After three rain ruined days, the match between Middlesex and Worcestershire seemed to be heading towards a bore draw. However, after an early morning conversation between the captains, and a rather generous declaration from Worcs captain Mitchell, Middlesex needed 10 wickets in a day to win the game, and did so with a few hours to spare, finally wrapping up the final wicket as Worcestershire were all out for 150, with Middlesex taking the win by 132 runs.
With a contrived double declaration overnight meaning Worcestershire needed 283 runs for victory from the 96 overs in the day, it was always going to be a tough ask, and questions will need to be asked of the Worcestershire captain, as it always seemed a ridiculously unlikely scenario to see his team win. Credit must go to Rogers for somehow getting Mitchell to agree to the target, as only a Middlesex win was ever likely - that was proved as Worcs fell one ball short of half way to surviving the day, and 132 runs short of actually winning the game.
Anyway, Middlesex pick up their second win of the season, and move into fourth spot in the table. Relegation? Pah!
So what have we learned from the game? Well, first and foremost, Joe Denly is some player. Coming in after a decent sized partnership between Robson and Strauss (Robbo made 50, Strauss fell one run short of his half-century), Denly looked incredibly composed at the crease, and his first Middlesex century (an unbeaten 134 - incidentally just two runs more than the eventual margin of victory, so it could quite literally be called a "match-winning innings") included 19 fours and a six - a sign that he is more than capable of sending the ball to the boundary. A different innings to his previous 'big' score for Middlesex, where he gutsed out a seventy-odd against Vernon Philander and Somerset , Denly was able to take advantage of some less than dangerous bowling, and push Middlesex up to 327/7 declared - what proved to be a winning score. Alan Richardson aside, Worcs' bowling attack looked very ordinary, and allied to an equally average batting performance, it's easy to see why many are tipping them to go down this year. You feel Richardson's going to have to have yet another magical season with the ball if they're to get anywhere in Division One this summer.
Equally, however, while the top order thrived, the middle order failed, yet again. 4, 5, 6 and 7 of Rogers, Malan, Dexter and Simpson only contributed 23 runs between them, and that middle-order collapse has become a part of every game this year. While we've often been bailed out by the strong top order, there are question marks over some of these players, and it will be interesting to see who scores heavily for the seconds (if they're able to get out on the pitch) over the next few weeks, as they may well be called into action to rejuvinate an ailing Middlesex middle. Runs for Berg were handy after a torrid start to the season with the bat for him (he now averages 8 with the blade), and of course, the Lambeth Lara remained unbeaten as Middlesex declared, with Murtagh's average now second in the list this year for Middlesex, with 32.
However, as well as Middlesex batted, the game was won with the ball. After taking two Worcs wickets last night, they came back this morning to see Worcestershire had started a new innings, and then took the ten wickets to win for just 150. Middlesex's bowling figures so far this year are excellent, with Roland-Jones leading the way with 16 Championship wickets at an incredible return of 13. He took four wickets in the game, as did Murtagh, with Finn and Berg both chipping in with two apiece. Yet again Middlesex haven't needed a spinner, and given the early season conditions being incredibly conducive for the fast bowlers, chances are Ollie Rayner may be waiting a while to get a go again in four day cricket. Corey Collymore (to my surprise) missed out in this game, and given the form of the four seamers, and with Finn likely to be available for next week's game at Trent Bridge against Nottingham, Corey may miss out once more. There are some faint murmerings of the West Indies calling Corey up for their test side for the games against England due to the visa problems of their touring squad, which would see the odd situation of Corey getting into the West Indies team but not Middlesex's! (Although I do have it on fairly good authority that Corey will not be called for, and even if he was, he would be unlikely to accept, given that this would end his hopes of playing for Middlesex as a Kolpak).
The big story from the game however was the declaration, and while other counties might sniff at an incredibly generous offer from Mitchell, it can't be denied that Middlesex played winning cricket throughout the game. Our 327/7 played 195/12, and it would have been unfair had rain denied us the chance to take the win, and the valuable 16 points. The fact that 16 points is on offer for the win (as opposed for the 3 for the draw) would have tempted Mitchell into his decision, as a draw is almost meaningless compared to the vast rewards given by a win. However, Worcestershire supporters will bemoan the fact that a more even declaration was not sought by Mitchell, as it was a very one-sided decision, and I'm sure Rogers would have accepted a 260 chase in 60 overs, rather than 283 in 96, which completely took the draw out of the equation, and made the Worcs chase incredibly unlikely. Still, Middlesex won't mind, and will take a big win which could prove crucial come the end of the season.
Up tomorrow is the start of the CB40 with a game against Gloucestershire, and we wait with baited breath the squad for that, just to see in what direction the side will be going. Will bring you news of that as and when!
Come on the Middle!
Sunday, 6 May 2012
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
Middlesex v Worcestershire Squad News
Middlesex's week off couldn't have come at a better time, as every game around the country was rain ruined, with no results possible. This means that nobody was able to get a big win, effectively meaning Middlesex will have 16 games in a 15 game season, and the extra points there could make all the difference come the end of September. Everyone will be hoping that the rain doesn't come this week, as on paper, Worcestershire at home is our most winnable game of the year. No disrespect at all to Worcs, but looking at their squad compared to the other counties in Division One, they appear to be the weakest, and the home and away games against them should be our best chance of racking up some serious points. It would have been infuriating had this game been last week to see both teams sit in the pavilion for all four days (as happened at the Oval, where Surrey and Durham didn't even get one ball bowled), so fingers crossed the weather stays fine for this week.
Onto matters Middlesex, and the 13 man squad has been named...
