MATCH REPORT: Middlesex win last over Metro Bank One Day Cup thriller
A century partnership between Nathan Fernandes and Seb Morgan helped Middlesex complete an astonishing run chase as the visitors qualified for the quarter-finals of the Metro Bank One Day Cup after winning by one wicket with one ball to spare.
A strong batting performance, led by a half century from Marcus Harris, had seen Lancashire post 291-8, and a career-best 4-27 by Harry Singh then had Middlesex struggling on 127-6 just past the halfway point of their reply.
Fernandes and Morgan rallied with a 126-run partnership that turned the game around, the duo taking the visitors to the verge of victory and the Middlesex tail completing a thrilling comeback in the final over, finishing on 292-9.
After opting to bat and losing George Bell caught behind first ball off a good inswinging delivery, Michael Jones and Harris fashioned a good recovery with a 61-run partnership inside 12 overs.
Jones was the chief aggressor hitting a breezy 42 off 44 balls including sixes off Seb Morgan and Nathan Gilchrist before holing out to Jack Davies at deep square leg off Morgan at the start of the 13th over.
Josh Bohannon drove leg spinner Luke Hollman into the hands of Morgan at mid-off after making 22 forcing Red Rose skipper Harris to drop anchor against some accurate bowling from Morgan and Hollman in reaching his half century from 73 balls.
But Hollman (2-30) struck again, taking the vital wicket of Harris lbw for 64 attempting a reverse sweep to leave Lancashire struggling to make significant progress at 142-4 in the 33rd over.
Arav Shetty, pushed up the order in an effort to improve the run rate, did just that hitting 4 fours in making a quickfire 30 off 23 balls before he was caught on the cover point boundary, the first of two wickets to fall in two balls to Henry Brookes when George Balderson feathered a catch behind.
That meant Lancashire had reached the end of the 41st over on 192-6 with Joe Moores having survived the hat-trick ball and the 16-year-old continued the momentum started by Shetty by pulling his fourth delivery from Josh de Caires for six.
It was the start of a remarkable final nine overs as Lancashire added 99 runs with some spectacular hitting, Moores adding a second six off de Caires, along with 4 fours, in striking 35 off 21 balls before Jack Blatherwick smashed a List A best 48 not out off just 20 balls that included 4 sixes and 4 fours.
Blatherwick took 21 from the 48th over bowled by Cornwell and added 31 in 5 overs for the eighth wicket with Singh, who had anchored the second half the innings with a nicely constructed 38, and 25 runs off 10 balls for the ninth wicket with Luke Hands who finished 1 not out.
Chasing 292 to win, Middlesex suffered an early blow losing Joe Cracknell lbw to Tom Bailey for 10.
De Caires and Sam Robson steadied matters with a partnership of 46 but the introduction of off spinner Singh into the attack in the 12th over brought two wickets in quick succession, Robson playing on for 31 and Ben Geddes bowled for 8 playing back, leaving Middlesex 83-3 after 17 overs.
The visitor’s woes continued to increase as two wickets fell for six runs midway through their innings. Singh took an excellent catch at midwicket when Davies lofted a pull off Balderson having made nine while Hollman, having got tied down, slogged Singh high to Bailey running across from mid-off to depart for a duck.
Singh was soon celebrating a fourth wicket when De Caires, having reached a 68-ball half century, swept his next delivery straight to Moores at deep square leg for 50.
At 127-6, Middlesex looked to be down and out, but their hopes were resurrected by an outstanding partnership between Fernandes and Morgan.
Fernandes hit a 52-ball half century while 17-year-old Morgan reached his first List A fifty from 48 balls as the pair dazzled in the evening sunshine, adding a record 126 for the Middlesex seventh wicket against Lancashire in 17.2 overs.
Morgan hit one and 7 fours before falling for 61 when caught at deep square leg off Balderson in the 46th over with the visitors requiring 39 runs off 26 balls.
Fernandes hit the first six of his superb innings at that point, and in tandem with Brookes brought the equation down to 10 runs needed from 9 balls when Brookes holed out off Bailey for 6.
With 8 needed from a dramatic last over bowled by Blatherwick, Fernandes’ valiant effort ended on 92 when he was caught in the deep off the first delivery.
Cornwell crashed the third ball for four but then then watched in horror after his next shot was skied to midwicket where two fielders closed in on a potential match-winning catch only to leave the ball to each other while the batters ran a two.
A reprieved – and relieved – Cornwell hit the winning run off the next to finish 8 not out and clinch a stunning one-wicket victory with one ball to spare, and that result along with Warwickshire’s defeat by Sussex was enough to send the elated visitors through to the knock-out stages. It was some dénouement.
“I think that one will sting the lads,” said interim Head Coach Steven Croft.
“It's a game, I feel, we should have won, especially when we had the ball in our hand when they were six down.
“I think we should have put that to bed a little bit earlier, and maybe we left a few runs out there as well.
“It’s a little bit of a mix of reasons (not getting over the line in close games), probably from a little bit of inexperience.
“I think we've just been short with bat and ball sometimes, and a little bit in the field.
“We have 14 (players) away in The Hundred and then outside of that group, five or six injuries to those we had left.
“So it gives itself to opportunities, which it did for Luke Hands and Joe Moores, which were great to see, like Moores today, sticking his hand up at the back end. I thought he was tremendous. And Luke Hands throughout the competition.
“The attitude of those two have been brilliant. And there's been some really good findings with Belly getting his first hundred, Jones his first century for the club, and Bohannon going back-to-back tons. So, there has been some positives to it.
“But it's not really clicked together as a unit.
“I think for the majority of the competition fielding ten Lancashire lads who have come through our pathway should be a proud moment for the club, although it doesn't guarantee results.
“It proves that the pathway and academy are working. So on that front, yes, it's great to see those lads play together.”
Ken Grime
Photos: George Franks & Dan Adams