Top 5 From 2016

OK, now all this has been fairly poorly updated, so here's something to make up for all that, a top five games from the 2016 season. The 2016 season was a particularly good one for us Middlesex supporters with a first county championship since 1993 and I also spent the year trying to go to as much as possible, from championship cricket at Scarborough and the women's ODI at Taunton through to Womens T20 at Beckenham and KSL Finals day at Chelmsford, here are my (totally biased) highlights.

A few notes before I list stuff - this is based off what I saw with my own eyes, if we win the Championship the day after I've been there, it doesn't count as a great game solely for that reason, also this is a list of fun and interesting games to me, with no real bearing on sense or neutrality. This means that Gubbins' 200 > Bresnan's 140 for example as Middlesex are superior to Yorkshire in my totally made up system.

Since the 2017 season starts in the UK this week, let's get on with the list

5 - KSL Finals day

I quite like witnessing history, so new cricket history is particularly good. The first finals day of the Women's Super League (sponsored by Kia so KSL...) took place this year at Chelmsford. Not only was it the first franchise based tournament in the UK, it was the first major headline grabbing women's domestic cricket tournament in the country.

The finals day included a semi final eliminator between the 2nd and 3rd teams where the winner then played the 1st placed team for the trophy. The Western Storm chased down the total set by Loughborough Lightning with relative ease. Ellyse Perry was the only Lightning player to fire, and the combined power of the Storm brought then victory.

The final against the Southern Vipers followed the semi, with the Storm batting first and making 130, with the Vipers gunning down the target to take the inaugural title.

4 - Taunton

Another women's cricket game on the list, I hadn't been to a women's international for a couple of years, so a trip to Taunton was a must for the final ODI between England and Pakistan.

England batted first on a sunny day and then went for it. Despite the early loss of Lauren Winfield, Tammy Beaumont and Georgia Elwiss made Pakistan pay for an appalling performance in the field as several dropped catches and flopped misfields but England in record threatening mood.

Having slammed a record 378-5 the previous week, this was a more measured fours and two approach, but Beaumont batted through the innings to make a humongous 168 not out. Elwiss (77) and Nat Sciver (48 off 22) launched England to 366-4.

It was pretty clear from the outset that Pakistan were playing to improve their net run rate, and being 3 down in eight overs it wasn't going to be any closer than that. Sidra Nawaz made 47, but Laura Marsh (3-29) worked through the middle order before Katherine Brunt bowled out each of the last four to finish with 5-30 as England sealed an emphatic win by 202 runs.

Personally in was good to see Alex Hartley's international debut, even through she went wicketless as it meant I'd now seen her play for three teams (Middlesex, Academy and England and later in the summer add the Surrey Stars to that).

3 - Essex One Day Cup

Having only gone to two one day cup games in the season, both of them were crackers, Essex made the trip to Middlesex and put the hosts in on what was an old pitch,

Middlesex started solidly enough with Sam Robson making 41 before a quick collapse to Dan Lawrence's spin (3-35) nabbed 3 wickets in 11 balls. This brought skipper James Franklin to the crease and he revived the innings with a handy 50 with partnership with Simpson and Higgins dragged Middlesex past 200 to an eventual 219-8 which looked too few even given the difficulty of batting.

Essex started well, with Nic Browne and Tom Westley not fussing around to raise the 50 stand before Middlesex slowly dried up the runs after the powerplay, Browne still looked steady to lead them home, but was bowled by Franklin for 79, even then 94 in 20 overs should've been easy. The middle order however, got horribly stuck as Roland-Jones (4-40) struck when the panicked batsmen were forced into bad shots giving some easy wickets. It came down to 11 needed from the final over with two wickets left, Franklin then dismissed the dangerous Ashar Zaidi first ball and held on to finish with 3-25 from 9 overs (later revealing he had a broken finger) as Middlesex pulled off a heist by four runs.

This game kept alive Middlesex's slim chances of making the knockouts and was a win they really had no business in making with 20 overs to go.

2 - Tie at Chelmsford

The other one-day cup game I went to, Essex vs Somerset on a damp day in June, Essex won the toss and fielded, but the match was reduced to 47 overs per side before play began because rain... So we get 3 overs, then more rain and another long delay with Somerset 12-1, and finally get clear skies and actual play with 29 overs per side. With a damp outfield timing the ball was a bit of a problem, with runs only really coming once you got in. This showed heavily as Adam Hose (77) and Jim Allenby (62) added 141 out of Somerset's eventual 179-8. They played the Essex bowlers with relative ease as 200 looked on with four overs to go, but the late slog by the middle order and canny bowling (and fielding) from Ravi Bopara (3-49) brought about 6-24 in the final four overs.

Thanks to DLS, Essex were set 177 to win from 29 overs, and they suffered their own horrible collapse and crashed to 36-5 against Groenewald and Gregory. Zaidi and Bopara doubled the score but both fell caught to Jamie Overton to leave Essex needing 94 from 69 balls with three wickets left.

