County Championship: Roland-Jones gives Middlesex control against Glamorgan
| Specsavers County Championship Division Two, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff (day two): |
| Middlesex 384 Malan 166; Carey 4-54 & 189-5 Robson 73*, Simpson 56 |
| Glamorgan 171 Lloyd 67; Helm 5-53, Roland-Jones 4-45 |
| Middlesex (7 pts) lead Glamorgan (3 pts) by 402 runs |
| Scorecard |
Middlesex have a formidable lead of 402 over Glamorgan at 189-5 in their second innings, going into day three in Cardiff.
Sam Robson (73*) and John Simpson (56) have strengthened the visitors’ grip.
Toby Roland-Jones (4-45) made the most of a helpful pitch as Glamorgan were hustled out for an inadequate 171.
David Lloyd’s 67 was the top home score, while Tom Helm (5-53) wrapped up the innings with his fifth wicket after his first-evening purple patch.
Lloyd shared half-century stands with Billy Root and Chris Cooke before the visitors’ seamers re-established control, as Glamorgan’s last five wickets mustered just 28 runs.
A lead of 213 runs was not enough to persuade Dawid Malan to enforce the follow-on, wanting to avoid batting last on the most bowler-friendly Championship pitch of the season in Cardiff.
Although Middlesex slumped to 85-4, they were never under pressure thanks to their first-innings lead, and the Robson-Simpson century partnership blossomed in the evening sunshine to grind down Glamorgan hopes of avoiding a first defeat of the campaign.
Glamorgan vice-captain David Lloyd told BBC Sport Wales:
“A very difficult day, they hit their lengths more regularly than we did, then we started well with the ball in the second dig but it’s always tough when you’re chasing the game.
“It’s a wicket where you have to be positive and get forward because it’s starting to go more up and down- it’s about looking to score rather than sit there and wait for things to happen.
“We’ve showed in previous games that we can battle draws out so you never know, we’ll have to try to bat the rest of the game and we can do it if we get our mindsets right.”
Middlesex bowler Tom Helm told BBC Radio London:
“It took a bit longer to get the fifth one than I had in my head last night, but Toby had four and I’m very happy with it.
“If you get the ball in the right area, the odd one zips through and it changed a bit from day one.
“There’s so long left in this game, we can bat for as long as we want and it’ll be interesting to see how the morning goes, they’ll come out fired up but we’ll see how we go.”
County Championship: Robson gets Middlesex off to solid start against Glamorgan at Radlett
| Specsavers County Championship Division Two, Radlett |
| Middlesex 151-3 (51 overs): Robson 85* |
| Glamorgan: Yet to bat |
| Middlesex 0 pts, Glamorgan 1 pt |
| Match scorecard |
Sam Robson’s season-best score of 85 not out gave Middlesex a solid start as they reached 151-3 against Glamorgan on a rain-shortened first day at Radlett.
After a lost morning, Robson looked composed in bowler-friendly cloudy conditions, with a green-tinged strip for Radlett’s first Championship game.
Despite an opening stand of 77 with Stevie Eskinazi (31), Robson’s partners looked less assured.
David Lloyd, Graham Wagg and Marchant de Lange claimed a wicket each.
The hosts did well to survive relatively unscathed after being put in to bat by Lloyd.
But Glamorgan’s seamers notched up plenty of near-misses.
Middlesex batsman Sam Robson told BBC Sport Wales:
“It was tough. They bowled well, so it was pleasing. We’re happy with where we’re at.
“We’ve played a bit here and trained here so we knew what it was like. The ground staff have done a great job here considering the weather over the last week and a half.
“There was still good value for shots, so we knew if we could hang in, there were scoring opportunities.
“I’ve not got as many as I would have liked over the last few weeks, so it was good to be back in the runs. Hopefully I can keep going.”
Glamorgan captain David Lloyd told BBC Sport Wales:
“A frustrating day, we did bowl pretty well in parts and probably deserved a couple more wickets. Another day we could have got them five or six down but it wasn’t meant to be.