Chris Rogers (c)
Gareth Berg
Corey Collymore
Joe Denly
Neil Dexter
Steven Finn
Dawid Malan
Tim Murtagh
Ollie Rayner
Sam Robson
Toby Roland-Jones
John Simpson (wk)
Andrew Strauss
Unsurprsingly, it's the 11 who took on Durham last time out, with the addition of the rested Corey Collymore, and 12th man Ollie Rayner. Chris Rogers remains as captain, and there don't seem to be any injury doubts, meaning that (perhaps Eoin Morgan aside) this is Middlesex's strongest possible squad for a four day game. (Although fans of Paul Stirling will tell you different)
As for the team that will be picked, chances are the make-up of the team will be the same. Ollie Rayner didn't play last time, and seeing as it's even less likely to spin this week, he'll probably miss out again, meaning it'll be six batsmen with the keeper at seven, followed by four seamers. Corey was rested against Durham, but he's back, and with the rotation policy that is needed for the bowlers, one of Murtagh, Roland-Jones or Berg will make way for Corey. It could be any of those three, but it won't make much difference as to who misses out, as with Finn and Collymore in (plus two others) it will be a very strong seam attack either way. The rest that whoever it is gets will be important as the season progresses, so there won't be many complaints from whoever is chosen to help Ollie mix some drinks for the four days.
As to the batting, Middlesex will really need to be on their game, especially with Wisden Cricketer of the Year, and former Middlesex favourite Alan Richardson taking the new ball. Ideally we might win a toss for the first time this year, but at some point Richo will be running in at us, and given the collapses that have plagued our season thus far, someone's really going to have to step up. Richardson is the main man for Worcs, and a real threat, and given our poor performances to Philander, Dernbach and Onions so far, that could be a real worry.
Anyway, we're currently fifth in the table, with a game in hand over three of the team above us, so let's hope we can pick up a big win this week and push up into those Champions League spots!
Onto matters Middlesex, and the 13 man squad has been named...
Chris Rogers (c)
Gareth Berg
Corey Collymore
Joe Denly
Neil Dexter
Steven Finn
Dawid Malan
Tim Murtagh
Ollie Rayner
Sam Robson
Toby Roland-Jones
John Simpson (wk)
Andrew Strauss
Unsurprsingly, it's the 11 who took on Durham last time out, with the addition of the rested Corey Collymore, and 12th man Ollie Rayner. Chris Rogers remains as captain, and there don't seem to be any injury doubts, meaning that (perhaps Eoin Morgan aside) this is Middlesex's strongest possible squad for a four day game. (Although fans of Paul Stirling will tell you different)
As for the team that will be picked, chances are the make-up of the team will be the same. Ollie Rayner didn't play last time, and seeing as it's even less likely to spin this week, he'll probably miss out again, meaning it'll be six batsmen with the keeper at seven, followed by four seamers. Corey was rested against Durham, but he's back, and with the rotation policy that is needed for the bowlers, one of Murtagh, Roland-Jones or Berg will make way for Corey. It could be any of those three, but it won't make much difference as to who misses out, as with Finn and Collymore in (plus two others) it will be a very strong seam attack either way. The rest that whoever it is gets will be important as the season progresses, so there won't be many complaints from whoever is chosen to help Ollie mix some drinks for the four days.
As to the batting, Middlesex will really need to be on their game, especially with Wisden Cricketer of the Year, and former Middlesex favourite Alan Richardson taking the new ball. Ideally we might win a toss for the first time this year, but at some point Richo will be running in at us, and given the collapses that have plagued our season thus far, someone's really going to have to step up. Richardson is the main man for Worcs, and a real threat, and given our poor performances to Philander, Dernbach and Onions so far, that could be a real worry.
Anyway, we're currently fifth in the table, with a game in hand over three of the team above us, so let's hope we can pick up a big win this week and push up into those Champions League spots!
Monday, 23 April 2012
Durham match report
After the earliest start to a county season on record, it was perhaps inevitable that one of the first few games would fall victim to the weather, and this game against Durham proved to be that. While it looked at one stage that Durham were certs to win it, and even for a brief few moments that Middlesex were going to snatch it, the weather, which put paid to the first day as well as large spells of the second and fourth meant that the spoils were indeed shared on the final afternoon. I must admit that when Onions had ripped through us once more on the final morning that I'd given up on the game and had gone off to do something else, so was pleasantly surprised to see that somehow Simpson and The-Lambeth-Lara (C) had put together a partnership, and with rain falling, apparently saved the draw. Thinking nothing of it until much later on that evening, where upon I checked my Twitter, imagine my amazement to see that with Durham needing 130 to win, a) they'd managed to get back on, and b) Middlesex nearly won it!
Anyway, on with the match itself, and again we failed (twice) with the bat. With Strauss coming in for Rayner, there were thoughts that this extra bat would help bolster the lineup and make us less prone to collapse, but at 2-3, and 28-4, this certainly was not the case. The England captain himself managed to bag a second ball duck when Onions bowled him through the gate, and it didn't get much better from there. Admittedly it is tough to bat at this time of the year, and we're hardly the only county to have struggled when batting, but it might be nice to eventually score a few runs. 188 all out, which was with a bit of late-order resistance (as usual) meant no bonus points, which is again disappointing.
One bright spark was Neil Dexter. After just 16 runs in the first two games, Dex stepped back from his role of captaincy, and went and made a gutsy 65 in very tough conditions on Friday afternoon. It may not have been the Dexter of old, but hopefully the confidence given to him by those runs will see him get back to the batsman that we all know very soon. John Simpson's display as well was very encouraging - after a few failures from him he was due some scores, and an impressive 25 not out first up was joined by a backs-against-the-wall 47 when all seemed lost on the final afternoon. Simmo is an excellent bat, and seeing as there isn't anyone with any experience lining up to replace him, it's important that the keeper does start to contribute, which he has started to here.