James Foster was the only Essex batsman to look comfortable as perhaps Somerset took their foot off the gas a touch and dumped Jamie Overton for consecutive sixes to bring up the 100. He lost Napier and Masters to Gregory leaving him with only Matt Quinn for company showed skill in retaining the stroke as he faced all but one ball of the last four overs. A fifty came from 34 balls, but 24 were needed from 8 with rain falling again, when a boundary was followed by a wide and a pull into the gap at fine leg saw them bring in three more to set up a final over with 16 required.

Gregory beat Foster first ball, but keeper Barrow snatched at the ball and it ran clear of him for four byes. The next ball was short and Foster edged fine of Barrow away for four more, 8 off four. Foster nailed the thirs ball of the over to the square leg fielder and rejects the single. The fourth followed a similar pattern, perfectly timed but straight to the fielder on the square leg fence, dot ball. The rain really pouring down now, but we fight on and Gregory bowls a length ball, which Foster sends high and way over midwicket into the marquee beyond the boundary, an extraordinary hit in the circumstances to leave us with one ball, two runs. Field in for the final ball, Gregory bowls short and slow outside off, Foster waits, swings, and misses, but charges off for the single, the throw from Barrow misses the stumps as Quinn dives and makes it in! They'd stolen the tie out of nothing and a 37 run partnership for the last wicket that left Foster 75 not out and cursing that he couldn't quite have seen Essex over the line.

1 - Scarborough

An away trip into the far north as the two best teams in the country took on each other in what was seen as a potential title decider. Yorkshire won the toss and batted, only for Adam Lyth to mess up a leave and edge Murtagh to Simpson from the first ball of the game. Yorkshire recovered fairly well throughout the rest of the day, with Garry Ballance making a 202 ball hundred and a pair of 63s from Lees and Bresnan left them 291-5 with Murtagh grabbing two more wickets.

Day two and runs and wickets came about more quickly as Yorkshire slipped to 371-9 before some hitting from Patterson and Brooks meant they finished at lunch on 406, Ballance 132. Yorkshire then put Middlesex under pressure, but couldn't take many wickets, Gubbins and Robson adding 87 before both fell quickly only for Bailey and Eskinazi saw them to 130-2 at close.

Day three and Middlesex set about the Yorkshire total as the attack toiled away without much success with Eskinazi and Bailey completed 50s and took the total past 200. Bailey eventually fell to Will Rhodes and Simpson soon after but Franklin joined Eskinazi in grinding through the afternoon, taking 47 balls to get into double figures and Eskinazi reaching his 2nd hundred in 2 weeks in the next over. Runs then flowed off Bresnan and Rafiq as Middlesex went along easily at 4 an over to get to 400 and into the lead in the 126th over, Eskinazi passing 150. Trying to up the rate in the closing overs of the day meant Middlesex lost 4-26 in 33 balls as Esknazi went for 157 and Franklin for 99 to give Jack Brooks a deserved 5-for. Roland-Jones and Murtagh saw Middlesex to the close 470-8 a lead of 64.

The final day looked like the game would end a dull draw as the pitch hadn't had too many demons nor proved conducive to quick scoring, but funny things happen sometimes which make any dull play worthwhile. Middlesex started fairly normally for the first 3 overs and Roland-Jones hooked Brooks straight to Patterson on the fine leg fence, but the catch went down and ball rolled over the fence for 4, that drop proved to cost 98 runs in seven overs as the next ball went for four and Murtsgh carted a couple of boundaries off Bresnan in the next over. Roland Jones took advantage of the short boundary on the sea side of the ground to hit Brooks for six just over the fielder. Maybe spin would do the trick? Roland-Jones stuck Rafiq into the back row of seats towards Peasholme Park, Murtagh then hit the last two balls of the over towards midwicket for a couple more huge sixes. Roland-Jones took Brooks for 2 more sixes over midwicket and one straight down the ground. Roland-Jones had 79 off 51 and Murtagh 47 off 38 when Lyth removed Murtagh and Finn with consecutive balls to finish off Middlesex for 577, 107 runs in 10 overs that morning and a handy lead of 171.

Yorkshire saw off Finn and Murtagh's opening spell, but Lyth edged Roland-Jones's first ball to Frankliin at 3rd slip. Roland-Jones then blasted through Williamson, caught behind a couple of overs later to keep things interesting. Rayner was finding some turn and used his height to get some uneven bounce as Lees pulled out a sweep into the body of short leg, with the ball rebounding back towards the diving Simpson. Finn celebrated by bouncing out Ballance for a tortuous 3, Yorkshire now 63-4. Bresnan was the only batsman to find batting easy, Gale giving Rayner another wicket and having figures of 2-5 from 13 overs at one point. Into the final session and Rhodes and Bresnan could still save the game, but Finn and Murtagh shifted them in quick succession and it was a matter of time until the end. Hodd and Patterson were both caught by Rayner at 2nd slip, and when Jack Brooks fished one from Murtagh to Robson at first slip, Yorkshire had crashed to 167 all out and suffered their first Championship innings defeat at Scarborough. Nine of the wickets ended up caght between keeper and third slip as Middlesex went top of table on the way to eventually winning the title.

