This feels like the match that the national team left behind. The tiniest splattering of supporters at Lord’s as the mizzle drizzled at 11am provided a striking contrast to the famed Wellington Road queue of last Monday’s wondrous conclusion to the summer’s first Test, while three of Alastair Cook’s six post-Strauss opening partners are playing, as well as three others who have played Test cricket for England since 2012.
After the rain abated for a 3pm start, it was Steven Finn, arguably the player left furthest behind by England since his rapid, lifting, seaming emergence as a cricketer of Test class between 2010 and 2012, and Jonathan Trott, lost adrift in the wake of the sport’s relentless schedule, who took centre stage as Middlesex invited Warwickshire to bat and saw them reach 148-3 with 46 overs lost.
Finn’s first spell, of 10 overs, accounted for Warwickshire’s top three and saw two further chances shelled. He bowled at a fine lick, extracted steepling bounce and continually tested Warwickshire’s edges and splices – his latter two wickets were snaffled by Sam Robson at short leg, while Ollie Rayner took a superb one-handed catch diving to his left to account for the Warwickshire skipper, Varun Chopra, at second slip.
Ateeq Javid led a charmed life against Finn. Either side of Chopra’s dismissal, he was dropped by Neil Dexter at third slip on four, before standing his ground after appearing to edge through to the keeper on 16. The umpire’s finger remained lowered as Finn – who had a few words for the batsman – and his team-mates celebrated, before standing disbelieving, hands on hips. Javid’s partner Jonathon Webb, on his Championship debut, drove James Harris for four through mid-off and down the ground in the same over, but was hurried by Finn’s pace, gloving to Robson. In Finn’s next over, Javid succumbed to the same fate.
From there, Finn and co met a doughty foe in Trott who, alongside Laurie Evans and with batting conditions improving rapidly, calmly negotiated the evening session. Typically, Trott nurdled to leg, frustrating and blunting the hosts, while Evans – who was scoreless when dropped by Eoin Morgan at leg-slip off Finn – was more flamboyant, particularly on the cut. Trott endured a tricky time in the 20s; he was peppered with short deliveries by Middlesex’s seam battery and was struck on the helmet by Harris, hooked just short of fine leg on and appeared to edge Harris to John Simpson – who in turn nearly ran the former England batsman out as all awaited the umpire’s decision. Trott survived on both counts – Middlesex’s fielders again looked less than impressed – and made it to the close to leave honours even heading into the second day.
Finn is a cricketer whose incremental gains – which this most certainly was – it feels both unwise and unfair to build up too greatly. He has been an uncertain presence in the national side, built up and knocked down, with the times he’s been hit out of the ground often sitting in the memory as clearly as the times he’s run through teams. His latest exile from the England set-up – although he played in the washed out ODI in Ireland and is expected to be named in the squad for the short-form fixtures against New Zealand – should be used for building confidence and regaining rhythm. On both counts, this was another victory.
“I’ve felt good all year and have beaten the edge a lot,” said Finn. “I’ve been a little bit unlucky, not getting wickets but the most important thing is that it’s felt like I’m bowling well. The 10-over spell here was the best I’ve bowled this summer.
“People have been talking about how much pace I’ve lost. It certainly feels like I’m getting the ball through alright and as long as I’m putting it in the right area and there’s enough behind it hopefully the rewards will come. It’s a starting block for the summer to hopefully kick on, take some wickets and see where that gets me.”
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