final day of Middlesex vs Sussex at Lord's began with Sussex 228-4 still needing 49 to make Middlesex bat again, with Ed Joyce and Luke Wright looking to bat the home side out of the game. Wright soon reached his 50 from 93 balls as Middlesex turned to Ollie Rayner's spin early in the day to look for a wicket. Wright picked off boundaries, while Joyce steadily accumulated, but it was 2 short of his hundred that Tim Murtagh found some movement with the new ball, where an edge was well taken low by Rayner at slip, breaking the partnership of 159 at 282-5 which had put Sussex in with the chance of a draw.
James Harris soon had Ben Brown out, caught by London at point as the batsman froze on his shot, and Murtagh then had Chris Jordan caught behind for 3 as Sussex slumped to 304-7, a small lead just after lunch, without much more batting to come. Will Beer joined Wright in what became the key partnership of the day, with Wright having no troubles playing the bowlers, hitting some awesome cuts and cover drives, and it was in the 101st over from his 179th ball, that he completed his first 100 in 2 years, driving Toby Roland-Jones to the cover boundary.
The bowlers began to tire mid way through the afternoon, and the batsmen were quite happy to pick runs off where they could and Sussex raced from 350 to 400 in seven overs as Harris and Joe Denly came in for some punishment. It was shortly after completing the 100 partnership that Beer fell, caught at leg slip by Berg off Rayner for 39, and Middlesex still had a small chance, if they could knock off the last 2 quickly at 405-8. It wasn't to be that easy, as Wright completed his first 150 with a cover drive off Rayner (226 balls, 19 fours) as he and Magoffin looked to take some time out of the game to push the required rate up for Middlesex. After six overs of plodding along, Wright then took 23 off the next two to move past 180, and brought up the 450 by clubbing a full toss from Denly over midwicket for four. He wouldn't reach his deserved double ton, charging down the track to Denly, who got one to turn past the edge for Simpson to complete an easy stumping. It had been a great innings, 187 from 276 balls with 25 fours. Magoffin didn't hang around much longer, swinging Denly to Murtagh in the deep as Sussex were all out for 454, leaving Middlesex with needing 179 in 20 overs.
Rogers and Denly opened and decided to have a go for the runs, and they pounded 23 off the first 3 overs, Denly lifting Magoffin for an easy boundary over midwicket, so Sussex moved to having all nine outfielders on the boundary, and Denly promptly edged Chris Liddle, where Brown took a good diving catch, 24-1. Dexter then got a big edge which flew high off Magoffin to Brown's right, where he jumped, stuck out a hand and landed with the ball in it, a ridiculously good catch to remove Dexter for four. Rogers at the other end was scoring at a run a ball, and found the boundary with a backfoot-lean-uppercut-jab that went over the keepers head for four. But the chase was soon off as Liddle called on his one day experience to trap Berg LBW for 5 at 50-3, the game called off as a draw, Middlesex with 10 points, Sussex with 5.
James Harris soon had Ben Brown out, caught by London at point as the batsman froze on his shot, and Murtagh then had Chris Jordan caught behind for 3 as Sussex slumped to 304-7, a small lead just after lunch, without much more batting to come. Will Beer joined Wright in what became the key partnership of the day, with Wright having no troubles playing the bowlers, hitting some awesome cuts and cover drives, and it was in the 101st over from his 179th ball, that he completed his first 100 in 2 years, driving Toby Roland-Jones to the cover boundary.
The bowlers began to tire mid way through the afternoon, and the batsmen were quite happy to pick runs off where they could and Sussex raced from 350 to 400 in seven overs as Harris and Joe Denly came in for some punishment. It was shortly after completing the 100 partnership that Beer fell, caught at leg slip by Berg off Rayner for 39, and Middlesex still had a small chance, if they could knock off the last 2 quickly at 405-8. It wasn't to be that easy, as Wright completed his first 150 with a cover drive off Rayner (226 balls, 19 fours) as he and Magoffin looked to take some time out of the game to push the required rate up for Middlesex. After six overs of plodding along, Wright then took 23 off the next two to move past 180, and brought up the 450 by clubbing a full toss from Denly over midwicket for four. He wouldn't reach his deserved double ton, charging down the track to Denly, who got one to turn past the edge for Simpson to complete an easy stumping. It had been a great innings, 187 from 276 balls with 25 fours. Magoffin didn't hang around much longer, swinging Denly to Murtagh in the deep as Sussex were all out for 454, leaving Middlesex with needing 179 in 20 overs.