A Rushworth of Wickets

So the third day of Middlesex vs Durham at Lord's turned out to be one of the craziest so far with 18 wickets falling and a finish on the fourth day a certainty.
Durham resumed on 157-4 and batting looked easy as Middlesex toiled for the breakthrough. Jennings and Rushworth found runs easy to come by Rushworth even tonking Rayner for six. The 200 soon came up and it wasn't until the score reached 229 that Rushworth was LBW to Rayner for 40.
Jennings looked set for his 100, but on 98 looked to Voges fourth delivery and edged through to Simpson. From 239 for six, lunch did something funny as the next two sessions were completely different. Voges bowled Mustard off his pad, Arshad chipped Harris to the sub Balbirnie, Hastings edged Finn to slip and Coughlin caught behind off Harris only a quick 38 not out from Paul Collingwood saved Durham from disaster as they slipped to 294 all out.
Middlesex opted to bat again and it soon looked like a bad decision as Rushworth tore through the top order, having Gubbins LBW, Compton acrobatically taken at Gully by MacLeod, Voges LBW 2nd ball and Robson pinned LBW all in the first 7 overs. Hastings came on at the Nursery end to replace the expensive Coughlin and he decided to join the fun, Franklin was caught behind, Simpson was bowled off a no ball, before being caught at slip for a duck and Rayner bowled for a duck in the same over as Middlesex went to tea on a fairly bizarre 37-7.
Dexter and Harris blocked out after tea and ground to fifty in the 18th over when Dexter fell for six to give Hastings his fourth. Harris got a leading edge snaffled next over to complete Rushworth's 5 for and now out hobbled Tim Murtagh on one leg with Simpson as his runner to get a few more on the board. He edged the first ball for four and he and Finn adopted a stand and deliver approach with Murtagh wrecking Rushworth's figures by thumping him into the Grand Stand, they added 39 with Murtagh top scoring with 22 when Hasting pinned Finn LBW for 15 to finish with 5-24, and Rushworth 5-38. 89 all out wouldn't have been the plan but 24.2 overs later Middlesex found themselves bowling again.
Harris came tearing in again from the Nursery end and plucked out two more before close, Jennings limply pulling to square leg for a duck and Stoneman swatting at edge to Voges at slip as Durham closed on 24-2 still needing 235 more to win.

A Battle from Hastings

So after the women's match at Edmonton got rained off we move back to Middlesex vs Durham for day two and I get there just in time to see Harris edge behind, Franklin having already gone and Middlesex now six down.
The first ball I get there for, Harris edges Hastings behind as Middlesex had now slipped to 341-6. It was down to Dexter and Simpson to further the cause, and Durham failed to blast out the lower order as the sun came out and batting was relatively easy. Dexter was next to fall, heaving a Hastings bouncer to Usman Arshad at fine leg who took a good tumbling catch. Rayner hit a quick 16 before falling LBW to Rushworth for 16 and Murtagh was bowled heaving Borthwick for 11.
Simpson completed his 50 from 89 balls before hitting Hasting straight to mid off to be the last man out for 58 as Middlesex finished with a solid 463, Hastings with 4-87 from 33 overs.
Durham started well, with Mark Stoneman and Keaton Jennings scoring fairly easily early on, helped out by Tim Murtagh limping off with a suspected damaged hamstring after 2 balls. After a couple of quality drives, Stoneman then looked to waft Harris over cover and edged to slip for 21. Borthwick batted a bit like Stoneman with some nice shots before a waft to Franklin found the edge to Simpson for 26. Michael Richardson hit six fours in also making 26 before giving the impressive Harris his 2nd wicket.
Keaton Jennings meanwhile completed a composed 50 and finished the day on 61 but had to watch Calum MacLeod go to the penultimate over of the day, as Finn got one to rise and bowl him off the arm. So Durham end the day 306 runs behind on 157-4 needing a big effort from their middle order to catch Middlesex.

An Uncovered Truth?

So, the first match of the women's championship (Royal London Women's One Day...) For Middlesex vs Berkshire at Edmonton gets rained off because the pitch is flooded as the covers have leaked. By covers I mean a couple of tarpaulins as the real covers had been vandalised a few months before, which begs the question as to why elite women's sport (one level below international) is being played at a venue that doesn't have adequate drainage facilities given this is England... In May... Anyway, move on to Lord's again (no such drainage issues there) for more Middlesex vs Durham.

