The game finished – thankfully – shortly before 5pm after Sam Robson served up some quite extraordinary bowling with a very peculiar action and Middlesex reclaimed parity with their over rate. Nothing about it was pretty – full report to follow. Thanks for all your comments - see you (sort of) soon!
Richard Gibson
Abysmal. Probably the best word to sum up Nottinghamshire in this match. Their batting here was dreadful and it took a half-century from birthday boy Broad to delay it until 5.27pm. The margin of defeat – an innings and eight runs.
Broad was the penultimate man out when he was clawed in spectacular fashion by Andrew Gale at midwicket off James Middlebrook and last man Jake Ball was suckered in the next Middlebrook over when, having hauled a six over midwicket, he spiralled a delivery of greater air to mid-off where Sidebottom took a tumbling catch. Yorkshire are now second, nine points behind Durham with a match in hand, while Nottinghamshire – no surprise on this display – are bottom.
Off to speak to some cricketers ...
It’s irrelevant, but Middlesex declared. Franklin was on 91 and they have too many runs. Worcestershire are now batting and for them, it’s the definition of a hiding to nothing. Paul Stirling and Ollie Rayner are opening the bowling in search of 90-second overs to sort that over rate out.
It’s all rather dispiriting
Cricket for cricket’s sake is happening in front of me at the moment. And – scoop alert – it’s not very exciting.
Ajmal and Moeen are bowling in tandem on a pitch that they’d be best served just negating entirely and bowling full tosses on. Franklin is 84. No Middlesex captain has scored two tons in a champo match since Ben Hutton in 2004, so that’s worth something I guess. Franklin is in no rush to get there but I’d say he should, his team have got an over rate of minus three to sort out and there’s only 29 sets of six left in the match. I wish they’d just give up.
Richard Gibson
The birthday boy is batting already. He arrived after 20-2 deteriorated to 88-6. Defeat here would leave Nottinghamshire bottom of Division One and they have batted like a relegation team. Millionaire shots; paupers scores.
Michael Lumb, pinned full on the boot by Tim Bresnan for the second time in the contest, the only one who might argue he was unfortunate in a lame display that included Will Gidman lazily flicking a Jack Brooks delivery to square leg to be sixth out.
The lights on this game could be out before those of Broad’s 29 candles.
333 for seven off 11 overs at tea and I’m sad. Oh, what could have been. Instead this game has died a slow death. Middlesex have done well, sure. But the pitch is offering absolutely nothing to absolutely anyone and the atmosphere here is all rather depressing. This partnership has lasted 23 painstaking overs. There are 33 overs left in the match and Middlesex lead by 257, so we’re absolutely on handshake watch. Middlesex might need to declare very soon to sort out their woeful over rate. Ollie Rayner will be warming up.
The man on the tannoy just said we can go on the outfield but – ooohhhh – don’t go on the pitch. I want to go onto the pitch and give it some life. Any recommendations as to how I do such a thing?
The lead is past 200. Since I was last rather excitedly in touch, there has been another wicket, with Leach getting Ollie Rayner leg before. But since that, the life has rather drifted out of the game again. There are 48 overs left, so basically we need three wickets in the next five or six overs to have any chance of fun.
Richards Gibson
Stuart Broad has had quite a 29th birthday, returning the second best County Championship figures of his career of 7-84. However, Yorkshire’s 430 represented a first-innings lead of 206 and they have already made a couple of inroads second time around.
After sending back Patterson on the eve of lunch, he had Jack Brooks caught at slip and Ryan Sidebottom to a cast-iron lbw in consecutive deliveries to complete an impressive 26.4 over workout ahead of the first Ashes Test.
But Sidebottom proved just as deadly, having Brendan Taylor gobbled up at gully and Steven Mullaney caught behind (after Jack Brooks had bowled him with a no-ball). Nottinghamshire are 22-2 and Broad is a long way off having another bowl from here.