Action shot of Tim Murtagh batting...
If I was to sum up the bowling effort, it would be that they started badly, turned it around, and then let it slip right at the end. After Finn and Murtagh bowled a pile of junk just before lunch on Day 3, allowing Durham to race out of the blocks, they got their acts together after the interval in one of the weirdest sessions of county cricket I've ever seen. Durham added 165 runs, but lost 6 wickets, in a session that certainly got the game moving. The post new ball figthtback has been something we've seen in all three games, which does show good fight, but in all three games it's allowed the opposition to get off to a great start with the bat. Suppiah and Trescothick smashed Murtagh and Collymore around Taunton, Davies and Rudolph put on 85 for Surrey, and Smith and Di Venuto helped themselves as Finn and Murtagh chucked up a lot of freebies on Saturday morning. (Although Finn did make me look pretty stupid when I was commentating on BBC London...) It was very poor cricket, and I'm sure Gus and Richard Johnson will be working hard to ensure that that's the last of it in terms of wasting the new ball. In Division One you can't afford to give teams any advantage, and to waste the new ball (which as we've seen in the excellent spells of Philander and Onions is the best time to strike) is criminal at this level - another harsh lesson learnt. However, the fightback was encouraging, and to peg Durham back to 194-9 shows the character of this side when many others would have let their heads drop. (Although the record 10th wicket partnership between Borthwick and Onions was not ideal...)
So another game gone, and a draw with Durham is certainly not the worst result in the world - a result that many Middlesex fans (myself included) would have taken before proceedings got underway. And a result that everyone would have taken when 8 down just after lunch with Durham sniffing victory! The boys have a week off now, which means they'll be dodging rain clouds on the golf course, and I have a few exams, so that'll probably be the last you hear from me until the Worcestershire game. Come on the Middle!
Anyway, on with the match itself, and again we failed (twice) with the bat. With Strauss coming in for Rayner, there were thoughts that this extra bat would help bolster the lineup and make us less prone to collapse, but at 2-3, and 28-4, this certainly was not the case. The England captain himself managed to bag a second ball duck when Onions bowled him through the gate, and it didn't get much better from there. Admittedly it is tough to bat at this time of the year, and we're hardly the only county to have struggled when batting, but it might be nice to eventually score a few runs. 188 all out, which was with a bit of late-order resistance (as usual) meant no bonus points, which is again disappointing.
One bright spark was Neil Dexter. After just 16 runs in the first two games, Dex stepped back from his role of captaincy, and went and made a gutsy 65 in very tough conditions on Friday afternoon. It may not have been the Dexter of old, but hopefully the confidence given to him by those runs will see him get back to the batsman that we all know very soon. John Simpson's display as well was very encouraging - after a few failures from him he was due some scores, and an impressive 25 not out first up was joined by a backs-against-the-wall 47 when all seemed lost on the final afternoon. Simmo is an excellent bat, and seeing as there isn't anyone with any experience lining up to replace him, it's important that the keeper does start to contribute, which he has started to here.
If I was to sum up the bowling effort, it would be that they started badly, turned it around, and then let it slip right at the end. After Finn and Murtagh bowled a pile of junk just before lunch on Day 3, allowing Durham to race out of the blocks, they got their acts together after the interval in one of the weirdest sessions of county cricket I've ever seen. Durham added 165 runs, but lost 6 wickets, in a session that certainly got the game moving. The post new ball figthtback has been something we've seen in all three games, which does show good fight, but in all three games it's allowed the opposition to get off to a great start with the bat. Suppiah and Trescothick smashed Murtagh and Collymore around Taunton, Davies and Rudolph put on 85 for Surrey, and Smith and Di Venuto helped themselves as Finn and Murtagh chucked up a lot of freebies on Saturday morning. (Although Finn did make me look pretty stupid when I was commentating on BBC London...) It was very poor cricket, and I'm sure Gus and Richard Johnson will be working hard to ensure that that's the last of it in terms of wasting the new ball. In Division One you can't afford to give teams any advantage, and to waste the new ball (which as we've seen in the excellent spells of Philander and Onions is the best time to strike) is criminal at this level - another harsh lesson learnt. However, the fightback was encouraging, and to peg Durham back to 194-9 shows the character of this side when many others would have let their heads drop. (Although the record 10th wicket partnership between Borthwick and Onions was not ideal...)
So another game gone, and a draw with Durham is certainly not the worst result in the world - a result that many Middlesex fans (myself included) would have taken before proceedings got underway. And a result that everyone would have taken when 8 down just after lunch with Durham sniffing victory! The boys have a week off now, which means they'll be dodging rain clouds on the golf course, and I have a few exams, so that'll probably be the last you hear from me until the Worcestershire game. Come on the Middle!
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Squad named for Durham game...
... and interestingly, after this news earlier this afternoon, Neil Dexter's been named in the squad (which makes my assumption that he wouldn't be look very foolish, and confirms that I know absolutely nothing about what's really going on at Middlesex!).
The 13 man squad itself is:
Chris Rogers (c)
Gareth Berg
Steven Crook
Joe Denly
Neil Dexter
Steven Finn
Dawid Malan
Tim Murtagh
Ollie Rayner
Sam Robson
Toby Roland-Jones
John Simpson (wk)
Andrew Strauss
Corey Collymore is missing out (as predicted, I had to get something right eventually) as part of the 'rotation policy', but chances are he wouldn't have made the team either way. Gareth Berg has been struggling with a chest infection, so Steven Crook is in as cover for him, but we'll find out tomorrow morning whether he's fit to play.
From what I see, the only selection dilemma is between Neil Dexter and Ollie Rayner. We will go with four seamers (as usual), with either Crook or Berg (fitness depending) joining Murtagh, Roland-Jones and Finn, with Strauss coming into the top order. So the question is whether they go with the extra batsman (Dex) or the spinner (Rayner)?