Robson Running Riot

At 10:30, a greenish pitch and very overcast conditions, the decision to bowl first might have been a smart one, however it proved not to be for Durham as Middlesex racked up 329-4 on the first day of their Championship match at Lord's.
With Graham Onions out with a knee injury, the key breakthroughs would have to come from Chris Rushworth and John Hastings, but they struggled to apply much pressure and even if the Middlesex batting was scratchy early and gave a few chances, no wickets came. Sam Robson and Nick Gubbins moved the score on to 66 before Paul Coughlin got Gubbins fishing to slip for 23.
Robson soon completed 50 and began to look a lot more relaxed and he and Nick Compton took Middlesex to lunch 104-1.
After lunch, it was a case of more of the same as the pitch looked easy going, and soon he race was on to see if Compton would get to 50 before Robson completed his ton, and despite nearly running himself out, Compton won. He went soon after, bowled having a heave at Scott Borthwick's half trackers but this only brought in Adam Voges, another man in the mood for big runs. Robson went to his ton, his first since Sri Lanka in June last year and kicked on towards a loftier landmark.
Tea came and went, and the runs were still flowing as Durham turned to Calum MacLeod as the 8th bowler of the day, only to see Voges shelled at slip. The new ball brought the breakthrough as Voges was LBW to Rushworth for 52. Robson had completed a brilliantly crafted 150, but could last the day, as after being dropped at slip off Coughlin, he edged the same bowler to Borthwick at slip to depart for 178 runs that will hopefully see him to form after a tough year.
James Franklin and James Harris saw Middlesex to the close 329-4, with more of the same expected tomorrow, if the rain holds off.

Taylor Time

Middlesex began the Championship campaign by taking on Notts at Lord's, and it was a fairly even day as Notts finished 298-9 with Brendan Taylor making a Championship debut hundred and James Harris taking four wickets.
Notts won the toss and batted, and Steve Mullaney and Taylor did well to last the opening burst from Murtagh and Finn who got some sharp movement on a good pitch. After that runs were easier to find against Helm and Harris, but were helped out by the slips as first Malan and then Voges put down Mullaney both times off Helm. Mullaney failed to capitalise as he dragged on off Helm for 22 and Alex Hales soon followed prodding a ball to Murtagh at cover and setting off for the single to run out for a duck from the direct hit.
Now James Taylor came to the crease and he helped Brendan forge the partnership of the innings.
After lunch Brendan completed 50 and pushed on, making batting look easy as first Harris, then Helm gave too many loose balls which were gleefully plundered. Brendan raced through the 90s and completed his hundred from 160 balls with a push through cover. Finally a break came just before tea, as James hashed a pull to Gubbins at cover, it looked a worse shot as Samit Patel was LBW three balls later. Riki Wessels made one, before he became Harris's third victim and finally Brendan was sent packing by Harris for 106 as an amazing spell of 4-1 in 11 balls had dragged Middlesex out of the miasma as 180-2 became 183-6.
Will Gidman nearly went first ball but only made nine to give Helm a 2nd and Vernon Philander walked past a Voges off break to be stumped.
It looked like Middlesex would keep the score down, but Chris Read swung the day back towards Notts as he found an able ally in Jake Ball and then Harry Gurney as he made a battling 50 getting more expansive and celebrated by walloping Helm into the Grand Stand for six and then a one bounce four as he finished the day on 62 not out and Gurney on 8. Middlesex will be looking for the quick last wicket and then some solid top order batting, especially from the returning Nick Compton as Dawid Malan spent most of the afternoon off the field with a likely broken finger (after dropping another catch) and looked unlikely to bat.

Marching Along

So, the new season is almost upon us, and I went down to witness Essex and Middlesex have some batting practice on the 2nd day of their warm up at Chelmsford. March cricket is usually a) cold and b) full of batting collapses, today didn't really provide either of those.

Due to Essex losing so many wickets the previous day, it was agreed Middlesex would start batting and would have 50 overs, with Essex have the remaining 34 to do whatever it is they wanted. This meant that the day petered out somewhat as Essex were never really likely to chase down Middlesex's effort.

David Masters struck in the first over, having Sam Robson caught at short leg, but other than that Middlesex avoided too many scares early on in the face of some fairly sharp swing bowling. Everyone who got in found a way to get out as Eskinazi (LBW), Gubbins (ct behind) and Dexter (ct behind) all departed to swing as Middlesex went to lunch on 95-4.

Dawid Malan was the exception to this and marched onwards to complete an 82 ball 50, and after Simpson and George Scott both fell, Harry Podmore blasted 30 from 34 balls as Middlesex rattled up 158-6 from 50 overs, Malan being 57 not out.

Essex carried on batting the way they had the previous day (91-7) by getting in a tangle as James Harris served up a double wicket maiden with Westley yorked and Jaik Mickburgh caught at slip, but Nick Browne and Dan Lawrence saw off the opening bowlers on what was a reasonably sunny afternoon. Lawrence clubbed the first six of the day, but was LBW to Podmore for 14.

