So full was the pavilion at Lord’s on Friday that they ran out of food. Sussex’s seam bowling stocks are almost as bare, with six quicks currently lame. All those left standing are playing here: while Steve Magoffin remains as threatening as any bowler in the land, young Ollie Robinson has been worked into the ground, and, until Friday, Chris Liddle had not taken a Championship wicket for 26 months.
Thus when, on a fine day, the Middlesex captain, James Franklin, chose to bat, his Sussex counterpart, Ed Joyce, would have been excused for shuffling uncomfortably. Not only are they shy on bowlers, but batting last on a pitch used for Thursday’s one-day game against Nottinghamshire – not to mention being so far towards Father Time that the home dressing room is almost directly behind the bowler’s arm – looks unappetising. In this light, Middlesex recalled the spinner Ravi Patel from his loan stint at Essex and thrust him straight into the XI to accompany Ollie Rayner’s off-breaks.
Yet Joyce’s seam trio, who limited Middlesex to 234, made this a fine toss to lose.
Magoffin was typically relentless for his four, while Robinson bustled and Liddle hurried for their three each. All three consistently threatened the outside edge, with eight wickets falling behind the wicket. Soft hands and good leaves were the order of the day and Dawid Malan – who scored an excellent 93, was alone in his mastery of the conditions.
Early on, Magoffin was in his element, finding movement off the pitch and in air. Sam Robson was the first to go, inside edging Magoffin on to his pad, with Luke Wright diving forward to take the spooned catch at gully as the bowler appealed for leg before. Nick Gubbins slayed Liddle’s third ball behind point for four, but fell to his fourth, nicking to first slip.
Malan’s partnership with Nick Compton carried Middlesex until lunch, with both players cutting as well as they left, and Joyce packing the cordon and posting catchers in front of the wicket too. Compton’s dissection of silly mid-off and short-cover was as impressive as Malan’s wristy cut to get off the mark. But when Compton had a brain fade, giving second slip catching practice on a day tailor-made for his discipline, and Franklin and John Simpson followed – the former in similar fashion to Compton – Middlesex found themselves in choppy waters. James Harris – promoted to No7 – deepened the trouble, slapping straight to point.
Malan steadied the ship, with the help of Rayner, who was typically brusque in his strokeplay. Malan rotated the strike and left everything he could, his soft hands meaning any edge fell short, but cutting and driving with authority. Rayner hooked straight to deep square second ball after tea, Malan was caught down the leg side, and the bowling was too skilled for the tail.
With the pitch already staying slightly low and Middlesex’s bowling naggingly accurate, Sussex will have been pleased to lose just Joyce in the 16 overs they had to negotiate. Luke Wells showed Malan’s appetite for the leave and aptitude for the fight, as he and Matt Machan guided Sussex to 33 for one at stumps. Much of the same is required if their seamers are to get their full reward.