There's a case for leaving out both. The ball hasn't spun much in this very early part of the season, and seeing as Ollie was only required to bowl six overs against Surrey, it would make sense to strengthen the batting, which has been rather shaky thus far. Conversely, with Dexter having handed over the captaincy, will he be right mentally to suddenly go and make runs? Or would the release of not being required to captain take the pressure of his shoulders and allow him to return to form?
It's a tough one, but I reckon that they'll go with Dexter. Having named him in the squad, they're going to pick him (otherwise they'd have let him slip away and play for the 2nds) so as such he may get a game. Plus, the batting needs all the strength it can get, and as handy as Ollie Rayner is, I think we'd all prefer the safety-net of Dexter at six with Simpson at seven and Berg at 8.
Whatever way Middlesex go, it'll be a tough game, as Durham are a very good team. However, they did lose their only game of the season last week to Notts, and after Sunday morning, we'll have a lot of momentum to take into the game, which will hopefully help us massively. With overcast conditions forecast, and the pitches playing quite tough so far, the toss will be massive, especially considering the damage Durham's formidable bowling attack could do if asked to field first. Hopefully Chris Roger's tossing (careful) will be better than Dexy's (0 from 2 this year) and he can help Middlesex to a second win in a row. Come on the Middle!
The 13 man squad itself is:
Chris Rogers (c)
Gareth Berg
Steven Crook
Joe Denly
Neil Dexter
Steven Finn
Dawid Malan
Tim Murtagh
Ollie Rayner
Sam Robson
Toby Roland-Jones
John Simpson (wk)
Andrew Strauss
Corey Collymore is missing out (as predicted, I had to get something right eventually) as part of the 'rotation policy', but chances are he wouldn't have made the team either way. Gareth Berg has been struggling with a chest infection, so Steven Crook is in as cover for him, but we'll find out tomorrow morning whether he's fit to play.
From what I see, the only selection dilemma is between Neil Dexter and Ollie Rayner. We will go with four seamers (as usual), with either Crook or Berg (fitness depending) joining Murtagh, Roland-Jones and Finn, with Strauss coming into the top order. So the question is whether they go with the extra batsman (Dex) or the spinner (Rayner)?
There's a case for leaving out both. The ball hasn't spun much in this very early part of the season, and seeing as Ollie was only required to bowl six overs against Surrey, it would make sense to strengthen the batting, which has been rather shaky thus far. Conversely, with Dexter having handed over the captaincy, will he be right mentally to suddenly go and make runs? Or would the release of not being required to captain take the pressure of his shoulders and allow him to return to form?
It's a tough one, but I reckon that they'll go with Dexter. Having named him in the squad, they're going to pick him (otherwise they'd have let him slip away and play for the 2nds) so as such he may get a game. Plus, the batting needs all the strength it can get, and as handy as Ollie Rayner is, I think we'd all prefer the safety-net of Dexter at six with Simpson at seven and Berg at 8.
Whatever way Middlesex go, it'll be a tough game, as Durham are a very good team. However, they did lose their only game of the season last week to Notts, and after Sunday morning, we'll have a lot of momentum to take into the game, which will hopefully help us massively. With overcast conditions forecast, and the pitches playing quite tough so far, the toss will be massive, especially considering the damage Durham's formidable bowling attack could do if asked to field first. Hopefully Chris Roger's tossing (careful) will be better than Dexy's (0 from 2 this year) and he can help Middlesex to a second win in a row. Come on the Middle!
Dexter stands down as captain
Clicked onto the Middlesex website this morning and was shocked to see this piece of news. While there were a few rumblings about Dexy's captaincy, I don't think anyone really saw him standing down now coming.
First - to clarify what the news is. Dexy is to take a break from four-day captaincy to focus on his batting. He still remains as club captain (so would captain any 40 over or T20 games) but for the time being Chris Rogers is taking over as captain of the four-day team.
Am not sure if Neil is going to actually be in the team for the next couple of week / tomorrow, but the fact that this news has come out suggests that he won't be in the team. Sadly, his batting form (as I alluded to in the last blog) just hasn't been up to it at the back end of last year or in the start of this, and either Neil has decided, or it's been decided for him, that he isn't justifying his place in the team, so he's likely to miss out (though that will be confirmed or not when the squad for tomorrow is announced).
It's a shame for Neil that things have got to this, especially after what I thought was a brilliant game as skipper last week. Gus Fraser even mentioned Dexy's tactical astuteness in his review of the game, saying "I thought Neil Dexter captained the team superbly. His tactics on the final morning were excellent. He picked the right time to have the field in and the right time to have fielders saving four. His introduction of Toby Roland-Jones was inspired too. It was Toby who dismissed Rory Hamilton-Brown in his first over", so any issues are clearly down to matters other than his skipper-ship.
In the short term, I would guess that Strauss would come in 'like-for-like' as a batsman for Dexter, although they may decide to go with the structure (6 specialist batsmen, keeper and 4 seamers) that I floated in the last blog, with Adam London / Paul Stirling taking Dex's role.
In the long term however, things could be tough for Dex. Once a captain gives anyone else a go it's tough to recover, and if Bucky does well then he may well get the nod full-time. And if whoever takes Dexy' batting place does well, then it could well be tough to even break into the team, let alone get back as captain.
It will be a time of upheaval for the rest of the boys with the captain suddenly going, so hopefully they can pull together and take the momentum of Sunday morning into the game against Durham.
First - to clarify what the news is. Dexy is to take a break from four-day captaincy to focus on his batting. He still remains as club captain (so would captain any 40 over or T20 games) but for the time being Chris Rogers is taking over as captain of the four-day team.
