Not a flying start

By Fozzie
September 11 2014

Fozzie reports on a day that had many twists and turns for Middlesex with a touch of wildlife between sessions.

Off to Lord’s for my penultimate visit of the season. A 10.30 start for September matches, but London Underground don’t seem to have adjusted their off-peak times in line with the LVCC, so I arrived shortly after the start to find Borthwick and Hastings still in. Both were looking comfortable and enjoying themselves in the sunshine, with Hastings even stealing a quick single to keep the strike.

The first point of interest was which of Murts and Finny would be first to register a century against their names. Murts won this unenviable contest with an edged boundary by Hastings, but Finny looked to set to follow him immediately – only for Borthwick’s top edge to be well caught by a tumbling Robbo on the boundary. Hastings was out next ball, so suddenly things were looking up with a third bonus point in the bag and Finny on a hat-trick. The final pair didn’t last much longer, with another skied catch giving Murts his fifth wicket, but it was noticeable that numbers 10 and 11 didn’t seem to be finding batting conditions too difficult. A total of 377 must have seemed a long way away when Durham were 24-3. There had been no change in the over rate, which remained at -2.

In the days when the UK had a coal mining industry there used to be a saying that whenever Yorkshire or Derbyshire needed a fast bowler they simply had to whistle down a pit to find one. I reckon that Chris Rushworth probably comes from that mould. Big and bustling, he kept charging in, and although his first spell of seven overs cost 46 runs (including eight boundaries, of which five were intentional and three were edged through the slips) he also dismissed Buck in the opening over and then an uncomfortable-looking Robbo. But Dawid Malan looked in fine touch, dispatching anything wide of off-stump for four. Eoin was rather becalmed, his only scoring stroke being yet another edge through the slips, but together they reached lunch at 70-2 and had a chance to regroup.

My lunch interval was rather more eventful than usual, with my Waitrose duck and hoisin sauce wrap leaking sauce all over my trousers (memo to self: stick to Tesco’s egg and cress sandwiches in future), and then a large heron flying the length of the ground before landing in the outfield and patrolling the boundary. Wildlife is becoming more varied at Lord’s; last week I saw a raven in the Warner Stand, which turned out to be the highlight of a very damp day.

After lunch both Dawid and Eoin played fluently, and the score rolled along until Eoin flashed at Stokes and was acrobatically caught at slip. The bowling from the Pavilion end was tight (at one time Collingwood brought himself on and bowled five consecutive maidens), but Malan was scoring freely off Rushworth and Stokes from the Nursery End, with a host of elegant boundaries through the off-side. His 19^th boundary of the day took him to 87 and brought him to the landmark of 1000 first-class runs for the season to loud applause; but almost immediately two more boundaries followed with (yet more) edges through the slips, and then suddenly he was out for 97, caught behind going for one cover drive too many. Dawid looked sublime for much of his innings, streets ahead of his team-mates – though alternatively one might subscribe to the Diamond view that he is simply currently the least-worst batsman, out yet again in the nineties when a really big score looked imminent.

So ended a stand of 57 in which Dex had been very much the junior partner, and it heralded a cluster of wickets with Dex, Simmo, Ollie and Sterling all going tamely either side of tea. 166-3 had become 202-8, with 26 still needed for the follow-on. Suddenly the nightmare scenario of an innings defeat and a points deduction due to our over rate seemed a possibility. But TRJ and Murts buckled down, with some luck at first and then with good shots off the front foot, particularly by Toby (who at lunch had been named player of the month for August, despite not even making the MTWD shortlist). The sun came out again, batting looked easier, and they saved the follow-on with ease, then accumulated another bonus point. They had put on 74 (the highest stand of the innings), with Toby on 49 and the lead only 101, when Collingwood turned to himself and Borthwick, with immediate results. First Toby was trapped, but the Watford Wall blocked the rest of the over, leaving Murts to take care of Borthwick’s leg-spin. Murts tried a delicate Dilshan scoop to the first ball, which would have looked most exotic had he connected. Unfortunately, though, it bowled him.

Durham had ten overs to face, and Jennings surely had to improve on his first-ball duck of the first innings. And indeed he did (though only just, as Ollie dropped him first ball) - this time he lasted four balls before Murts pegged back his off stump. But that was it as Mustard (aggressively) and Borthwick (cautiously) saw them through to stumps, 129 runs ahead. The only other good news to report is that Don Shelley yet again worked his magic, and the over rate is back to -1.

So the day ended as it begun, with Borthwick at the stumps and Durham in a good position. There may yet be further twists and turns to come, but Middle will have to bat far better as a unit if we’re to get anything from this match.