Had you presented this rather patchwork Surrey XI to Alec Stewart, the director of cricket, back in April, he might just have choked on his tea. Zafar Ansari, Dom Sibley and Mark Footitt are off the staff, Kumar Sangakkara and Mark Stoneman are otherwise engaged, and Tom Curran leads the list of the injured. Thus Ollie Pope and Ryan Patel are debuting as two of four 19-year-olds. And is that really Rikki Clarke?
Having been asked to bowl first Surrey’s thrown-together side did very well indeed to bowl Middlesex out for 247. But then their openers ran into Toby Roland-Jones, returning from and emboldened by his England experience. His four overs before stumps saw Patel (whose medium pace had been better than tidy) hurried into turning to leg gully, then Rory Burns – suddenly the senior batsman – caught behind by a beauty that left him.
This a vital game for both sides – defeat for either would mean their run-in was entirely about avoiding relegation – and thanks to Roland-Jones and two superb catches, Middlesex ended the day with their tails up. He will be relishing getting stuck into Surrey in the morning on the site of his electric Test debut.
Stuart Meaker ended the day as nightwatchman, but the advanced stage of the game has much to do with his excellence with the ball. He took the first wicket, Nick Compton caught well at second slip, then returned after lunch for a superb spell that set about a collapse of five for 34. The tumble started with wickets in successive balls: Sam Robson, who had played beautifully and unobtrusively for his 57, was beaten for pace, then Paul Stirling misjudged one that nipped back. Both lost their off stump; Robson’s went cartwheeling, while Stirling had his bail trimmed.
When Meaker’s spell ended, Clarke took over at the Vauxhall End. He pinned Adam Voges in front, the batsman’s head falling across his pad at the end of a skittish innings, then had James Franklin caught in the cordon. Gareth Batty then trapped Roland-Jones lbw. Middlesex’s curiously passive title defence was continuing.
John Simpson dug in, going 39 balls and more than an hour without scoring either side of tea, with Ollie Rayner, who played an enterprising cameo to ensure a batting point, for company. But off-spin did for both of them; Simpson edged Batty behind then Amar Virdi, another 19-year-old who earlier dismissed Stevie Eskinazi, had Rayner lbw with the new ball a delivery away. Steven Finn played some nice strokes to that new ball, but Tim Murtagh’s slog found midwicket off Sam Curran, and Middlesex had just one batting point on a pitch that should have contained a couple more.
Elsewhere, the leaders Essex recovered well after being bowled out for 159 by Somerset, who closed five down for 118 (they had been 20 for three). Paul van Meekeren, the Dutch debutant, and Craig Overton took four wickets apiece in Essex’s first innings, as did Jamie Porter in Somerset’s reply. James Hildreth passed 15,000 first-class runs in making 51, before pulling Porter to midwicket late in the day.
Lancashire enjoyed a strong day against the bottom side Warwickshire, who were bowled out for 200 (although a batting point represented a fine result from the wreckage of 119 for eight). Kyle Jarvis took six wickets for the second time in two innings, while Ryan McLaren picked up four. Lancashire closed 88 behind on 112 for three. Haseeb Hameed made 15.
In Division Two, Keaton Jennings was caught behind off Hardus Viljoen to the first ball of Durham’s match against Derbyshire, but Paul Collingwood’s third ton of the season (127*) guided Durham to 376 for seven. The leaders, Nottinghamshire, ended a frenetic day 19 without loss in their second innings, 91 ahead of Northamptonshire. Notts were bowled out for 241, then dismissed Northants for 141.
Of the chasing pack, Worcestershire – bolstered by the inclusion of Ravi Ashwin – enjoyed a fine day against Gloucestershire, reaching 338 for seven at a sold-out New Road, with Brett D’Oliveira making 93 and Ben Cox an unbeaten 56. At Colwyn Bay, Sussex closed on 79 for three having bowled out Glamorgan for 294 (they had been 148 for six).
And it was a curious day at Canterbury. Kent’s Darren Stevens took the seven Leicestershire wickets (including the first six), to go past 400 in first-class cricket and securing his 18th five-wicket haul – all 18 of which have come after his 35th birthday. But there was a sting in Leicestershire’s tail, and they recovered from 174 for eight to close on 326 for nine. Clint McKay made 32 and the 10-wicket stand is worth 98 thanks to Lewis Hill (77) and Callum Parkinson (59, a maiden fifty).