Am not sure if Neil is going to actually be in the team for the next couple of week / tomorrow, but the fact that this news has come out suggests that he won't be in the team. Sadly, his batting form (as I alluded to in the last blog) just hasn't been up to it at the back end of last year or in the start of this, and either Neil has decided, or it's been decided for him, that he isn't justifying his place in the team, so he's likely to miss out (though that will be confirmed or not when the squad for tomorrow is announced).
It's a shame for Neil that things have got to this, especially after what I thought was a brilliant game as skipper last week. Gus Fraser even mentioned Dexy's tactical astuteness in his review of the game, saying "I thought Neil Dexter captained the team superbly. His tactics on the final morning were excellent. He picked the right time to have the field in and the right time to have fielders saving four. His introduction of Toby Roland-Jones was inspired too. It was Toby who dismissed Rory Hamilton-Brown in his first over", so any issues are clearly down to matters other than his skipper-ship.
In the short term, I would guess that Strauss would come in 'like-for-like' as a batsman for Dexter, although they may decide to go with the structure (6 specialist batsmen, keeper and 4 seamers) that I floated in the last blog, with Adam London / Paul Stirling taking Dex's role.
In the long term however, things could be tough for Dex. Once a captain gives anyone else a go it's tough to recover, and if Bucky does well then he may well get the nod full-time. And if whoever takes Dexy' batting place does well, then it could well be tough to even break into the team, let alone get back as captain.
It will be a time of upheaval for the rest of the boys with the captain suddenly going, so hopefully they can pull together and take the momentum of Sunday morning into the game against Durham.
Monday, 16 April 2012
Squeaky bum time as Middlesex beat Surrey
Wowsers - what a game. What a match, and what a morning - a finish that will live long in the memory of Middlesex fans. With Surrey just one hit away from winning the game, Jade Dernbach lobbed one up in the air, and after a nervous few seconds of waiting, Sam Robson stepped forward from nowhere to claim the catch, and seal the victory for Middlesex, by just three runs.
A massive, massive performance from the team, all the way through the game - a game that was a brilliant advertisement for county cricket. Played on a sporting pitch that offered a bit for both bat and ball (nowhere near as bad as Surrey are making out), there were some high quality performances from both teams throughout, but it was Middlesex who held their nerve to record victory by such a narrow margin. Anyone who was at Lord's this morning will have no doubts that the county game is in rude health at the moment.
Anyway, onto the main talking points from the game - the main one being the pitch. While Adams and Hamilton-Brown do have a point that the pitch did offer a bit to the bowler (and one nameless member of the Middlesex team did tell me that it probably could have done with a little less grass), from watching three days of the game, I don't think that it was an 'unfair' pitch. Given that we're in the second week of April, and that much of the game was played with overcast skies, batting is always going to be tough, and for Surrey to come out and publicly slate it does smack of sour grapes. Both teams have to bat twice on it, and of course, if Hamilton-Brown felt it was going to deteriorate so badly he probably should have elected to bat first when he won the toss. And it was the sort of pitch that if you dig in and stick around, you can make some runs, as Malan, Robson, and Hamilton-Brown all showed. Yes, it was a low scoring game, but it wasn't 33 plays 18.
The ebb and flow of the game was superb, and again, the fight showed by Middlesex was very heartening. After Dernbach ripped through the middle order (who have now failed for a concerning fourth time in a row), Middlesex were 108-6 and in tatters, but a strong rearguard action from the patient and watchful Malan and the #lambethlara (copyright me) Murtagh, plus support from TRJ and Collymore pushed us up to 256, and two important batting points. With every run being crucial, that effort from the tail-end, for the second game in a row, was excellent. And with the ball, when Surrey looked to be on top, somehow we'd find a way of wresting back the initiative, first with Ollie Rayner getting the breakthrough with Rudolph stumped, and then the captain Dexter bringing himself on to bowl and excellent spell and take 3-23. And then of course, when Surrey were four down overnight on Saturday, Middlesex somehow managed to take the final six wickets just in the nick of time and win the game.
On a less positive note, the batting side has failed now for four innings in a row. While the top four of Robson, Denly, Rogers and Malan all seem in good nick, and have made good starts in both games, the form of the lower-middle order is becoming quite worrying. Captain Dex at 5 has made 15 runs from 4 innings so far, John Simpson's made 26, and Gareth Berg has made 20. We've collapsed in all four innings of the season, which is not a good thing at all. Berg and Simpson will both remain in the team due to the other strings to their bow (Bergy for his bowling, Simmo for his keeping), but the question is how long Dex can afford to rely on his captaincy to keep him in the team. With Strauss coming back next week there is a school of thought that Dex should drop out to make way, and looking at his form, both this season and the end of last, you can see why he's vulnerable. However, for my money, dropping the captain would be a foolish move, and you sense Dexy just needs one knock of any note just for a bit of confidence, which he looks like he's desperately lacking at the crease. As a captain this year I think he's been superb - making the right bowling changes at the right time, and getting the fields pretty much bang on (although I probably would have put a midwicket in when Maynard and Hamilton-Brown kept picking up easy singles, and I would also have had a third man in for Dernbach with only four needed and the possibility that an outside edge wins Surrey the game!), but he is in the team primarily as a batsman, so he does need some runs quickly to quieten the naysayers. Century next week please Neil!
So, with Durham starting on Thursday, and Finn and Strauss available, the question is who should they come in for - if at all? Well, if you have players of their class available they should undoubtedly come in, but working out who to drop will be a tough one. There are no obvious candidates for who should miss out, which means Gus will have a bit of a headache trying to piece together the team. Were I in charge, I'd probably drop Ollie Rayner and Corey Collymore - Ollie because we haven't needed a spinner massively in the first two games (Olls only bowled the six overs this game), and with it seaming about he's fairly redundant, so we may as well add the extra batter in Strauss - and Corey, because of it's difficult to drop any of Berg, Murtagh and TRJ, who have all excelled so far, so Corey (who it must be said has also started the season well, but not quite with that spark of the other three seamers) being the unlucky man to make way for Finn.