“We’ll look to go bang-bang in the morning and put the pressure back on them.
“When you come to out grounds you know what to expect. It’s a lovely ground and a nice wicket.
“The lads reacted well because it might have drifted away but we got wickets. It’s a shame we couldn’t have got one more but not a bad day.”
County Championship: Sussex bowl out Middlesex for 138 on day one at Lord’s
| Specsavers County Championship Division Two, Lord’s (day one) |
| Middlesex 138: Harris 38*; Wiese 5-26 |
| Sussex 169-4: Salt 50; Murtagh 3-34 |
| Sussex (3 pts) lead Middlesex (1 pt) by 31 runs |
| Scorecard |
Middlesex were skittled for just 138 by Sussex on day one as the visitors took early control of the game at Lord’s.
Sussex seamer David Wiese starred with 5-26 and paceman Ollie Robinson claimed three wickets with only James Harris (38 not out) passing 20 for Middlesex.
Captain Dawid Malan, who has been in superb form this season, was one of five batsmen to edge behind for 15.
Sussex closed on 169-4, a lead of 31, with opener Phil Salt (50) one of three wickets for Irishman Tim Murtagh.
Harris gave Middlesex a late boost by removing Laurie Evans lbw for 31, but Stiaan van Zyl went to stumps on 46.
One-Day Cup: Lancashire survive brave Middlesex rally to book semi-final against Hampshire
| Royal London One-Day Cup, Lord’s |
| Lancashire 304-4 (50 overs): Jennings 96, Vilas 70*, Croft 68; Helm 2-51 |
| Middlesex 284 (48.5 overs): Harris 117, Simpson 74; Mahmood 4-38 |
| Lancashire beat Middlesex by 20 runs |
| Match scorecard |
Lancashire beat Middlesex by 20 runs at Lord’s to set up a One-Day Cup semi-final against holders Hampshire in Southampton on Sunday.
But, after Jimmy Anderson and Saqib Mahmood reduced the hosts to 24-5 after 10 overs, chasing a target of 304-4, Lancs were made to fight all the way.
A Middlesex List A sixth-wicket record stand of 197 between James Harris (117) and John Simpson (74) took them close.
But, needing 84 off 59 balls, both were out and they fell short on 284 all out.
At 221-6, Harris was crucially stumped by Red Rose skipper Dane Vilas off spinner Matt Parkinson. And just two balls later, England legend Anderson struck again with a second run-out.
With 43 runs needed off four, Mahmood came back to earn his fourth wicket – and a competition haul of 25 wickets in nine games.
A sliced top edge over third man for six off the last ball of Anderson’s ninth over then reduced the target to 27 off 12 but Nathan Sowter was run out and Toby Roland-Jones holed out.
Earlier, former Lancashire skipper Liam Livingstone was out fourth ball on his first start for the Red Rose this season following an unremarkable four-match stint with Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League.
But England opener Keaton Jennings (96) Vilas (70 not out) and Steven Croft (68) all made half-centuries to help Lancs go past the par-score of 300 – and that quickly looked well beyond Middlesex.
Off the last ball of the fourth over, bowled by Mahmood, Holden played the ball to mid on, thinking the ball had gone past Anderson. But he was wrong as the 36-year-old paceman, down on one knee and with only one stump to aim at, scored a direct hit.
It then became two in two balls when a fired-up Anderson struck with the first delivery of the next over, trapping Nick Gubbins leg before with an inswinger.
Mahmood then got in on the act, having Sam Robson caught behind before striking twice with the first and last balls of his next over, when Stevie Eskinazi miscued to square leg.
Ross Taylor then edged an outswinger to first slip. However, Lancs hopes of an easy win were hit by Harris, who scored 11 fours and two sixes, and former Lancashire youngster Simpson.
It was the second time in three weeks that two Middlesex batsmen have posted a new List A county record partnership at Lord’s, following the 184 put on by Eskinazi and Gubbins for the fifth wicket in the win over Gloucestershire.
And it so nearly set up another victory, only for Lancashire to hold their nerve in the closing stages.