Rogers and Denly opened and decided to have a go for the runs, and they pounded 23 off the first 3 overs, Denly lifting Magoffin for an easy boundary over midwicket, so Sussex moved to having all nine outfielders on the boundary, and Denly promptly edged Chris Liddle, where Brown took a good diving catch, 24-1. Dexter then got a big edge which flew high off Magoffin to Brown's right, where he jumped, stuck out a hand and landed with the ball in it, a ridiculously good catch to remove Dexter for four. Rogers at the other end was scoring at a run a ball, and found the boundary with a backfoot-lean-uppercut-jab that went over the keepers head for four. But the chase was soon off as Liddle called on his one day experience to trap Berg LBW for 5 at 50-3, the game called off as a draw, Middlesex with 10 points, Sussex with 5.
Wham Bam, More Malan
Time for some floodlight cricket, Middlesex vs Somerset at Lord's, Middlesex won the toss and fielded meaning we got to see an early burst of the in form openers Marcus Trescothick and Pete Trego. It was only until the fourth over that the first boundary as Harris went for six and four over midwicket by Trescothick as Somerset raced to 50 in the 7th over, thanks to another six from Trescothick. The chaos soon stopped, with Ollie Rayner striking in his first over to bowl Trescothick for 41, and when Trego then edged Harris to Rossington for 35, it was 85-2. Things got better, with Nick Compton (6) hitting Rayner to Dexter at midwicket, 85-3 and the scoring rate now collapsed. James Hildreth and Dean Elgar plodded along, before Rayner picked up his third, Elgar swinging to Dexter at cover for 24, 121-4. Middlesex kept the pressure on and soon Alex Barrow fell, popping a return catch to Paul Stirling for 15, 158-5. In the midst of this, Hildreth completed a 72 ball 50 with his 2nd four. The spinner exerting good pressure on the middl order, which seemed to be wilting.
186-5 with five overs left, and Arul Suppiah gave Murtagh a wicket for 10, heaving to Malan in the deep, and Meschede came and went stumped off Roland-Jones (but not before hitting the same bowler into the pavilion) for 12. We come to the final over with Hildreth on strike, Harris serve up the first ball on a length, and it disappears into the Grand Stand over midwicket, the second ball is similar, and gets the same treatment. The third is fuller, and is swing squarer into the grand stand for another 6, the fourth sails away for four, and Hildreth completed a great hundred by reverse paddling a final full toss through third man for four, 102 off 94 balls as Somerset finished 247-7. Rayner the best bowler with 3-31 from his 8.
Stirling and Malan gave Middlesex a solid if unspectacular start, with runs coming fairly easily, as they kept up with the required rate, Stirling hitting consecutive fours off Kirby and Malan hitting Trego for a big six over midwicket. Stirling slammed Meschede to mid off to go for 27 with the score on 71, but this didn't put Malan off, who was hitting boundaries freely and completed 50 from 48 balls. His cover drives were particularly well hit and Joe Denly didn't want to be left out, striking Suppiah into the Tavern Stand for a huge six. The carnage didn't stop, Overton no-ball, hit for four, Waller drags one down, hit for four as the 150 came up in the 24th over. But the came wasn't over, as Denly top edged a sweep off Max Waller where Barrow took a good high catch running back for 31 from 40. Chris Roger went next over, edging Jamie Overton to slip where Trescothick took a sharp catch at the second attempt, with Barrow diving in front of him. Overton then had Rossington trapped LBW for 6, before Malan edged Meschede to Barrow for 99 off 100 balls, having looked nervous throughout the 90s with wickets falling around him, it was a poor end to a great innings.