The rest of the innings was well played by Browne and first James Foster and then Kishen Velani as they saw out the rest of the innings with some easy runs as Ollie Rayner and Ravi Patel rattled through the last 15 overs of the innings in about 45 minutes. There wasn't much spin, unsurprisingly with Rayner dismissing Foster from a top edged sweep.

Essex finished their 34 overs on 121-4, with Browne 49 not out and Velani 27 not out to complete the draw before both sides play tomorrow in 2 t20s.

Finn Flying Upwards

The first day of Middlesex vs Yorkshire at Lord's began with Middlesex winning the toss and fielding, and got quick reward with Alex Lees caught behind off Murtagh in the 3rd over. Adam Lyth and Kane Williamson then added 50 for the 2nd wicket, before Lyth edged to Simpson off Finn for 34. Joe Root's first game of the season lasted all of 5 balls as he departed for a duck, trapped LBW by Finn. Before lunch there was still time for another wicket, Williamson edging Harris to Murtagh at 2nd slip, 75-4.
The post lunch struggle for the Yorkshire middle order led to their demise with Rashid (6) and Hodd (5) falling in quick succession, and a couple of overs later Ballance was well caught by Robson off Harris for 20, 113-7 and Middlesex were well on top. Liam Plunkett had other ideas, and showed off his all-round power by flaying the ball with a fair amount of ease as the boundaries flowed to bring up the 150, Sidebottom gave Robson his 3rd catch and Finn his 3rd wicket falling for a handy 12. Plunkett completed his 50 from 52 balls as the end came quickly with Patterson cleaned up by Finn (4-50) and Brooks playing on for 1 as Yorkshire finished 178 all out, Plunkett with 56 of those.
Middlesex's reply began badly, with Rogers edging Brooks to Lyth at slip for 1 and then Robson edging behind for 6, each time Brooks broke into an explosive celebration. 20-2 and Morgan and Malan had some rebuilding to do, with the ball still swinging around under cloudy skies, Malan thumping 3 fours off Patterson and Morgan following up with two more off Brooks next over. Malan couldn't last the day, bowled by Sidebottom for 31 as Middlesex finished 64-3, Morgan unbeaten on 24. An even day in the end with some sensible batting needed from Middlesex.

Notts Quite the Plan

The first day of the first home game of the season began in some surprising April sun as Middlesex took on Nottinghamshire at Lord's. Notts won the toss and batted, and after a couple of near edges, James Harris struck in the 10th over having Phil Jaques caught behind for 14, 16-1. Notts then struggled to get much above 2 an over as Murtagh, Harris and Finn bowled well to keep the pressure on, and Michael Lumb finally cracked, going for a pull that went straight up in the air for Robson at square leg to complete a solid catch, 50-2. Mullaney and Taylor saw Notts through to lunch, and afterwards started opening up with some powerful strokeplay as Middlesex bowled too wide and too short to Taylor, who whacked away a couple of pulls with ease. Taylor went to 50 from 63 balls and was looking well set when he fell LBW to Harris for 62, 131-3, just in time, and then Harris had Samit Patel caught behind by Simpson for 0 in the same over, 131-4. Riki Wessels came in and soon went after the short Grand Stand boundary, clubbing Murtagh for six, before Mullaney followed suit with a straight six off Ollie Rayner. Mullaney completed his 50 from 171 balls with a hook fine off Finn for four, but edged to Malan at first slip next ball for 52, 164-5.
Chris Read and Wessels proved hard to shift as runs came steadily and the pair passed 200 and Read cashed in on some loose bowling from Harris, too short and wide. After the 250 came up, the new ball did the trick as Finn managed to fire one through Read to remove his off stump for 40 and his next over Wessels (who had got to an 86 ball 50) edged to Rayner at third slip for 58, 259-7 and the chance was there to keep them below 300. Peter Siddle and Luke Fletcher then made more pain, as they took on Murtagh and Finn in a flurry of boundaries, as 25 came in 7 balls to bring up the 300, Siddle thumping Murtagh for four, six (into the grand stand again), four. Siddle then had one swipe too many and his midwicket heave got a leading edged low to Morgan at point off Harris for an excellent 40 from 35 balls. Carter and Fletcher saw Notts to close on 315-8, a good day for them, Harris and Finn the pick of the bowling with four wickets each.

