a few slips off the seam before Harris sews up the Taylors

Haringay Racer sets the bars for reports this season with a detailed report on an evenly balanced day. From the fitting tribute to Philip Hughes and Richie Benaud we get to hear about dropped catches, skidding bowlers, batsmen falling over themselves, the first hundred at Lords in 2015, , a promising debut by Tom Helm, unexpected stumpings and direct hits. And did we mention dropped catches. This report has it all.

The 2015 County Championship season started sunny but with a chilly wind blowing across Lord’s into the Compton Stand. Chris Read won the toss and chose to bat. Notts made one change from the early scorecard, Will Gidman replacing Luke Fletcher. Middlesex were pretty much as expected with  Nick Gubbins alongside Sam Robson at the top of the order, Nick Compton at 3 and Paul Stirling at 6. Tom Helm was the fourth member of the pace attack alongside Finn, Murtagh and Harris.

Before the start of play there was a minute’s silence in memory of Phillip Hughes and Richie Benaud.

Tim Murtagh and Steve Finn opened the bowling to Steven Mullaney and Brendan Taylor. In the third over Murtagh had a hugely confident shout for lbw against Mullaney. From my seat it looked as plumb as you could wish for but umpire Nick Cook thought otherwise. Next over Finn had an equally confident shout, again against Mullaney, but Michael Gough was similarly unmoved. That one might have been a bit high. In the same over Mullaney fended a lifter just out of the reach of Gubbins at short leg. At this point Mullaney must have felt it could be his day.

Notts then made steady progress without many more alarms until Helm entered the attack. On his opening run up he skidded in his delivery stride and fell in a heap without releasing the ball, thankfully no damage was done. Later in the over Mullaney edged ankle high to Malan at second slip. Straight in and straight out. Mullaney probably felt it would be his day.  Four overs later Mullaney slashed at a wide one which flew straight into Voges’ midriff at first slip. And straight onto the floor. Mullaney thought ‘it’s definitely my day’. Helm, on the other hand, wondered what he had to do.

Mullaney looked to have weathered the storm but his luck finally ran out in the 23rd over.  Helm realised he had to do it on his own and bowled him for 22. In Finn’s next over he could easily have had the new batsman, Hales, who played and missed at successive balls. Unlike Mullaney, Hales didn’t last much longer. In the next over he pushed firmly to mid off, set off for a run that was never on, was sent back by Taylor – who had looked untroubled throughout and saw no reason to risk losing his wicket to a run out – and was beaten by Murtagh’s direct hit. Suddenly 70-0 with no sign of a wicket  had become 72-2 around half an hour before lunch.

James Taylor joined Brendan Taylor and the pair advanced steadily – apart from a ‘drop’ at backward point off a full-blooded cut which was really only a half chance at best, so fast was it travelling – until the last over before lunch, bowled by Captain Voges, in which a sweep by James came off the top edge and looped over Simpson just out of reach of Sam Robson running across from slip. Lunch was taken at 90-2 with Brendan on an untroubled 42 and James on 14 made in a way that suggested he intended to punish us. Again.

Brendan quickly reached his 50 after the restart but soon afterwards a lifter from Harris found the shoulder of the bat and cleared the leaping Simpson for four. A few overs later both Taylors edged Finn just short of the slips but wickets were looking less and less likely. Brendan brought up a well-deserved  hundred in the 53rd over off 160 balls.

The game turned on its head in the 59th over. Harris, now at the Nursery End, dropped short to James Taylor who could have hit it anywhere on the legside but picked out Nick Gubbins at midwicket who didn’t need to move. Three balls later Harris moved one up the slope to pin Samit Patel lbw for a duck. In his next over he repeated the trick removing Wessels (absolutely plumb) and Brendan Taylor (106). Umpire Cook thought for a long time before giving the last one, which may have been sliding past leg stump. Without warning 180-2 had become 183-6 at around 3.30.

It could have been even worse as two overs later Will Gidman survived another huge lbw appeal. Nick Cook’s decision drew a loud ‘ooh’ of mock disappointment from the crowd but the ball probably pitched outside the left hander’s leg stump. Tea came at 192-6 with Chris Read on 5 and Gidman 4.

After tea Notts reached 200 without further loss until Giman was dropped by Malan at second slip. The ball was wide to his left but he got both hands to it. This time it didn’t matter as the first ball of the next over, Helm’s first after the break,  saw Gidman caught behind as he decided too late to try to leave the ball. Next ball Vernon Philander edged past his leg stump for four. Soon afterwards Philander ran past a ball from Voges (who was probably only bowling to help the over rate and hasten the new ball) and was stumped by a comfortable margin. 224-8 in the 76th over.

Jake Ball came in at 10 and helped Read add 40 runs for the ninth wicket without ever looking comfortable. His method against Finn owed much to the Phil Tufnell school of facing fast bowling, leading Voges to post a leg slip as well as short leg and Finn to bowl round the wicket. Sure enough Ball backed away, flailed at the ball and middled it to Paul Stirling at third man.

Harry Gurney came in at 11 and he and Read (who reached yet another fifty against us)kept the score ticking over. With the late fading, Finn left Gurney on his backside in a not entirely controlled (but in fairness not entirely uncontrolled either) attempt to evade a bouncer. This was the cue for Read to let rip and he lofted Helm for six and four off successive balls. Soon afterwards, with three overs left, the umpires consulted and appeared to tell Voges the light was OK for a spinner but not for Finn. After initially seeming to bring himself on Voges then changed his mind and took Finn’s cap and sweater and that was the close of play with Notts on 298-9.

Our Moderator has asked for reporters to close with three positives and three negatives from the day’s play.

Positives:

1.      Tom Helm
2.      Taking wickets with a 60+ over old ball
3.      Over rate never fell below -2.

Negatives:

1.      Slip fielding (I won’t say slip catching because we didn’t catch any)
2.      Slip fielding
3.      Slip fielding