The game was looking a bit more dodgy, 185-5, needing 63 off nine overs with 5 wickets left. Dexter and Berg took up the challenge, scoring steadily in the powerplay and had whittled it down to 30 off 24 when Meschede bowled a full toss, which Dexter nailed into the Grand Stand for six, and even though Berg swiped to Elgar at mid on off Meschede, Rayner (12 off 7) and Dexter (39) saw them home, a sweep from Rayner going for four to seal a nervy four wicket win with 5 balls to spare. Rayner given man of the match by Sky.
186-5 with five overs left, and Arul Suppiah gave Murtagh a wicket for 10, heaving to Malan in the deep, and Meschede came and went stumped off Roland-Jones (but not before hitting the same bowler into the pavilion) for 12. We come to the final over with Hildreth on strike, Harris serve up the first ball on a length, and it disappears into the Grand Stand over midwicket, the second ball is similar, and gets the same treatment. The third is fuller, and is swing squarer into the grand stand for another 6, the fourth sails away for four, and Hildreth completed a great hundred by reverse paddling a final full toss through third man for four, 102 off 94 balls as Somerset finished 247-7. Rayner the best bowler with 3-31 from his 8.
Stirling and Malan gave Middlesex a solid if unspectacular start, with runs coming fairly easily, as they kept up with the required rate, Stirling hitting consecutive fours off Kirby and Malan hitting Trego for a big six over midwicket. Stirling slammed Meschede to mid off to go for 27 with the score on 71, but this didn't put Malan off, who was hitting boundaries freely and completed 50 from 48 balls. His cover drives were particularly well hit and Joe Denly didn't want to be left out, striking Suppiah into the Tavern Stand for a huge six. The carnage didn't stop, Overton no-ball, hit for four, Waller drags one down, hit for four as the 150 came up in the 24th over. But the came wasn't over, as Denly top edged a sweep off Max Waller where Barrow took a good high catch running back for 31 from 40. Chris Roger went next over, edging Jamie Overton to slip where Trescothick took a sharp catch at the second attempt, with Barrow diving in front of him. Overton then had Rossington trapped LBW for 6, before Malan edged Meschede to Barrow for 99 off 100 balls, having looked nervous throughout the 90s with wickets falling around him, it was a poor end to a great innings.
The game was looking a bit more dodgy, 185-5, needing 63 off nine overs with 5 wickets left. Dexter and Berg took up the challenge, scoring steadily in the powerplay and had whittled it down to 30 off 24 when Meschede bowled a full toss, which Dexter nailed into the Grand Stand for six, and even though Berg swiped to Elgar at mid on off Meschede, Rayner (12 off 7) and Dexter (39) saw them home, a sweep from Rayner going for four to seal a nervy four wicket win with 5 balls to spare. Rayner given man of the match by Sky.
Friday 2 August 2013
Sixes in the Sun
Essex vs Scotland in the YB40 at Chelmsford began with Scotland winning the toss and fielding on a sunny day and a dry looking pitch. It looked like a good decision as Gordon Goudie had Tom Westly LBw for nought fourth ball. New overseas signing Hamish Rutherford, having done his bit for New Zealand and Mark Pettini looked to take advantage of the small boundaries and Rutherford hit the first six in the ninth over. The score was on 41 when Callum Burnett's first ball was hoisted straight to Drummond in the deep as Pettini departed for 23 and Owais Shah lasted only three balls with Ewan Chalmers taking the catch as Essex were in a bit of trouble on 49-3, but this brought together the big partnership that would shape the innings, as Ryan Ten Doeschate came in and started with a boundary to bring up the 50. Rutherford started to accelerate now that he was in, launching a six off Burnett and consecutive fours off Michael Leask to bring up a 48 ball 50 as the 100 came up in the 19th over.
Rutherford was eyeing his hundred, taking 13 off an over from Burnett before greeting Moneeb Iqbal with consecutive sixes from his first two balls as 16 came off the over. Ten Doeschate obviously felt left out, in his first game back after the IPL, so swung MacLeod for six, Iqbal for six (and a 51 ball 50), and then Goudie for six before Rutherford completed a ton on debut with his 6th six off Goudie (80 balls), after being badly dropped the over before off Iqbal. Then came the first big over the innings, Drummond disappeared for 21 all off the bat of ten Doeschate, two massive sixes over the midwicket boundary after two fours as the floodgates opened in the final 12 overs. Ten Doescate completed a 72 ball hundred in the next over, and was to celebrate in style.