Four Going Cheap to Jon Lewis

The first day of the new season got underway at Hove with Sussex taking on Middlesex, with Sussex winning the toss and sticking Middlesex in, and after an hours delay we got underway. It only took 13 balls for a wicket to falls, Chris Rogers skewing the ball from Magoffin to Stef Piolet at gully to go for 4. Sam Robson and Dawid Malan then fought for 11 overs in seamy conditions, Malan dropped at cover off Anyon, and they took the score to 36 before Robson had a swish at one from Anyon to be caught behind by Ben Brown for 11, 36-2.
After lunch there was a classic Middlesex collapse up there with the very best as Neil Dexter edged Jon Lewis to Brown for 6, and next ball Eoin Morgan's return to the red ball didn't last as Lewis found some huge inswing to detonate two stumps first ball. Adam Rossington survived the hat trick, but four overs later and Malan finally fell edging Lewis to Joyce for 35. Lewis then took his fourth of a crushing spell as Rossington had a feeble waft through to Brown for 8, 73-6. At the other end, things weren't getting any easier as Ashar Zaidi struck first ball, clipping the top of James Harris's off stump for six, before Tim Murtagh tried to hit a six, only to find Matt Prior about 10 yards in from the midwicket fence, 86-9 and 100 looking a mile off. At least Toby Roland-Jones and Steve Finn showed some fight, lasting for 30 minutes, with Roland-Jones pulling Piolet for four to take the score to 99, then taking one from the same shot to bring up an unlikely team 100, Finn swung a four off Zaidi, but Roland-Jones lost his off stump to Magoffin for 17 to end the innings on 105 and tea, Lewis finishing with 4-34 and Magoffin 3-21.
After tea Middlesex needed quick wickets, and Ed Joyce was promptly bowled by Murtagh for 12, then Luke Wells edged to gully for a slow four before Mike Yardy got a tight LBW go against him for Murtagh's second on 17 as Sussex slumped to 42-3. This brought in Matt Prior, out of form and looking for runs, on comes Finn, short ball, Prior misreads it and hits it straight into the air down to long leg where Roland-Jones is waiting, he dived, and spilled the ball, a catch that would have made the day somewhat better, as Roland-Jones got hit for a couple of boundaries himself as bad light ended the day with Sussex 86-3 after 20.3 overs, looking set for a good total to start the season.

Notts Out to End the Season

The final day of Middlesex vs Notts at Lord's was the last day of the season from my perspective and sure enough it rained, so (having already lost a day to rain) we were delayed until just after lunch before play would resume with Middlesex on 96-0 against Notts 430 first innings total.
Chris Rogers and Sam Robson went on the attack early, as Notts struggled to bowl anything consistent, with Rogers cutting an early couple of boundaries including one which evaded Luke Fletcher's dive which took a large chunk out of the hallowed turf... Rogers cut Harry Gurney for six into the Mound Stand, then followed up with another four as he moved into the 90s. It wasn't long before another boundary off Fletcher brought up his third Championship hundred of the season (142 balls), and he was within sight of 1000 championship runs when he pulled Andre Adams straight up in the air for Fletcher to complete the catch for 108 out of 151 for the first wicket, worth the wait in the rain to see him bat so easily. Adams soon had two, as Robson nicked behind next over for 41, 152-2.
Joe Denly and Dawid Malan then steadied the ship with the nice strokeplay (Denly finding some late form) and luck (David Hussey dropping Malan at slip twice in two overs) as they added 59 to bring up the first batting point. Malan then went for a massive swing off Samit Patel, and was bowled for 15, 211-3. Denly helped raid 19 off an over from Gurney to complete his 50 from 70 balls, but was bowled from Gurney's next over for 63, 245-4. Simpson saw the 250 up then Dexter sliced a drive off Gurney to Michael Lumb at gully, 252-5. Simpson and Berg came together for the quick burst after tea, and added 42 and saw off another 12 overs with some rasping cuts and drives before Berg popped the ball back to Adams for an easy catch on 26, 294-6. Ollie Rayner heaved a couple of boundaries, but was LBW to Adams for 9, 314-6. Simpson then took over the scoring, and showed his good form in the last month or so by completing 50 with a pull for four off Adams to the Mound Stand fence, it also to Middlesex to 353-7, where Rogers declared and the game ended in a comfy draw, Notts taking 9 points and Middlesex 8.

