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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Will Macpherson at Lord's

Toby Roland-Jones excels for Middlesex but back issue causes concern

Toby Roland-Jones took two key Lancashire wickets and added useful runs as Middlesex sought to ease their relegation fears.
Toby Roland-Jones took two key Lancashire wickets and added useful runs as Middlesex sought to ease their relegation fears. Photograph: Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images

Roundup: Roland-Jones excels for Middlesex

In easing Middlesex’s deepening relegation strife, Toby Roland-Jones had the sort of day that reinforces why England see him as a major figure in Australia this winter. Then, with three overs to go in the day, he left the field mid-over, nursing a stiff lower back. The extent of the stiffness will be learned this morning but England will hope it is as trifling as Middlesex believed it to be.

Into his 11th over, having picked up the key Lancashire wickets of Haseeb Hameed and Shiv Chanderpaul to add to a roistering 53, Roland-Jones suddenly left the field. Ollie Rayner, with whom he shared 102 for the eighth wicket, completed the over after the Middlesex captain, Adam Voges, told Roland-Jones to leave the field as a precaution. That the bowler wanted to continue fielding hopefully indicates the injury is not serious.

Having opted to bat, Voges was very grateful for Roland-Jones’s contribution, following a pair of ugly Middlesex tumbles. After 45 minutes, they were 28 for four. Voges and John Simpson dug in until lunch but along with James Harris, were dismissed in the half-hour following the interval. McLaren had set the tone by dismissing the openers Nick Compton (lbw) and Sam Robson (caught behind), while Tom Bailey, who finished with five for 54, was quite superb in his command of line from the Pavilion end.

Middlesex were 89 for seven, and appeared to have taken the latest ignominious step on their sleepwalk from champions to relegation – or, put another way, their journey from Abu Dhabi to Derby.

It has been a tame title defence; having stagnated while others strengthened in the winter, they were guilty of passive, curious cricket early on and some odd selections. It says much that mere survival is proving so tricky and also that one of their finest youngsters, Ryan Higgins, is leaving in search of more cricket.

But Roland-Jones’s flashing drives and the smooth stroke play of Rayner, who made 52, led them to a vital, welcome batting point and by stumps – with Lancashire 113 for five, still 120 behind – they were on the verge of a second bowling point, too.

Hameed and Alex Davies were trapped lbw with consecutive balls, the latter shouldering arms to Tim Murtagh, who soon bowled Dane Vilas. Liam Livingstone’s insistence on playing his shots led to him being caught at point while Roland-Jones’s dismissal of Chanderpaul, caught at first slip, was a vital one. On a wicket that neither captain fancied batting last on, a first-innings lead of any size will be treasured.

Clarke’s career-best helps Surrey gain edge against Somerset

At The Oval, Surrey did Middlesex a favour by having the better of the first day against Somerset, who they bowled out for 269. Marcus Trescothick was lbw for 65 to Gareth Batty, with the final ball of a morning session dominated by Somerset, who were then 96 for one. But Rikki Clarke, on his way to career-best figures of seven for 55, which included his 400th first-class wicket and 100th for Surrey, took five wickets in the hour after lunch to leave Somerset 138 for six. Steve Davies, back at his old county, led a recovery and was last man out for 86. Mark Stoneman and Rory Burns survived a testing period to reach stumps 42 without loss.

Yorkshire eased their owns relegation fears against Warwickshire, who are already down. A swashbuckling century from Jeetan Patel and 51 from Ian Bell helped Warwickshire fight back from 49 for six to 219 all out. Matthew Fisher took five for 54 for Yorkshire, who closed on 62 for one. The dismissed batsman was their overseas debutant, Kraigg Brathwaite.

The champions, Essex, started their lap of honour in inglorious fashion against Hampshire, who are not out of the relegation woods either. Having bowled Hampshire out for 254, Essex are 33 for five, with Tom Westley falling for six. Earlier, Jamie Porter had taken four more wickets while George Bailey top-scored for Hampshire with 89.

Updated

That's all folks!

Time to shut up shop until the morning, I think. Thanks for your company on an engrossing day, bulging with wickets. Here’s our scores on the doors:

Division One:

  • Lancashire 113-5 v Middlesex 233
  • Surrey 42-0 v Somerset 269
  • Yorkshire 62-1 v Warwickshire 246
  • Essex 33-5 v Hampshire 254

Division Two:

  • Nottinghamshire 80-5 v Northants 194
  • Glamorgan 342-7 v Gloucestershire
  • Durham 8-1 v Sussex 346
  • No play yet between Derbyshire and Kent

Speak in the morning. Please read the roundup, which will be in here shortly.

Stumps! Lancashire 113 for five, 120 behind. Good day. Off to find out what’s happened to Roland-Jones.

Stumps at the Ageas! Essex 33 for five.