Captain Mommsen decided, after the massacre Drummond got, to bring Burnett back on from the Hayes Close end, and it Burnett lost it against ten Doeschate. The first ball sailed over midwicket for six, the 2nd was a waist high no ball, for a single, the third and fourth went for four and one to Rutherford, the fifth went for another six, then the sixth was a waist high full toss that cleared the stand at midwicket. This meant Burnett was removed for bowling two high full tosses in the over, so Mommsen was to finish it, the 7th ball was swung down to the fine leg boundary for four and the eighth was a short ball that ten Doeschate just missed hitting swinging at, and could only scramble a leg bye, all in all 33 came off the over and Essex were 270-3 with 8 overs remaining.
Goudie went went for six off ten Doeschate, but Rutherford (who had been largely forgotten) couldn't repeat the shot, and was well held by MacLeod at long on for 110 off 88 balls, 279-4. Ten Doeschate soon completed his 150 from 89 balls (after the departure of Napier for 3) celebrated by thumping Mommsen for four then six, six, six and six, all of them huge blows straight or over midwicket. But a double hundred was not to be as a huge hoick at Leask left two of his stumps removed for a commanding 180 made from 98 balls with 11 fours and a competition record 15 sixes. Saj Mahmood (2) didn't last long but Phillips and Foster took the score past 350 to a massive 368-7.
Scotland's reply started poorly, as overseas Tom Latham was bowled by Phillips fourth ball for three. Freddie Coleman and Gordon Goudie decided the best plan was to attack, but it wasn't long before they both went. Coleman ran one, the throw whizzed past the stumps and Coleman charged back for an otherthrow, but Goudie was slow in setting off, so Napier had enough time to take the ball and run out Goudie for 18. Coleman fell LBW for 12 in the same over and Scotland were 38-3. MacLeod chipped at catch to Shah off Mahmood for 5 and it was 55-4, with the small matter of another 300 needed at 10 an over. Chalmers and Mommsen did their best, but they fell for 34 and 42 within an over of each other to ten Doeschate (who else?) as it was now 131-6. Iqbal then had some run, thumping Phillips for two sixes in an over before being run out by ten Doeschate for 30. Leask went for three and with six overs left, Scotland neeed 196 with two wickets left. Matt Cross and Burnett added some respectability to the score, messing up ten Doeschate's figures with an 18 run over as he completed a 40 ball 50 as he finished 54 not out and Burnett 31 not out as Essex won by 125 runs with Scotland 241-8.
Rutherford was eyeing his hundred, taking 13 off an over from Burnett before greeting Moneeb Iqbal with consecutive sixes from his first two balls as 16 came off the over. Ten Doeschate obviously felt left out, in his first game back after the IPL, so swung MacLeod for six, Iqbal for six (and a 51 ball 50), and then Goudie for six before Rutherford completed a ton on debut with his 6th six off Goudie (80 balls), after being badly dropped the over before off Iqbal. Then came the first big over the innings, Drummond disappeared for 21 all off the bat of ten Doeschate, two massive sixes over the midwicket boundary after two fours as the floodgates opened in the final 12 overs. Ten Doescate completed a 72 ball hundred in the next over, and was to celebrate in style.
Captain Mommsen decided, after the massacre Drummond got, to bring Burnett back on from the Hayes Close end, and it Burnett lost it against ten Doeschate. The first ball sailed over midwicket for six, the 2nd was a waist high no ball, for a single, the third and fourth went for four and one to Rutherford, the fifth went for another six, then the sixth was a waist high full toss that cleared the stand at midwicket. This meant Burnett was removed for bowling two high full tosses in the over, so Mommsen was to finish it, the 7th ball was swung down to the fine leg boundary for four and the eighth was a short ball that ten Doeschate just missed hitting swinging at, and could only scramble a leg bye, all in all 33 came off the over and Essex were 270-3 with 8 overs remaining.