Morgan the Magnificent

The final (probably ever) 40 over game for Middlesex was against Leicestershire at Lord's on August bank holiday. Eoin Morgan was captaining Middlesex in his last game before going off on England duty, won the toss and fielded, and it began fairly evenly as an early pull for six from Greg Smith over the short square boundaries was tempered by Josh Cobb departing for six driving Finn to mid off. Ned Eckersley joined Smith in adding a 50 partnership to lay a solid foundation, Smith reaching 50 off 61 balls before slicing into the deep off Ravi Patel for 56, 91-2. Eckersley and Matt Boyce kicked on in the 2nd half of the innings, lofting the ball over the short boundary as Eckersley completed 50 from 53 balls and looked set for a hundred, before smearing Harris to Roland-Jones in the deep for 73, 186-3 and a good total on the cards.
Boyce then brought up the 200 and reached his 50 from 51 balls, then sliced to point for 53, to give Ollie Wilkin his first wicket. Wilkin then had two in five as Mike Thornley edged behind having a huge swing, 222-5 with 3 overs left. Two balls later Rob Taylor holed out off Roland-Jones for 5, 226-6, things were getting a bit tense as Middlesex were running out of time to finish their overs as Patel rushed to complete the 39th over. Ben Raine smashed a six, then smashed to Morgan in the deep and (after a six run ppenalty as Middlesex failed to finish their overs in time) Shiv Thakor top edged Harris to Finn at fine leg, 248-8. Then Harris had another final over meltdown like he had against Somerset, as Tom Wells as three balls disappeared for four, and a no ball bouncer was iced by a short ball whacked into the Grand Stand and the final ball of the innings a length ball that was smoked over extra cover into the Mound Stand, Wells making 31 off 11 balls, the last over costing 32 with the penalty and Leicestershire making a challenging 274-8.
Straight away Dawid Malan edged Rob Taylor behind first ball and then Paul Stirling lost his middle stump to Nathan Buck as Middlesex slumped to 22-2. Joe Denly and Eoin Morgan revived the chase with a quick 72, Morgan looking particularly good against the spinners. Denly then chipped a return catch to James Sykes who had to dive over non-striker Morgan to complete the catch, 94-3.
Adam Voges, also his last game, joined Morgan as the skip reached 50 from 43 balls, leaving Middlesex needing 143 with 20 overs left. Morgan raced onwards adding 81 in 9 overs and moved onto 90 before scooping the ball to Smith off Thakor for 90 from 63, a great knock, but with 100 still needed, job not finished. Voges then fell in identical fashion for 37 and at 198-5 Leicestershire were back in the game. Enter John Simpson, who along with Wilkin, went on the attack and found the boundary as Taylor and Buck wilted under pressure, and it was down to 18 off 20 when Wilkin top edged to third man for a handy 20. But there was to be no panic, as Simpson swung Taylor for a short six, completed a 37 ball 50, and then hit back to back boundaries off Buck ending it with a late cut, to win by 4 wickets with 10 balls to spare, Simpson unbeaten with 58 off 39. A pleasing end for what was a solid one day season.

Flying Footitt's Fast Finish

The final day of Derbyshire vs Middlesex at Derby began with Middlesex 25-2 needing 272 more to win the game, which looked unlikely from the outset, but Adam Voges and Sam Robson began solidly as Derbyshire failed to bowl accurately, giving away some early easy runs as the 50 came up in the 19th over, but then the collapse started, as Robson was bowled by Groenewald for 29. Mark Footitt came in for his 2nd spell of the day, and cleaned up Eoin Morgan for 9 before getting some late swing to detonate Neil Dexter's stumps, 85-5 and still 200 needed. The last hope, Voges, brought up the 100 then fell to Burgoyne for 48, 101-6. Gareth Berg now came in, and looked to get on with things, as he slammed Burgoyne back over his head for a monstrous six eighth ball he faced. Simpson then fell to Burgoyne as Middlesex looked to be surrendering cheaply, 121-7. Berg and Ollie Rayner then launched surprise counter attack, as they made the pitch looked placid and easy, finding boundaries fairly easy to come by as they added 50 in 14 overs before Berg completed his own 50 from 76 balls, as they managed to see off the front line bowlers as Alex Hughes and Madsen had a bowl in an attempt to break this partnership that had carved a chunk out of the required runs. But it was Matt Higginbottom who got the breakthrough, Berg edging to slip for a fantastic 71, 206-8. Rayner and Roland-Jones brought the target down to 60, but TRJ was then Footitts fourth victim for 14, and then end came soon after as Murtagh popped up a catch to Chesney Hughes for 1 to give Burgoyne his third, 240 all out, Derbyshire win by 56 runs, Rayner left unbeaten four short of a 2nd 50, and pick of the bowlers being Footitt 4-65 and Burgoyne 3-66. Derbyshire take away 23 much needed points to give them the chance of surviving and Middlesex 4.