Toby Roland-Jones is going off mid-over after a big appeal was turned down. No idea what’s happened, but Rayner is finishing the over. 107 for five.

Essex’s rather wrongheaded nightwatchman plan went awry, as Fidel got Sam Cook. There are still three overs left and they are 28 for five.

Wicket and stumps at the Riverside! Robinson gets Jennings, and Durham are 8 for 1 in response to Sussex’s 346.

Close at Trent Bridge! Notts 80 for five in response to Northants’ 194.

Truly one of the season’s heroes.

Stumps at the Oval! Surrey’s day, surely. 42 for none after bowling Somerset out for 269.

Ravi is gone! Bowled by Berg! The champs are 26 for four and have gone down the nightwatchman route.

Wicket! The big one. Rojo! He’s got Chanderpaul caught at first slip! 95 for five.

Stumps at Cardiff! Glamorgan 342 for seven. Kiran Carlson 137 not out.

Brathwaite’s gone and Yorkshire are 61 for one.

Sussex all out for 346! Three overs for Durham to deal with tonight.

Should be the close of play now, but we have 13 overs left. Lancs 71 for four.

Notts are 56 for four with Samit gone to Buck... 194 may not have been a terrible total from Northants.

Wicket! Livingstone gone! Caught at point off Finn, cutting.

Now Essex 12 for three! Westley lbw to Fidel...

Somerset all out for 269! Rikki Clarke gets his seventh, and Davies is last to go for 86. 16 overs left.

Essex 12 for two, Abbott again. Chopra gone.

Somerset nine down! Batty gets Leach.

Wicket! Vilas bowled through the gate by Murtagh! 40 for three.

Two quick ones for big Rory has Notts in a pickle. Mullaney and Pujara gone in the space of four balls and it’s 22 for two.

Six for Rikki Clarke! Bess caught and bowled, Somerset are 252 for eight.

Essex are one down! Browne goes to Abbott without score. 1 for 1. Westley...

Livingstone gets off the mark with an on-driven four. First ball. Proper.

Vilas has nearly run himself out early on! No dice.

And next ball Davies is gone! He’s lbw shouldering arms to Murtagh! 22 for two.

Wicket! Roland-Jones has Hameed lbw! Bat and pad together, by the looks of things, and he’s gone! 22 for one, he made three.

And Bailey is gone. He made 89, Hampshire made 254. Might not be bad given they were stuck in. Two helpful points in their relegation battle.

Hampshire are nine down as Porter gets Abbott. Bailey is 89 and Fidel is in. Will he? 254 for nine.

Fisher has five and Warwickshire are all out for 219! Sidebottom the last to go.

Century and out for Jeetan Patel! Very next ball. 217 for nine, and Warks.

Drop! A stinker from Simpson! Rojo’s bowled a beauty to Davies, and it’s taken the outside edge. Looked regulation to Simpson’s right, but he’s shelled it. Davies was on his way off. Next ball is edged through the cordon for four, and it’s 13 without loss.

Two all-rounders on the move from Durham?

This is a good question. Suspect it’ll be as per last year, Rayner rattling through overs later in the game. The pitch is said to be pretty dry so he may get bowl a fair bit come what may. 5 for none after one, a lovely off-drive from Davies.

Updated

Murtagh to get us going. Davies and Hameed having a bat.

Middlesex’s bowlers are warming up as if we are going to start on time. Which would be good.

Tea! Your scores

Division One:

  • Middlesex 233 v Lancashire
  • Somerset 206-7 v Surrey
  • Hampshire 243-8 v Essex
  • Warwickshire 195-8 v Yorkshire

Division Two:

  • Northants 194 v Notts
  • Glamorgan 216-5 v Gloucestershire
  • Sussex 242-3 v Derbyshire
  • No play yet between Derbyshire and Kent

Updated

Tea at the Oval too. Somerset 206 for seven.

Middlesex all out for 233!

That was always a bit too much fun to last. Murtagh had one too many swings and was caught at mid-on, McLaren’s fourth. Rayner, who is 52 not out, and RoJo have put Middlesex in the game. But they need to bowl very well. That will be tea, but I reckon the light will need to improve for us to start on time.

Somerset have a bowling point!

Tim Murtagh is swinging at every ball, and it’s great fun. Four fours in his 18.

Northants are all out for 194! Four for Luke Wood, three for Hutton.

50 for Rayner! And reached with a lovely stroke through the covers. 219 for nine, and a bit dark.

So. Good. To. Watch.

Jeetan Patel has 82 at tea at Headingley. Even more remarkably, Boyd Rankin has 17! 194 for eight are Warks.

50 for Steve Davies. What a guy.

Wicket! At the Oval. Scurran cleans up Coverton in the battle of the brothers. 191 for seven.