Goudie went went for six off ten Doeschate, but Rutherford (who had been largely forgotten) couldn't repeat the shot, and was well held by MacLeod at long on for 110 off 88 balls, 279-4. Ten Doeschate soon completed his 150 from 89 balls (after the departure of Napier for 3) celebrated by thumping Mommsen for four then six, six, six and six, all of them huge blows straight or over midwicket. But a double hundred was not to be as a huge hoick at Leask left two of his stumps removed for a commanding 180 made from 98 balls with 11 fours and a competition record 15 sixes. Saj Mahmood (2) didn't last long but Phillips and Foster took the score past 350 to a massive 368-7.
Scotland's reply started poorly, as overseas Tom Latham was bowled by Phillips fourth ball for three. Freddie Coleman and Gordon Goudie decided the best plan was to attack, but it wasn't long before they both went. Coleman ran one, the throw whizzed past the stumps and Coleman charged back for an otherthrow, but Goudie was slow in setting off, so Napier had enough time to take the ball and run out Goudie for 18. Coleman fell LBW for 12 in the same over and Scotland were 38-3. MacLeod chipped at catch to Shah off Mahmood for 5 and it was 55-4, with the small matter of another 300 needed at 10 an over. Chalmers and Mommsen did their best, but they fell for 34 and 42 within an over of each other to ten Doeschate (who else?) as it was now 131-6. Iqbal then had some run, thumping Phillips for two sixes in an over before being run out by ten Doeschate for 30. Leask went for three and with six overs left, Scotland neeed 196 with two wickets left. Matt Cross and Burnett added some respectability to the score, messing up ten Doeschate's figures with an 18 run over as he completed a 40 ball 50 as he finished 54 not out and Burnett 31 not out as Essex won by 125 runs with Scotland 241-8.
Thursday 1 August 2013
England Left Feeling a Bit Guptill
The first ODI of a 3 match warm up before the Champion's Trophy took place between England and New Zealand at Lord's, New Zealand won the toss and fielded, handing a New Zealand debut to the former Australian international Luke Ronchi, England playing Chris Woakes and Jade Dernbach. Kyle Mills and Mitchell McClenaghan began well, keeping England to 23 off the first six, Cook and Ian Bell finding boundaries hard to come by. After the first powerplay, England had 45 but then Southee found some swing and Bell edged behind for 18. And soon after, the same thing happened again, Cook edging to Ronchi off Southee for 30 and England were rocked back at 50-2. Jonathan Trott and Joe Root began the rebuilding operation, taking their time against some tight bowling, and only a couple of boundaries came in the next 10 overs, so at halfway it was 104-2, Nathan McCullum going for 20 off his first five overs. Then it began to unravel a bit, as Root was bowled by McCullum reverse sweeping a quicker ball for 30. Then it was 2 in 6 for McCullum as Trott picked out Taylor on the midwicket boundary for 37, and there was enough time for Morgan (6) to freeze on a bouncer from McClenaghan next over, with the ball looping off the bat and going straight up in the air for Ronchi to get an easy catch, 126-6 in the 30th over. Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler struggled to score, and apart from a McCullum slip that led to an all run four, there wasn't much coming as New Zealand kept the ball away from the boundary. The pressure finally got to Buttler, as a nice friendly off break from Kane Williamson was reverse swept by Buttler straight to McClenaghan at point, 159-6.
Woakes then became the fourth to fall in the 30s, holing out to the cover sweeper off Mills for 36 and England crawled past 200 with 23 balls to go and could only finish 227-9, Bresnan and Swann falling, Southee the pick of the bowlers with 3-37.