All of that means I'd rejig the batting order a bit, dropping Robson down to four (which is a shame as he is an excellent opener, but you do have to accommodate the England captain), meaning my team would be:
1) Denly
2) Strauss
3) Rogers
4) Robson
5) Malan
6) Dexter (c)
7) Simpson (wk)
8) Berg
9) Lara
10) Roland-Jones
11) Finn
The extra batsman just gives us that little bit of a safety net after the shakes of the middle order thus far, and that seam quartet is as strong as any that will play county cricket this year. Durham will be a tough ask, but if Middlesex can show the same amount of guts that they did this morning - anything's possible!
And if you weren't lucky enough to have been at Lord's today (or just want to relive it) - here's the highlights from Day 4!
A massive, massive performance from the team, all the way through the game - a game that was a brilliant advertisement for county cricket. Played on a sporting pitch that offered a bit for both bat and ball (nowhere near as bad as Surrey are making out), there were some high quality performances from both teams throughout, but it was Middlesex who held their nerve to record victory by such a narrow margin. Anyone who was at Lord's this morning will have no doubts that the county game is in rude health at the moment.
Anyway, onto the main talking points from the game - the main one being the pitch. While Adams and Hamilton-Brown do have a point that the pitch did offer a bit to the bowler (and one nameless member of the Middlesex team did tell me that it probably could have done with a little less grass), from watching three days of the game, I don't think that it was an 'unfair' pitch. Given that we're in the second week of April, and that much of the game was played with overcast skies, batting is always going to be tough, and for Surrey to come out and publicly slate it does smack of sour grapes. Both teams have to bat twice on it, and of course, if Hamilton-Brown felt it was going to deteriorate so badly he probably should have elected to bat first when he won the toss. And it was the sort of pitch that if you dig in and stick around, you can make some runs, as Malan, Robson, and Hamilton-Brown all showed. Yes, it was a low scoring game, but it wasn't 33 plays 18.
The ebb and flow of the game was superb, and again, the fight showed by Middlesex was very heartening. After Dernbach ripped through the middle order (who have now failed for a concerning fourth time in a row), Middlesex were 108-6 and in tatters, but a strong rearguard action from the patient and watchful Malan and the #lambethlara (copyright me) Murtagh, plus support from TRJ and Collymore pushed us up to 256, and two important batting points. With every run being crucial, that effort from the tail-end, for the second game in a row, was excellent. And with the ball, when Surrey looked to be on top, somehow we'd find a way of wresting back the initiative, first with Ollie Rayner getting the breakthrough with Rudolph stumped, and then the captain Dexter bringing himself on to bowl and excellent spell and take 3-23. And then of course, when Surrey were four down overnight on Saturday, Middlesex somehow managed to take the final six wickets just in the nick of time and win the game.
On a less positive note, the batting side has failed now for four innings in a row. While the top four of Robson, Denly, Rogers and Malan all seem in good nick, and have made good starts in both games, the form of the lower-middle order is becoming quite worrying. Captain Dex at 5 has made 15 runs from 4 innings so far, John Simpson's made 26, and Gareth Berg has made 20. We've collapsed in all four innings of the season, which is not a good thing at all. Berg and Simpson will both remain in the team due to the other strings to their bow (Bergy for his bowling, Simmo for his keeping), but the question is how long Dex can afford to rely on his captaincy to keep him in the team. With Strauss coming back next week there is a school of thought that Dex should drop out to make way, and looking at his form, both this season and the end of last, you can see why he's vulnerable. However, for my money, dropping the captain would be a foolish move, and you sense Dexy just needs one knock of any note just for a bit of confidence, which he looks like he's desperately lacking at the crease. As a captain this year I think he's been superb - making the right bowling changes at the right time, and getting the fields pretty much bang on (although I probably would have put a midwicket in when Maynard and Hamilton-Brown kept picking up easy singles, and I would also have had a third man in for Dernbach with only four needed and the possibility that an outside edge wins Surrey the game!), but he is in the team primarily as a batsman, so he does need some runs quickly to quieten the naysayers. Century next week please Neil!
So, with Durham starting on Thursday, and Finn and Strauss available, the question is who should they come in for - if at all? Well, if you have players of their class available they should undoubtedly come in, but working out who to drop will be a tough one. There are no obvious candidates for who should miss out, which means Gus will have a bit of a headache trying to piece together the team. Were I in charge, I'd probably drop Ollie Rayner and Corey Collymore - Ollie because we haven't needed a spinner massively in the first two games (Olls only bowled the six overs this game), and with it seaming about he's fairly redundant, so we may as well add the extra batter in Strauss - and Corey, because of it's difficult to drop any of Berg, Murtagh and TRJ, who have all excelled so far, so Corey (who it must be said has also started the season well, but not quite with that spark of the other three seamers) being the unlucky man to make way for Finn.
All of that means I'd rejig the batting order a bit, dropping Robson down to four (which is a shame as he is an excellent opener, but you do have to accommodate the England captain), meaning my team would be:
1) Denly
2) Strauss
3) Rogers
4) Robson
5) Malan
6) Dexter (c)
7) Simpson (wk)
8) Berg
9) Lara
10) Roland-Jones
11) Finn
The extra batsman just gives us that little bit of a safety net after the shakes of the middle order thus far, and that seam quartet is as strong as any that will play county cricket this year. Durham will be a tough ask, but if Middlesex can show the same amount of guts that they did this morning - anything's possible!