WICKET! AND A GAME AGAIN! AND I’M IN A GOOD MOOD AGAIN! (Uxbridge really isn’t that bad after all)
So the new ball was taken straight after lunch and Charlie Morris and Leach served up maidens to start. Simpson then drove Morris beautifully down the ground for four. But Leach has his man! It’s outside off, a little too close to cut, but Simpson ignores that and drags the thing on. Pretty poor shot in the circumstances. It’s 258 for six as Franklin goes to 50 from 92. He’s really rather important here.
As Simpson trudges off, I think it’s probably worth mentioning how impressed I’ve been with his opposite number, Ben Cox. He’s comprehensively outkept Simpson with some spectacular takes, the best of which came when Ajmal bowled Nick Gubbins with that ripsnorter yesterday. It hit the bail, spat up further and Cox still took the catch! Scenes! His team-mates really, really rate him and so do I, for whatever that’s worth.
That’s lunch, I’m pleased to say.
There was a wicket, honestly. Burns – on Australia’s unlucky number 87 and having played really rather well – hooked Jack Shantry, who curiously only bowled just before lunch, straight to Leach at deep-square. It’s 251 for five, the lead is 175 and the pitch is not helping anyone. Franklin has coasted to 48.
Moeen has comprehensively outbowled Ajmal, in my opinion. The new ball is due straight after the break and I’m sure Worcestershire will take it as they’ve probably got 45 minutes to stay in with a chance of winning. Middlesex have to bowl at some stage today because their over rate is minus three and they need to make that up with bit of Rayner-time.
Richard Gibson
ASHES FORM ALERT: Stuart Broad has five wickets. Steven Patterson felt for one outside off-stump on the stroke of lunch and that has taken his figures to 5-75. He has deserved them. Yorkshire are way out in front though at 418-8.
Richard Gibson
With a mistimed pull for a single to square leg from the bat of Tim Bresnan, Yorkshire have just recorded their first set of full batting points of the season. They are 400-7 in the 105th over – Ben Hilfenhaus, relieving Broad following an impressive burst of 5-1-14-2, having James Middlebrook snaffled at second slip.
Current press tent discussion at Uxbridge is exactly what we’ve all done in previous lives to deserve this. To say the pitch is devoid of life doesn’t do the godforsaken thing justice. It’s easy to survive, but not easy to score. It’s barely turning and there’s nothing in it for the seamers. And that blooming A-road is still whirring away outside.
Burns and Franklin are going fine, just tootling towards personal milestones while taking any wind out of the darned game’s sails. Ajmal and Moeen are bowling in tandem and it’s fine. Nothing more. Moeen is bowling better, and is certainly commanding more respect from the Antipodean pair. Burns plonked Ajmal’s second ball into the sightscreen for six, just because he felt like it.
The lead is 136 and we’re coasting towards a 5pm handshake. Which is just great.
Just popped outside and saw two people sleeping. Yeah.
Burns has gone to a fine and important 50. This morning he tracked Moeen and stuck him over Saeed Ajmal’s slightly non-plussed head at mid-off, then moved to 49 with a flash for four past Alex Gidman at slip off Lloydsy Leach. It wasn’t a chance. He played a more controlled version of the same shot the following ball to reach his half-century off 102, with three fours and a handsome six off Ajmal last night.
Moeen has just finished his seventh over of the morning, and I supect Ajmal may have a twirl now. Mo picked up that important, impressive wicket and has provided decent control, going at less than three an over.
Richard Gibson
Broad, as yesterday, has been terrific with the new ball and accounted for the overnight pair Gale and Leaning in consecutive overs from the Kirkstall Lane end. Gale was pinned half-forward from the sixth delivery of the morning while Leaning chopped on.
Then, from the other end, left-armer Luke Wood doused Bairstow’s flame by angling one through a drive to leave the champions 325-6.
Uxbridge is looking as good as it has all week. Sure, by outground standards, it’s still a bit, you know, urban. It’s a ground not completely devoid of charm but its parched outfield, adjacent A-road and eyesore of a pavilion don’t do it many favours. The players don’t much like playing on the pitch either, which does little for anyone, really.
