York shire need Snookers after Higgins big break

After some transport difficulties London Leprechaun reports on a unexpectedly outstanding day for Middlesex in the vital clash against Yorkshire. The heat is on our visitors. 

I always have good intentions to get to Lords on time but they rarely work, Today, thanks to the Central Line’s “good” service of trains ten minutes apart and buses diverted at Marble Arch to let a crane operate I  have to listen to the first half an  hour on the internet commentary. Now one of the problems with that it is so far behind real time that I get the notification of the first wicket – Robbo for a magnificent 150+ - while the commentators are still remarking on a positive start for Middlesex and discussing the likelihood of our fifth batting point. 
The bus journey occupies the length of Ryan Higgins’s innings which sounds positive but just as I negotiate the security search his wicket falls. At that point we need twenty runs from five overs for the last point. A doddle in a limited over game but the innings is in the balance – we definitely don’t want to fall in a heap going for just one point.  So we end up with one of those odd little games within a game – twenty minutes or so with its own defined drama.  A bit like last year when for a while all that mattered is whether Yorkshire would get one more batting point.

Anyhow you would have thought that Simmo and TRJ could get these runs but somehow we got stuck.  Yorkshire to be fair, bowled well and fielded tightly and in the end all we could manage was one risky single and one less then convincing boundary.  Let’s hope that one point is not crucial come September.

TRJ tried to get going but

Good Yorkshire fielding frustrated him

So back to the main match but not much change of tempo.  The rest of the Middlesex innings meandered along up to and after lunch.   There would be the occasional single and an odd boundary,  and the rest of the wickets fell at regular intervals.  We ended with a decent score but Yorkshire could feel happy that we had gone from 330/4 to less than 450.  The follow on target was less then 300 which somehow made it harder to see this match going anywhere. We might need a repeat of the Scarborough fireworks if this match was going to go anywhere. Well so we thought until .. . . .

The Yorkshire innings got off to a steady start.  TRJ’s first ball was a snorter and nearly got him four wickets in four balls against Yorkshire stretching back to September but after that they were relatively untroubled for half an hour or so, though not exactly motoring and even though Lees was out early – to an lbw he was not exactly happy with. Yorkshire looked comfortable until Ryan Higgins came on to bowl and gave us a boost just before tea with his first wicket just before tea.

But no one thought we would have the golden session after tea.  Even when Ollie got a quick break through just after play started.  The wicket was doing odd things; Finny got some steep bounce; Higgins bowled with a good pace and TRJ and Murts just got on with it.  The fielding was sharp, Robbo took a good catch  but the bowlers actually did not need much help as four wickets  were clean bowled. Well less clean bowled then careful dismantling of the bails. 

Slips ready but rarely needed

And as the innings disintegrated talk turned to that fraught topic of the follow on. Should we, should we not, will we, will we not.; given that the circumstances of the match, the weather and the time left are totally different to the Essex game.  The decision is not helped by a classy innings from Ballance; a stubborn and mildly annoying ninth wicket partnership, and the fact that Sidebottom is now in.  He is not going to give his wicket up easily in his last match at Lords.  If we end up in a stubborn last wicket stand all bets might be off tomorrow. Could be a good and interesting day tomorrow.  And as someone pointed out if we do win this match it will be the fourth successive time we have beaten Yorkshire. Sorry any Yorkshire supporters reading this!