England needed a quick start, and they got it, Jimmy Anderson having Ronchi smartly held by Swann at 2nd slip, and Williamson taken by a diving Buttler as New Zealand 1-2 at the end of the first over. Unfortunately Jade Dernbach then served up 2 wides and 9 runs straight away easing Ross Taylor into the game. Martin Guptill watched the carnage at the other end, then let Taylor ease to 27 before deciding to target Woakes's first over, with the third ball disappearing to the Grand Stand fence and then going for the hook, which flew straight to Bresnan at fine leg, who went for the catch, only to parry it over the fence for six, 50 up in the 10th and England in need of some luck. More runs flowed freely as Woakes went for nine more in his next and (after a break), 12 off his third as Guptill got to fifty off 64 and the 100 (and 100 partnership) was up in the 23rd. Guptill then went about his business, swinging Swann over long off for six and Taylor was feeling a bit left out, so went to a 71 ball fifty in taking 7 off the hapless Woakes next over. Cook, turned back to Anderson, who picked up Taylor for 54 2nd ball, 120-3, New Zealand on top with only another 100 to win and plenty of batting left.
Dernbach looked to have Grant Elliot LBW, only for him to review and it overturned for the massive inside edge Aleem Dar had failed to notice. Elliot wouldn't last too much longer, bowled by Swann for 27, but it was Guptill's day, he launched Dernbach for his third six and even though Brendan McCullum was caught for 15, Guptill heaved another six into the Grand Stand before pulling the winning four through square leg to bring up a 123 ball hundred as New Zealand won with 19 balls to spare to go 1-0 up.
Woakes then became the fourth to fall in the 30s, holing out to the cover sweeper off Mills for 36 and England crawled past 200 with 23 balls to go and could only finish 227-9, Bresnan and Swann falling, Southee the pick of the bowlers with 3-37.
England needed a quick start, and they got it, Jimmy Anderson having Ronchi smartly held by Swann at 2nd slip, and Williamson taken by a diving Buttler as New Zealand 1-2 at the end of the first over. Unfortunately Jade Dernbach then served up 2 wides and 9 runs straight away easing Ross Taylor into the game. Martin Guptill watched the carnage at the other end, then let Taylor ease to 27 before deciding to target Woakes's first over, with the third ball disappearing to the Grand Stand fence and then going for the hook, which flew straight to Bresnan at fine leg, who went for the catch, only to parry it over the fence for six, 50 up in the 10th and England in need of some luck. More runs flowed freely as Woakes went for nine more in his next and (after a break), 12 off his third as Guptill got to fifty off 64 and the 100 (and 100 partnership) was up in the 23rd. Guptill then went about his business, swinging Swann over long off for six and Taylor was feeling a bit left out, so went to a 71 ball fifty in taking 7 off the hapless Woakes next over. Cook, turned back to Anderson, who picked up Taylor for 54 2nd ball, 120-3, New Zealand on top with only another 100 to win and plenty of batting left.
Dernbach looked to have Grant Elliot LBW, only for him to review and it overturned for the massive inside edge Aleem Dar had failed to notice. Elliot wouldn't last too much longer, bowled by Swann for 27, but it was Guptill's day, he launched Dernbach for his third six and even though Brendan McCullum was caught for 15, Guptill heaved another six into the Grand Stand before pulling the winning four through square leg to bring up a 123 ball hundred as New Zealand won with 19 balls to spare to go 1-0 up.
Vikings No More
Middlesex went over to their new base away from Lord's to take on Yorkshire Vikings in a YB40 game at Radlett.
Yorkshire won the toss and batted, this soon looked like an interesting move as they found themselves 18-2, Toby Roland-Jones bagging Andrew Gale, caught on the boundary by Joe Denly and Rich Pyrah caught by Eoin Morgan at point. Gary Ballance and Phil Jacques then rebuilt the innings, and Ballance in particular enjoyed swinging sixes, four of them, but, after the fourth, tried to swing Gareth Berg for another, only to be well caught by Paul Stirling on the boundary for 40, 103-3 after 20 overs. They would have been looking for 260 or so, with a good platform laid, a sunny day and a flat pitch.
Jacques completed a sensible 50 from 68 balls with a tidy three and then cut loose, taking Berg for 3 consecutive fours before knocking the ball around for easy runs as he and Adam Lyth brought up the 50 partnership in the 28th over, but then James Harris got the crucial break, Lyth fell caught behind by Adam Rossington for 14 and three balls later Jacques was caught by Morgan for an excellent 81 off 86.
