Lancashire v Middlesex, Rothesay CC, Emirates Old Trafford - Days 1-3

Report by ECB Reporters Network, supported by Rothesay

Day Three: Lancashire 201 all out & 84 all out (Ryan Higgins 4-27, Naavya Sharma 4-17) v Middlesex 169 all out (Leus du Plooy 67, Sir James Anderson 4-67) & 117-7 (Ben Geddes 73 all out.
Middlesex won by 6 wickets.

Middlesex secured their second victory of the season, and their first at Old Trafford since 1996, when they defeated Lancashire by six wickets on a dramatic third day of this Rothesay County Championship Division Two match against Lancashire. 

Naavya Sharma took a career-best four for 17 and Ryan Higgins four for 27 to help dismiss the home side for 84, Lancashire’s lowest score against Middlesex on this ground since 1935. 

The visitors then needed 117 to win and the outcome was in some doubt when they were 64 for four just after lunch but Ben Geddes’s 73 not out off 70 balls enabled them to reach their target in some comfort. Higgins was unbeaten on seven having helped Geddes put on an unbroken 53 for the fifth wicket.

Steven Croft, Lancashire’s 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 be 45 for 10 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.”

Day Two: Lancashire 201 all out & 42-3 (Ryan Higgins 3-15) v Middlesex 169 all out (Leus du Plooy 67, Sir James Anderson 4-67).Lancashire lead by 77 runs.

Lancashire’s seamers hit back either side of a long rain break to help their side take a 32-run lead on first innings in their Rothesay County Championship match against Middlesex at Emirates Old Trafford. 

But in a dramatic last hour of play, Ryan Higgins took three prime wickets in ten balls for Middlesex to reduce the home side to 45 for three at the close, giving Lancashire a lead of 77 and leaving the game evenly poised. 

Replying to Lancashire’s 203, the visitors were dismissed for 169 despite skipper Leus du Plooy making a fine 67.

James Anderson again led took the bowling honours with four for 67 but George Balderson took three for 19 before turning his attention to opening the batting.

Tom Bailey, said: “It's an interesting pitch, it's offered plenty over these last two days. I do feel like it is slowly getting better. We were 39 for none, so we're disappointed to lose those three wickets. 

“It would have set us up perfectly for going into tomorrow morning, but I think the weather is better as well, so hopefully we can bat most of tomorrow and put ourselves in a good position. 

“As a bowler, it's just nice to see some seam movement, some swing as well under these conditions. It definitely makes a change to what we're normally used to (here). Day one it did a lot. It's the most I've seen it do in a long time, but me and Jim spoke and we definitely felt it was a better pitch today.

“I think we bowled really well, there were some poor shots from those guys, but I think if we can get bat most of tomorrow, we'll be in a great position.  I think if the sun comes out, which it's meant to, it'll hopefully burn off a bit off that grass and allow us to score some runs.”

Day One: Lancashire 201 all out (Keaton Jennings 67, Sebastian Morgan 3-41) v Middlesex 38-2 (Sir James Anderson 2-22).

Middlesex’s four-man seam attack made the most of favourable conditions to put their side in a good position on the opening day of the Rothesay County Championship match against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford.

Having opted to bowl first under cloudy skies, the visitors dismissed James Anderson’s side for 201 in 67.1 overs. In reply, though, Middlesex struggled to 38 for two at the close before bad light ended play 17 overs early. Both wickets were taken by Anderson in a five-over spell and the visiting batsmen will surely not relish facing Lancashire’s attack on the second morning

Ryan Higgins took three for 48 in the home side’s innings and Toby Roland Jones’s three for 45 included the vital wickets of Marcus Harris and Keaton Jennings. But this was very much a team effort by the Middlesex bowlers.

Seb Morgan, who finished with three for 41, and Naavya Sharma, 1-52, supported the new-ball attack superbly and Lancashire’s only comfort came from Jennings’s watchful 67 and Australian all-rounder, Chris Green, who made 35 in his first game of the season before he was last man out, bowled by Morgan.

Will Porterfield, Lancashire’s assistant coach, said 

“There's obviously a bit going on in the pitch and I thought it was a pretty good cricket wicket. 

“It’s old adage that we have to how both teams have batted on it, and then we'll see how the game pans out. 

“I think they bowled pretty well and the lads grafted hard out there and probably ended up being around a par total for the first innings and to pick up a couple tonight was great.

“It would have been lovely if we'd managed to get a third but that's probably getting a little bit greedy. Keaton stuck at it from the off. I'm not sure how many balls he faced but to get 60-odd in the manner he did was great. 

“It's probably a pitch, especially today, he wouldn't have necessarily ever felt in on or ever be fluent but he thrived on it. He played a great knock. I think the experience of the likes of Keaton has, and the experience we have in the order, you make that assessment pretty quickly when you're out there. 

“You know from fairly early on that it's going to be hard work because you've got a new ball with a little bit of grass on the pitch in England against the Dukes. It's going to be tricky work so the lads assess that pretty quickly and Keats stuck to his method very well. 

“You'll see different lads with different methods, I think, throughout the game and how some will come a bit harder than others but Keats trusted his defence and trusted his method and that paid him back today.”