Raynering Down

The third day of Derbyshire vs Middlesex at Derby began with Middlesex in a bit of trouble at 197-6 with Ollie Rayner and John Simpson batting to avoid the follow on, and with 5 overs to go until the new ball, they'd have thought they'd be able to see off five overs from Madsen and Burgoyne, but that was not to be, as Simpson charged through for a single, only to be found short from the direct hit by Chanderpaul, 208-6. Rayner, now left with the tail and the new ball, took on the bowlers a bit more, as Toby Roland-Jones edged to Chesney Hughes at slip off Groenwald for 5, Rayner completed a 108 ball 50, a welcome return to batting form after a poor season. the end came quickly, as Rayner couldn't get them past 250, as Murtagh edged behind for 10 and Finn LBW for a 2 ball duck as Footitt finished with 3-69 and Higginbottom 3-59 with Middlesex all out for 249, 136 runs behind.
Middlesex (and Murtagh) came out blasting, with Ben Slater caught behind 2nd ball for a duck and then Madsen edged to Denly at slip to give Murtagh his 2nd, 4-2. Chesney Hughes fell soon after, LBW to Finn for 3, 16-3, maybe Middlesex could still turn this game around. Chanderpaul and Johnson had other ideas, arresting the slide with a solid 50 partnership to take the lead past 200 before Chanders was LBW to Roland-Jones for 32, 68-4. Alex Hughes joined Johnson in frustrating the Middlesex attack, with a solid defence being the order of the day as there was plenty of time left and a handy lead already secured and soon the 100 was up and Johnson completed his 50 from 101 balls, then Hughes edged to slip for 24 off Gareth Berg, 116-5.
Tom Poynton came and went, giving Rayner his first wicket, 131-6, and then he snared Johnson by Robson at short leg for 59, 133-7. Peter Burgoyne was LBW for 4, and (after some quick boundaries) Groenewald popped to short leg and Footitt fell first ball, as Rayner finished with 5-67 as Derbyshire were all out for 160, leaving Middlesex 297 to win in a day and a bit.
It proved to be too long to last until close as Denly was LBW to a Footitt yorker and Finn being sent in as nightwatchman was LBW for a five ball duck, completing a pair for the day and (after joining up after being disposed by England) summed up a miserable few days for him.
Middlesex ended the day 25-2, still a long way from winning the game.

Not Quite The Plan

The 2nd day of Derbyshire vs Middlesex began well for the visitors as Peter Burgoyne fell 5th ball of the day to Murtagh, and Matt Higginbottom was caught by Morgan off Harris next over as Derby slipped to 284-8. But Middlesex failed to close out the innings, as in the next 12 overs as Groenewald and Madsen added 66, Groenewald merrily swinging the seamers straight and through the leg side as he hit 9 fours in his 49 which ended when he edged to Simpson off Rayner in the last over of the bonus points, Derbyshire now 350-9. But the pain wasn't over, as another 35 runs came as Mark Footitt carted 13 off an over from Rayner before he edged to slip for 19, Derbyshire 385 all out, last two wickets adding 101, Madsen unbeaten on a fine 138, Tim Murtagh with 3-63 being the pick of the bowlers.
Middlesex began slowly, but lost Robson for 16 (all the runs scored) caught by Johnson off Groenewald as things started to look dodgy when Denly fell for 4 caught by Chanderpaul off Groewald, 25-2. Eoin Morgan and Adam Voges took them to lunch without any more wickets falling. The 50 came up soon after and the pair looked good to get most of this massive total they were pursuing when Morgan popped the ball straight to sub fielder Calum Brodrick off Higginbottom for 28, 75-3. Dexter and Voges carried on crawling the score onwards, past 100, and to the 50 partnership, with Voges's 50 taking 139 balls. Dexter, who was struggling along on the slowing pitch, was bowled by Footitt for 21, 128-4. Then the big fish Voges was given LBW to Higginbottom for 69, he didn't seem happy with the decision as he stormed off. Higginbottom made it 2 in six balls, bowling Gareth Berg for 2, 154-6. Simpson and Rayner launched a counter attack before close, as Middlesex finished the day 197-6, still 188 behind.

Driven to Insanity by Madsen

The first day of Derbyshire vs Middlesex at Derby began with Middlesex winning the toss and fielded, and began with a hostile opening barrage from Murtagh and Roland-Jones but with no success, until Gareth Berg got Chesney Hughes to hole out to Roland-Jones for 16, carrying on his struggles this season, 37-1. The pace of the innings started to pick up once Wayne Madsen arrived, he carried on his batting form by picking off some early runs as Middlesex began to drift a touch. Lunch came with Madsen on a run a ball 25, and the fifty partnership between Ben Slater and Madsen came up shortly after.
Runs came slowly but steadily, as the pair passed 100 and Slater completed 50 from 128 balls before edging behind off James Harris shortly after, 118-2. Shiv Chanderpaul came and went, caught at short leg by Same Robson off Ollie Rayner for 2. Madsen reached his own fifty in the next over from 95 balls. Middlesex then let the game drift a bit, allowing Johnson and Madsen to put up 50, until Johnson tried to hammer Adam Voges's spin, and was caught at square leg for 33, 179-4. But the crash of wickets wouldn't come as Alex Hughes and Madsen brought up the 200 and progressed to the new ball with the score 226-4. Madsen went into the 90s, but lost Hughes, trapped LBW by Murtagh for 33. Madsen was soon celebrating, another four off Murtagh bringing up his hundred, and the first player to score 1000 championship runs on the way to it. Tom Poynton fell in the same over, but Madsen lasted out the final six overs, Derbyshire having the slightly better of the day, 279-6.

A Stack Load of Wickets

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.

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.

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.

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.