Rashid and Andy Hodd added a quick 52 for the 6th wicket before Hodd was bowled by Roland-Jones then Tim Bresnan's England warm up went well, holing out to Stirling off Harris for a duck next over. 28 came off the final three overs, with Will Rhodes (10) giving Roland-Jones his best figures in this format (4-44) as Yorkshire finished 236-8 with Rashid unbeaten on 46.
The Middlesex reply started badly, Stirling having his stumps detonated for a 2nd ball duck by Iain Wardlaw, but Denly and Malan began to find boundaries quickly and had brought up the 50 partnership in the ninth over. Denly had reached 38 off 34 when he was bowled by Pyrah on 65. This brought in the big fish Morgan, but he wasn't to have much impact on the chase, attempting to reverse sweep Rashid first ball, he was given LBW, though acted as is he thought he's hit it, 65-3 and Yorkshire back in this and Rossington in only fourth game now joining Malan.
The pair soon took on the bowling, Malan in particular began to cut loose now finding boundaries with regularity as the required rate never went much above 6 an over and the first six was to come with Malan swinging Rhodes over midwicket soon after reaching a 59 ball 50. He raced from 51 to 88 in 18 balls but was not to have a deserved hundred, fishing at Bresnan outside off to edge though to Hodd for 91 off 88 balls with 10 fours and 2 sixes. At 201-4 this left 36 needed from the final 10 overs, Rossington, having reached his own 50 from 49 balls, saw Middlesex home to a six wicket win with 26 balls to spare in an unbeaten 79, a comprehensive win at the new "home away from home".
Yorkshire won the toss and batted, this soon looked like an interesting move as they found themselves 18-2, Toby Roland-Jones bagging Andrew Gale, caught on the boundary by Joe Denly and Rich Pyrah caught by Eoin Morgan at point. Gary Ballance and Phil Jacques then rebuilt the innings, and Ballance in particular enjoyed swinging sixes, four of them, but, after the fourth, tried to swing Gareth Berg for another, only to be well caught by Paul Stirling on the boundary for 40, 103-3 after 20 overs. They would have been looking for 260 or so, with a good platform laid, a sunny day and a flat pitch.
Jacques completed a sensible 50 from 68 balls with a tidy three and then cut loose, taking Berg for 3 consecutive fours before knocking the ball around for easy runs as he and Adam Lyth brought up the 50 partnership in the 28th over, but then James Harris got the crucial break, Lyth fell caught behind by Adam Rossington for 14 and three balls later Jacques was caught by Morgan for an excellent 81 off 86.
Rashid and Andy Hodd added a quick 52 for the 6th wicket before Hodd was bowled by Roland-Jones then Tim Bresnan's England warm up went well, holing out to Stirling off Harris for a duck next over. 28 came off the final three overs, with Will Rhodes (10) giving Roland-Jones his best figures in this format (4-44) as Yorkshire finished 236-8 with Rashid unbeaten on 46.
The Middlesex reply started badly, Stirling having his stumps detonated for a 2nd ball duck by Iain Wardlaw, but Denly and Malan began to find boundaries quickly and had brought up the 50 partnership in the ninth over. Denly had reached 38 off 34 when he was bowled by Pyrah on 65. This brought in the big fish Morgan, but he wasn't to have much impact on the chase, attempting to reverse sweep Rashid first ball, he was given LBW, though acted as is he thought he's hit it, 65-3 and Yorkshire back in this and Rossington in only fourth game now joining Malan.
The pair soon took on the bowling, Malan in particular began to cut loose now finding boundaries with regularity as the required rate never went much above 6 an over and the first six was to come with Malan swinging Rhodes over midwicket soon after reaching a 59 ball 50. He raced from 51 to 88 in 18 balls but was not to have a deserved hundred, fishing at Bresnan outside off to edge though to Hodd for 91 off 88 balls with 10 fours and 2 sixes. At 201-4 this left 36 needed from the final 10 overs, Rossington, having reached his own 50 from 49 balls, saw Middlesex home to a six wicket win with 26 balls to spare in an unbeaten 79, a comprehensive win at the new "home away from home".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)