Finny in on the act with a lovely shot through midwicket. But now he’s gone, and he’s walked for an lbw! He’s Tom Bailey’s fifth (for 45). Great figures.

A batting point! Middlesex have one, eight down.

Wicket! That’s a dodgy looking decision, and RoJo has the look of a man who’s been sawn off. It’s hit him on the pad outside the line of legstump. Finger’s up though, and that’s all that matters. he made 53, and it’s 191 for eight. Finn’s been dropped second ball....

Likes going hard at Durham as much as the ECB this lad. Hur hur hur.

Wouldn’t bet against it. He’s the sort of cricketer that flatters all his team-mates.

100 stand up between these two, and now 10 away from a batting point that seemed very, very unlikely an hour ago.

50 for Rojo! What a player this bloke is! 58 balls, and reached with his 10th four, down the ground off Parkinson. 184 for seven, 95 the stand with Rayner.

Porter gets Dawson! Hampshire 187 for six, Porter has three more. What a season.

Every time I look up there’s a boundary! Rojo has moved to 44, and Middlesex are 170 for seven.

Bell gone for 51! Fisher with the wicket, and there’s another in the over. Wright now, 151 for eight.

50 on for the eighth wicket here... Can Middlesex squeeze a batting point out of this mess? 142 for seven.

Somerset are right in it! 138 for six as Clarke bowls Trego - five wickets in an hour for him...

Warwickshire fighting back: 50 for Jeetan and Bell still there. 129 for six.

Lancashire have just bowled a bit worse in the last 20 mins, and Rayner and Rojo have put on 39.

And Notts confirmed.

Somerset five down! Clarke has four. Byrom caught in the gully.

Wicket at the Ageas: Harmer in on the act, Ervine gone. 144 for five.

So, confirmation that Coughlin is off, and some punchy words from Botham...

Notts continue their march towards promotion: Northants are 94 for six.

Hampshire are 129 for four after Sam Cook gets Vince for 60!

And three quick ones at the Oval too! Not often I’ve said that this year. All three to Clarke: Bartlett, Hildreth, then Abell. 105 for four.

So, all happening here after lunch. Three quick wickets!

The third just went: Alex Davies has taken a quite brilliant catch off a top-edged John Simpson hook. He’s run fully 40 yards and taken a diving catch. Brilliant. Bailey with that wicket, and he got Voges too, lbw. Between times McLaren had Harris shouldering arms, and bowled. 89 for seven. Big, big trouble for the champions.

Lunch time delectation.

Off for the day at Chesterfield. Jeez.

Nice nut that.

Lunch! Scores on the doors

Here you go then, folks. Plenty happening!

Division One:

  • Middlesex 80-4 v Lancashire
  • Somerset 96-1 v Surrey
  • Hampshire 103-3 v Essex
  • Warwickshire 53-6 v Yorkshire

Division Two:

  • Northants 83-4 v Notts
  • Glamorgan 127-4 v Gloucestershire
  • Sussex 88-1 v Derbyshire
  • No play yet between Derbyshire and Kent

Enjoy your sarnies!

Updated

Voges hits the last ball of the session for four and it’s 80 for four at lunch.

A wicket at the Oval! An actual wicket at the Oval, and lunch. Tres gone, to Batty. He made 65 and it’s 96 for one.

50 for James Vince at the Ageas! Got to make it count now...

Five minutes til lunch here at Lord’s, and Simpson and Voges have dug in nicely. 75 for four.

Warwickshire six down...

Warwickshire are 47 for five! They should seal bottom spot today.

Tom Alsop loses his off stump to Porter when shouldering arms ... Hampshire 85 for three with Vince on 43.

Lovely appeal from Batty that.

There’s an inspection at 12.40 at Chesterfield.

50 for Marcus Trescothick! Marvellous. 62 balls, 11 fours. Somerset 68 without loss. Good start for them.

This week’s Spin. Excellent stuff.

Decent fightback from Alsop and Vince at the Ageas. They are both in the thirties, at close to a run-a-ball, and Hampshire are 76 for three.

Warwickshire are 34 for four! Bell still there...

Simpson’s been dropped on 12, by Al Davies off Jarvis. With one hand, diving to his left. 44 for four.

28 for four! Malan gone, but he can’t believe it! It’s a beautiful ball, and he’s been caught behind off Bailey. But he doesn’t think he’s hit it.

Warwickshire are 10 for two off 10.2, which isn’t much use. Brooks has Coad and Sibley.

Middlesex are three down! Bailey’s got one to get huge on Eskinazi and he’s been caught at third slip! Beauty. 25 for three.

Notts are among Northants early! 17 for two, Duckett and Newton gone!

Hampshire 14 for two ... Porter gets Weatherley!