And if you weren't lucky enough to have been at Lord's today (or just want to relive it) - here's the highlights from Day 4!
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
A few harsh lessons learnt...
So the first game of the season has been played, and sadly Middlesex have lost. While in the end Somerset only needed to chase 72, in reality the game was much closer, and Middlesex will feel very disappointed to have only picked up 3 points, but at the same time, fairly pleased in the knowledge that they can compete at the highest level.
The game was always going to be a struggle after losing the toss and being inserted on a miserable day in Taunton. With visibility poor and low overcast skies, the stage was set for Vernon Philander, who certainly did not disappoint. His opening spell with the new ball on Thursday afternoon was as good a spell as will be bowled anywhere in the world this year, whether domestic or international, and was simply stunning. His third ball was just too good for poor old Sam Robson, who did well to get a faint edge through to the keeper, and he consistently troubled both Rogers and new-boy Denly. However, the fight shown by those two was incredibly pleasing, and they really battled hard as both Philander, and the equally as impressive Kirby stormed in for over an hour. We all know just how good Rogers is, but it was great to see the new signing Denly show his class in his first Middlesex innings, with a 73 which deserved to be a lot more. If he carries on like that, we really have got a gem of a player on our hands.
After reaching stumps on a rain reduced first day at 118/4, a mini-collapse ensued leaving us at 150/7, and not much chance of making a decent score, with 250ish seeming par. Cometh the hour, cometh the Lambeth Lara, and Tim Murtagh's incredibly timely 45 was unlucky to be ended after a "yes, no, maybe, sorry" exchange with Toby Roland-Jones that saw Murts on his backside in the middle of the pitch. While we missed out on the second batting point at 246 all out, it was a really good rally from the tail-end, with Rayner, Murts and TRJ all chipping in, and showing good fight. It was the sort of situation that not that long ago would have seen us fold to 155 all out, so those extra runs in a low-scoring game were very handy indeed.
Disappointingly, while Somerset started brilliantly with the new ball, Middlesex were godawful and completely wasted it, allowing Somerset to get off to a flier. While there was a quick flurry of wickets that saw the home county reduced to 103-3, the overall standard of bowling in the second evening was fairly average, and not good enough by half at this level. Gareth Berg was the pick of the bowlers, but ultimately he was the best of a bad bunch. However, the next morning, Middlesex really did start bowling well, and deserved to get Somerset out for less than the 350 that they eventually made, mostly thanks to a 150 partnership between Nick Compton (who got out for 99, lol) and Craig Kieswetter. Corey Collymore recovered from a rubbish start to end up with 3-66, and it all seemed fairly respectable.
However, the main difference between Division Two and Division One is the amount of chances that you're given. In Div 2, the intensity wasn't as high, and even if there was a drop or a missed run-out, another one wouldn't be far away, so it wouldn't hurt too much. Here, Middlesex had the chance to get Kieswetter out on 0 (dropped by the usually immaculate Ollie Rayner in the slips) and on 6 (where a terrible mix-up between Compton and Kieswetter saw both batsmen standing side by side at the same end, but a worse mix up by Middlesex meant they were able to get away with it), and were made to rue it as the pair racked up the match-winning partnership. Who knows what would have happened had Buttler come in with his side well behind and wobbling, just as Middlesex were seizing the initiative?
The batting in the second innings was incredibly disappointing after Rogers (who made 50) and Robson both got out after a solid partnership on the fourth morning, and the loss of 9-70 smacks of a side who threw it away when they should have been able to hold on for the draw. However, I think the concerns over the over-rate (Middlesex went into the fourth innings 3 overs behind and facing a 3 point penalty) may have had something to do with it, as thoughts were very muddled at the end as nobody knew whether to attack or defend. And to be fair, 19-year-old George Dockrell did bowl very well, taking 6-27 from 20 overs. The long and the short of it meant that our third innings score of 175 meant Somerset needed just 72 for victory, and despite a Gareth Berg induced wobble (the cidermen were 44-4 at one point), a quickfire 37 from Hildreth saw them over the line just before the clouds closed in and the points were shared.
It's always disappointing to lose a game, and more so when going into the fourth day we had a very real chance of saving the draw, but the fight shown by the team was very pleasing. We won't have to face a display of bowling all season better than Vernon Philander, and the fact that Denly, Rogers (twice) and Robson all stood up to him and kept him out shows that there's a fair bit of grit about our top order. And while the bowlers were on the wrong end of things on Friday afternoon, they came back strongly for the third day and bowled a hell of a lot better. That bouncebackability will really come in handy over the course of the season, and the strength of the team mentally shows some positive signs.
On a more negative note, the middle order didn't contribute much with the bat. With only six out and out batsmen (and that includes John Simpson at 6 who averages 33 in FC cricket), somebody really has to make runs, and that didn't happen this week. It will be interesting to see how they rejig things if / when Strauss or Morgan end up in the side. And the fielding wasn't quite up to Somerset's very high standards - when they needed to hit the stumps they would, but on the three run-out chances, we missed, and we dropped far too many catches. When chances are so hard to come by, we can ill afford to let them go.
All in all, a tough game, but we can learn a lot from it. Chris Rogers has got his one brainless dismissal out of the way this season, and hopefully the bowlers will have worked out what went wrong with the new ball - and judging by their performance the next day, they've already started to correct it. The next game is the old enemy from south of the river, and I'd guess that we'd name the same squad, but probably without Adam London. Ten out of the eleven will be the same, with the only potential change being Steven Crook in for Ollie Rayner if Gus and Dexy think that the pitch won't spin, but I'd keep it as it is. Surrey are on a high after beating Sussex, and with the brown trouser brigade likely to be relegation rivals (despite some so-called experts bizarrely tipping Rory's chav army for the title), beating them here is very important. Let's hope we see yet another trouncing of the boys from the Oval!
