Steven Finn, the England fast bowler, has been cleared to return for Middlesex next week following a hamstring injury, something the club’s captain, James Franklin, views as a huge plus for the Division One leaders in a title race that looks set to go down to the wire.
Franklin’s side were forced to settle for a draw away to Warwickshire on Saturday after rain and bad light in Birmingham meant 18.4 overs were bowled on the final day – the home side reached 120 for four in their pursuit of 338 – and now have second-placed Yorkshire four points them behind with three games to go.
The two teams meet at Lord’s in a mouthwatering final round on 20 September, but before then, for Middlesex, there are away trips to Nottinghamshire, starting on Tuesday, and Lancashire. With Finn fit again, having been out since the fourth Test with Pakistan at The Oval last month, and his fellow seamer Tim Murtagh returning from Ireland duty, Franklin’s unbeaten leaders are starting to consider what would be a first championship since 1993.
“Steven is back and in for next week at Notts,” Franklin said. “If he’s on song then, well, we all know what we can do. He’s champing at the bit to help us push for the title. I’d be lying if we said there wasn’t talk about it in the dressing room, but we know there are lots of points still available and 12 days is a lot of cricket left to play.”
Middlesex went into the final day here needing seven wickets for a fifth victory of the season, but with play not getting underway until 3.45pm following morning rain and seamer Toby Roland-Jones immediately denied a bowl due to the poor light it felt a tall order for the visitors.
For the hour that was possible, before the gloom proved terminal, it meant spinners Ollie Rayner and Ravi Patel were Franklin’s only options. The former claimed the one wicket to fall when, from around the wicket in the seventh over of the session, he trapped the nightwatchman, Chris Wright, lbw for 22 with a ball that straightened.
Ian Bell was significantly tested by left-armer Patel, who found more turn than his right-arm colleague and had one strong lbw shout against the Warwickshire captain declined, but he hung on for an unbeaten 25 from 107 balls, with Sam Hain on 21 not out when the umpires, David Millns and Martin Saggers, decided at 4.42pm the floodlights had taken over.