Essex’s Jamie Porter celebrates the wicket of Joe Weatherley at the Rose Bowl.
Essex’s Jamie Porter celebrates the wicket of Joe Weatherley at the Rose Bowl. Photograph: Christopher Lee/Getty Images

Updated

Wicket! That’s a beauty from McLaren. Left Robson, takes the outside edge and gawn! 11 for two.

Even if we get no rain, I’m certain that bad light will come in to play at some stage at Lord’s where, as ridiculously as ever, we can’t get the lights on. The scoreboard isn’t working either. Brill.

Gary’s joining me here at Lord’s, where Middlesex are getting a bit of an examination. 5 for 1.

Hampshire have left out Mason Crane again...

Hampshire are 0 for 1! Sam Cook gets Jimmy Adams. Essex charge on.

Rushworth has an early one at Durham! Harry Finch gone for 0.

Wicket! Ryan McLaren gets Compo lbw and Middlesex are 0 for 1. Steps across and it looks very out.

Oval stream!

Yorkshire hand a debut to Kraigg Brathwaite against Warwickshire, and have picked five (5) seam bowlers.

So, green on top, but dry underneath. And a central wicket at Lord’s, which doesn’t happen that often for a county game. Will have been run over a lot this year. Franklin dropped, Harris the all-rounder. Gubbins is fit, but has been left out again.

Middlesex: Robson, Compton, Eskinazi, Malan, Voges*, Simpson+, Harris, Rayner, Roland-Jones, Murtagh, Finn

Lancashire: Hameed, Davies+, Livingstone, Croft*, Chanderpaul, Vilas, McLaren, Clark, Bailey, Jarvis, Parkinson

Underway in about 15.

Toss off! News from the middles

Division One:

  • Middlesex win the toss and bat against Lancashire
  • Somerset win the toss and bat against Surrey
  • No toss at the Ageas. Essex put Hampshire in
  • Warwickshire win the toss and bat against Yorkshire

Division Two:

  • No toss at Wantage Road. Notts put Northants in
  • Durham win the toss and bowl against Sussex
  • No toss in Cardiff. Glosters put Glammy in
  • Delayed start for Derbyshire v Kent

There has been a toss here! Middlesex, captained by Adam Voges, have chosen to bat. It’s green, but it’s Lord’s.

No toss at the Ageas; Essex have stuck Hampshire in.

Not as green at the Oval.

Morning Stuie! The Glosters have left it too late, but they are ending the season well, which is always a good idea.

So our tosses our about five minutes away. Seems very unlikely that there will be one here at Lord’s, where the pitch is very green. More as I have it.

Derbyshire are playing Kent at Chesterfield. I repeat, they are playing at an outground in the penultimate week of the season. I’m going to shock you: there’s a wet outfield, and an early lunch.

Morning all it's the morning call!

Hello, happy Tuesday, and welcome to a new week – the penultimate week of the season, indeed – of county cricket - live! There are eight more days of this, and then we pack up for six and a bit months and feel rather sad. Ahhhhh.

Anyway. Some things are sorted. We have champions, for instance. We know that Warwickshire are going down, even if it’s not quite been officially rubber stamped.

But we don’t know some other things! Who, for example, will join them in Division Two next year? This is a big round of matches in that relegation bunfight (always a bunfight, isn’t it?). All four Division One games have relegation interest, and at the Oval both teams are in the mixer: Surrey and Somerset will want at least a Very Good Draw. If that’s shaping up as a beauty I’m sure to pop along at some stage this week.

For now though, I’m at Lord’s (where the pitch looks very green), where sorry old Middlesex play host to Lancashire, who haven’t a care in the world now. Middlesex, who travel to Taunton next week, badly need a win. So do Yorkshire, and who better to face in that position than Warwickshire?! There’s only one Ryan Sidebottom playing at Headingley and, no, it’s not the one we all wanted to. The champs are at Hampshire, who are not quite out of the woods yet. Essex decided to stick one in the eye of opposition fans who say they get too much access to Alastair Cook by just leaving him out of the squad. Excellent japes.

In Division Two, your Kents and your Sussexes, having given up on promotion, have taken to leaning players out. With the new leaders Worcestershire sitting out, the game that matter is second-placed Notts’ visit to third-placed Northants. Notts can seal promotion, Northants can throw a tight old spanner in the works. Here’s the fixtures in full:

Division One:

  • Middlesex v Lancashire
  • Surrey v Somerset
  • Essex v Hampshire
  • Yorkshire v Warwickshire

Division Two:

  • Northants v Nottinghamshire
  • Sussex v Durham
  • Derbyshire v Kent
  • Glamorgan v Gloucestershire

You can contact me! Please do! Here’s how you can:

I look forward to hearing from you. Lots of clicks and comments, please. And allthat leaves me to say, as ever, is enjoy the cricket.

Updated

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