(PS - have written a round-up of the last week of county fixtures for All Out Cricket - go and have a look!)
The game was always going to be a struggle after losing the toss and being inserted on a miserable day in Taunton. With visibility poor and low overcast skies, the stage was set for Vernon Philander, who certainly did not disappoint. His opening spell with the new ball on Thursday afternoon was as good a spell as will be bowled anywhere in the world this year, whether domestic or international, and was simply stunning. His third ball was just too good for poor old Sam Robson, who did well to get a faint edge through to the keeper, and he consistently troubled both Rogers and new-boy Denly. However, the fight shown by those two was incredibly pleasing, and they really battled hard as both Philander, and the equally as impressive Kirby stormed in for over an hour. We all know just how good Rogers is, but it was great to see the new signing Denly show his class in his first Middlesex innings, with a 73 which deserved to be a lot more. If he carries on like that, we really have got a gem of a player on our hands.
After reaching stumps on a rain reduced first day at 118/4, a mini-collapse ensued leaving us at 150/7, and not much chance of making a decent score, with 250ish seeming par. Cometh the hour, cometh the Lambeth Lara, and Tim Murtagh's incredibly timely 45 was unlucky to be ended after a "yes, no, maybe, sorry" exchange with Toby Roland-Jones that saw Murts on his backside in the middle of the pitch. While we missed out on the second batting point at 246 all out, it was a really good rally from the tail-end, with Rayner, Murts and TRJ all chipping in, and showing good fight. It was the sort of situation that not that long ago would have seen us fold to 155 all out, so those extra runs in a low-scoring game were very handy indeed.
Disappointingly, while Somerset started brilliantly with the new ball, Middlesex were godawful and completely wasted it, allowing Somerset to get off to a flier. While there was a quick flurry of wickets that saw the home county reduced to 103-3, the overall standard of bowling in the second evening was fairly average, and not good enough by half at this level. Gareth Berg was the pick of the bowlers, but ultimately he was the best of a bad bunch. However, the next morning, Middlesex really did start bowling well, and deserved to get Somerset out for less than the 350 that they eventually made, mostly thanks to a 150 partnership between Nick Compton (who got out for 99, lol) and Craig Kieswetter. Corey Collymore recovered from a rubbish start to end up with 3-66, and it all seemed fairly respectable.
However, the main difference between Division Two and Division One is the amount of chances that you're given. In Div 2, the intensity wasn't as high, and even if there was a drop or a missed run-out, another one wouldn't be far away, so it wouldn't hurt too much. Here, Middlesex had the chance to get Kieswetter out on 0 (dropped by the usually immaculate Ollie Rayner in the slips) and on 6 (where a terrible mix-up between Compton and Kieswetter saw both batsmen standing side by side at the same end, but a worse mix up by Middlesex meant they were able to get away with it), and were made to rue it as the pair racked up the match-winning partnership. Who knows what would have happened had Buttler come in with his side well behind and wobbling, just as Middlesex were seizing the initiative?
The batting in the second innings was incredibly disappointing after Rogers (who made 50) and Robson both got out after a solid partnership on the fourth morning, and the loss of 9-70 smacks of a side who threw it away when they should have been able to hold on for the draw. However, I think the concerns over the over-rate (Middlesex went into the fourth innings 3 overs behind and facing a 3 point penalty) may have had something to do with it, as thoughts were very muddled at the end as nobody knew whether to attack or defend. And to be fair, 19-year-old George Dockrell did bowl very well, taking 6-27 from 20 overs. The long and the short of it meant that our third innings score of 175 meant Somerset needed just 72 for victory, and despite a Gareth Berg induced wobble (the cidermen were 44-4 at one point), a quickfire 37 from Hildreth saw them over the line just before the clouds closed in and the points were shared.
It's always disappointing to lose a game, and more so when going into the fourth day we had a very real chance of saving the draw, but the fight shown by the team was very pleasing. We won't have to face a display of bowling all season better than Vernon Philander, and the fact that Denly, Rogers (twice) and Robson all stood up to him and kept him out shows that there's a fair bit of grit about our top order. And while the bowlers were on the wrong end of things on Friday afternoon, they came back strongly for the third day and bowled a hell of a lot better. That bouncebackability will really come in handy over the course of the season, and the strength of the team mentally shows some positive signs.
On a more negative note, the middle order didn't contribute much with the bat. With only six out and out batsmen (and that includes John Simpson at 6 who averages 33 in FC cricket), somebody really has to make runs, and that didn't happen this week. It will be interesting to see how they rejig things if / when Strauss or Morgan end up in the side. And the fielding wasn't quite up to Somerset's very high standards - when they needed to hit the stumps they would, but on the three run-out chances, we missed, and we dropped far too many catches. When chances are so hard to come by, we can ill afford to let them go.
All in all, a tough game, but we can learn a lot from it. Chris Rogers has got his one brainless dismissal out of the way this season, and hopefully the bowlers will have worked out what went wrong with the new ball - and judging by their performance the next day, they've already started to correct it. The next game is the old enemy from south of the river, and I'd guess that we'd name the same squad, but probably without Adam London. Ten out of the eleven will be the same, with the only potential change being Steven Crook in for Ollie Rayner if Gus and Dexy think that the pitch won't spin, but I'd keep it as it is. Surrey are on a high after beating Sussex, and with the brown trouser brigade likely to be relegation rivals (despite some so-called experts bizarrely tipping Rory's chav army for the title), beating them here is very important. Let's hope we see yet another trouncing of the boys from the Oval!
(PS - have written a round-up of the last week of county fixtures for All Out Cricket - go and have a look!)
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