MATCH REPORT: Middlesex clinch six-wicket victory
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Middlesex won for the first time since 1996 at Emirates Old Trafford after clinching a six-wicket victory by mid-afternoon on the third day of this Rothesay County Championship Division Two encounter.
Four wickets by Naavya Sharma saw Lancashire shot out for 84 in the morning to leave the visitors needing 117 to win, and a quickfire half century from Ben Geddes settled the outcome after a flurry of wickets either side of lunch had briefly raised Red Rose hopes of turning the game around.
Resuming the day on 45-3 and leading by 77 runs, Lancashire’s second innings only lasted a further 18 overs as the Middlesex attack took full advantage of the bowler-friendly conditions to take the remaining seven wickets for 39 runs.
Ryan Higgins struck with the 11th ball of the day, finding an edge after nipping one away from Marcus Harris.
Toby Roland-Jones then produced a delivery that came back sharply to have Michael Jones lbw for 10.
The most bizarre dismissal was that of Mitch Stanley, who batted longer than anyone else in the Red Rose second innings for his 8 runs, facing 51 balls in 71 minutes, before Roland-Jones’ delivery clipped Stanley’s off stump but only the legside bail fell off.
A double bowling change brought Middlesex huge dividends as Sharma finished off the Lancashire innings in rapid style with four wickets in ten balls.
The 20-year-old struck with the first two balls of his spell, Matty Hurst edging to third slip for 7 and Tom Hartley edging behind first ball. Sharma made it a triple-wicket over when Tom Bailey edged to third slip for 4.
Sharma then had Chris Green caught at deep mid-on attempting to hit out, to finish off the innings, and land a career-best 4-17.
That left Middlesex needing 117 runs to win and openers Sam Robson and Geddes went for their shots, rattling up 36 off the first 6 overs until Robson was brilliantly caught for 14 at midwicket by Bailey off George Balderson's first delivery.
Stanley had Max Holden caught behind for 9 on the stroke of lunch and Leus du Plooy taken by Matty Hurst for 1 straight after the resumption.
When Caleb Falconer edged behind off Balderson for a duck, three wickets had fallen for 7 runs to leave Middlesex on 64-4 and raise Lancashire hopes of possibly reproducing the type of victory they had achieved against Derbyshire in the previous month.
A brilliant 73 off 70 balls by Geddes quickly extinguished those ambitions, the Middlesex opener hitting three sixes and 6 fours to steer his side home alongside Higgins (7 not out), whose seven wickets in the match had provided such a big contribution.
Steven Croft, Head Coach said:
“I'm bitterly disappointed to get beaten at home, first and foremost, and I think an area as well where we spoke about is that second innings. We've gone in with a lead again, and then to be 84 all-out and lose ten wickets for 45 was a disaster, really.
“We've had a few warnings in previous games, and I think that's the disappointing bit that we're still not learning from our mistakes with the bat.
“We're massively down on runs and there's no hiding about it. The bowlers have, again, done a fantastic job, even in the second innings there, to get those four poles.
“I think if you put another 50 runs on there, that they're playing it a little bit differently and we would have had a bit of a sniff. But we need to find a way with the bat.
“I don't know if it caught the lads by surprise (this morning) but it was just a bit of disappointment, the no-fight from us.
“We knew the pitch had a little bit in it, but still, it's not an 80-odd all-out pitch. We just didn't find a way (to bat on it).
“We didn't have a method, and we didn't stick to it. And it just looked like a line-up without confidence.
“I think we've got to go into the next game believing we're good players, because we are. We've got a good record at Southport.
“The lads in the changing room are going to be bitterly disappointed. And we have to use that. We have to have a response, we're too good not to get a positive result.
“And even if someone notches one over us, we want to be playing good cricket. And today we didn't show that.”
Ken Grime
Photos: Luke Adams & Dan Adams
