Seaxe Man to enhance Rogers and Out's live ball by ball commentary has offered his view of last night's match through his TV screen
Tuned in to Sky2 to discover that Hampshire had won the toss and inserted the Middle.
Sparse crowd though numbers did pick up in Arctic conditions.
I would have liked to see the temperature comparison with Merchant Taylor's last year on June the second.
The watchers were similarly attired.
An excellent ton by Gubbo , with firstly Dawid, his wicket going at 47, then continuing with Robbo briefly before what looked to be a nasty hamstring injury forced him to retire.
He then continued with Adam Voges until Voges was dismissed by the legspinner Mason Crane.
At that point, we were 180 for 2 off 32 overs. With 7 good wickets left and 18 overs, we ought to have passed 300 by a distance.
The game as at Radlett last year versus the same opponents was similar, in that a good start was not converted.
To the layman observer. This appeared to be because the accelerator was pressed too early in the final 10 overs, and wickets fell too soon. The last 10 overs garnering 56 runs for the loss of 7 wickets.
This meant that the tailenders were in for the last 4 overs, when ideally you want one of the top five still there, to oversee the final overs. Probably finished 25/30 runs under par.
The bowlers bless them, as described by Rogers and Out, once again came to the rescue.
The Sky Box featuring Nick Knight, Rob Key, Mike Atherton and Paul allott were full of praise for Nick Gubbins and Toby.
Their international credentials were discussed at length. Gubbo was liked for his backfoot play but it was acknowledged that he was down the pecking order at the moment.
Similarly TRJ was spotlighted as a talented bowler and in a similar position as regards an England call-up.
Middlesex pace bowling depth was also discussed, Tom Helm to the fore and pace bowling coach Richard Johnson came in for well merited praise.
There was advice also for Ravi for how he could make improvement, though it was added, both he and Higgo put a brake on the Bailey/Ervine revival.
Paul not allott made some disparaging comment about Ryan Higgins bowling (can't remember precisely what he said), and literally the second after the comment left his mouth Higgins dismissed Ervine!
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