But we’re underway. Moeen Ali is having a bowl – one wonders who’s been on the phone from HQ – from the Pavilion End, which isn’t really the Pavilion End at all, as the Pavilion is stationed at a sort of deep extra cover position. Let’s hope he gets a good trundle, but nothing doing in his first over. It’s Charlie Morris from the other end.
But that’s a wicket! For Mo! Paul Stirling is bowled through a wildly unlatched gate with one that turned. Pretty classic off-spin bowling and music to Worcester and England ears. The game is very well-poised now, with the lead at just 71.
Joe Burns and Stirling batted well last night, staunch in defence without completely abandoning their inherent adventure, but that’s careless from the Irishman and James Franklin and Burns will have to be very careful now. Franklin knocks to off for a couple and it’s 149 for four.
Richard Gibson
Covering Yorkshire on a regular basis over recent years has put me in the privileged position of witnessing the developments of Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Adam Lyth and Gary Ballance. Now there is another young batsman at Headingley with the capacity to excite.
Jack Leaning – son of the much-travelled Football League goalkeeper Andy Leaning – has become, excuse the pun, their safe pair of hands in the middle order. Only James Hildreth has scored more runs than the 21-year-old in the top flight of the Championship this season. He is only in his second season, and had no second-team record to write home about when elevated into the first XI 12 months ago. But his composure at the crease is reminiscent of Root.
He resumes this morning on 107 not out alongside his captain Andrew Gale, who is unbeaten on 144. Their current share of 251 is a new fourth-wicket record for Yorkshire against Nottinghamshire, their lead is already 78 and there is significant power to add with Jonny Bairstow, shipped in for the second half of this match, next in.
It also means plenty of work ahead for England’s Stuart Broad. Operating in spells of no greater than four overs in length, he returned figures of 17-3-55-2 yesterday. This match will be his only workout ahead of the first Ashes Test on 8 July.
Elsewhere today, Will Macpherson will keep us posted with events at Uxbridge where a Worcestershire win would take them off the bottom and into mid-table. Conversely, victory for Middlesex will keep them on leaders Durham’s coat-tails. Things are intriguingly poised there with Middlesex 64 runs ahead with three wickets down in their second innings. The draw might appear favourite there but 96 overs is a lot of cricket. Keep up with the progress here!
Updated
Morning all,
Today we have Will Macpherson at Uxbridge for Middlesex v Worcestershire and Richard Gibson at Headingley for Yorkshire v Nottinghamshire. Here are links to yesterday’s reports:
Middlesex v Worcestershire
Worcestershire need a win and, on the first three days’ evidence against Middlesex, deserve one. They haven’t a Division One win away since Old Trafford in July 2012, when Moeen Ali took six for 29 to bamboozle Lancashire. On Tuesday, he was largely a spectator, enjoying a net as his colleagues batted, and was afforded just five overs when it was their turn to bowl. On a wearing pitch, he – and England, certainly – will hope he has a major role to play yet.
Tom Fell’s highest first-class score is the bedrock of their position of strength. When Alex Gidman left a straight delivery with the overnight score not troubled, Worcestershire could have imploded, but Fell – who rode being peppered with short deliveries – prevented collapse. Fell was outstanding through point and midwicket, and wasn’t afraid to take the short barrage on, even if he did eventually hook to deep square-leg, two balls after clearing him handsomely.
Yorkshire v Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire must be sick of the sight of Andrew Gale and Jack Leaning, the pair of batsmen who combined for a Yorkshire record fourth-wicket stand of 251 against their county at Headingley.
The pair resume on Wednesday, having comfortably surpassed the 210 shared by Ted Lester and Willie Watson in 1952, their chanceless hundreds following previous successes against the east Midlands team.
Gale’s liking for Nottinghamshire is nothing new: this was his fourth championship hundred against them, more than 1,000 runs in all, and his career average off their bowling stands at 55.73. Leaning, the latest young talent to emerge from a seemingly limitless production line, has fewer memories but one significantly good one: his maiden first-class hundred came in the reverse fixture at Trent Bridge in April.
