Middlesex bounced back from their humiliating defeat by Hampshire at the weekend with a thrilling three-run victory over Sussex in which the Duckworth/Lewis method came into play.
Having made 367 – their highest-ever List A innings total – Middlesex picked up two vital points in a dramatic match at Hove that went down to the last possible ball thanks to a blistering century by the Australian George Bailey and a vital half-century by the opener Luke Wright.
After rain reduced Sussex’s innings to 40 overs, with a revised total of 309, the chase began at swift pace. Chris Nash and Wright put on 69 runs in the eight-over powerplay. Middlesex were guilty of not bowling to their plans, they had packed the offside trying to encourage Wright and Nash to hit over the top of the infield but fired too many deliveries onto the pads or down the legside which batsmen of the calibre of this opening pair could easily carve through midwicket or paddle round the corner for four. Neil Dexter broke the opening partnership of 74 with his third ball inviting the aerial drive by Nash who was well caught by James Harris at extra cover. Wright’s brutal innings of 72 from 53 balls gave Sussex a solid platform. Anything of any width on the off side was dispatched over extra-cover and anything on his pads muscled through the leg side. Eventually he holed out to long-on with Sussex still needing 150 from 19 overs and that hauled Middlesex back into the match.
This was so until Bailey kept the game alive right down to the wire. His innings of 112 from 76 balls kept Sussex in the hunt despite the run rate creeping up and wickets falling regularly. This innings was a reminder of why Bailey was made Australia’s one-day captain. He hit nine fours and three sixes and, had he not been run out in the final over with Sussex needing nine from three balls, he might have got them over the line. Sussex lost three middle-order wickets for 23 runs before that, with the bowling of Toby Roland-Jones and Dexter keeping Middlesex in the hunt. With six needed off the final ball, Chris Liddle could manage only two, leaving Sussex agonisingly short.
Earlier a 258-run partnership between the opener Dawid Malan and 21-year-old Nick Gubbins helped Middlesex to their record-breaking total. Gubbins, a punchy left-handed batsman, had been moved up the order to No3 after a reshuffle in the absence of the rested Eoin Morgan. It was a move which clearly suited him as he made his maiden List-A century in some style. He is a compact player who is particularly strong through the leg side which was evident when he brought up his century with a superbly timed six through mid-wicket.
His 141 from 113 deliveries displayed the full range of shots against spinners and seamers alike. Despite his ultimately tame dismissal, finding long-off, the Hove crowd rose as one to applaud him off after an innings, in front of the television cameras, that will do his career prospects no harm at all.
Malan, who a few years ago was touted for England, made his fifth List A century. His 131 from 115 deliveries included 13 fours and three sixes all of which were struck with elegance and timing rather than brute force and, coming from a left-hander, his drives through the offside fell firmly in the beautiful bracket.
Middlesex, having been put into bat under gloomy skies, lost Nick Compton in the sixth over but Malan and Gubbins quickly got to grips with the pitch. They paced their innings perfectly, picking off the bad balls throughout and accelerating through the second half of the innings. Their partnership was the second highest by a Middlesex pair in List A cricket, knocking the 223 scored by Mike Smith and Clive Radley at Lord’s in 1977 into third spot.
Sussex, despite having made the T20 quarter-finals, are having a challenging season with a stack of injuries. They are also in trouble in the Championship, sitting second from bottom and, having picked up only one point in five matches in this competition, they are to all intents and purposes out of the running for qualification. For Middlesex, though, the two points get them right back into the pack in Group B with the top four going through to the quarter-finals.
