Honours even after Middlesex youngsters impress
A fourth-wicket stand of 127 from youngsters Sam Robson and Adam London helped struggling Middlesex share the honours on the first day of their County Championship clash with Northamptonshire
21-Apr-2010
Middlesex 281 for 5 v Northamptonshire
Scorecard
Scorecard
A fourth-wicket stand of 127 from youngsters Sam Robson and Adam London helped
struggling Middlesex share the honours on the first day of their County
Championship clash with Northamptonshire.
Robson and London both showed their more experienced team-mates how to do it
after the visitors, who had won the toss and chosen to bat, slipped from 72
without loss to 90 for 3 at Wantage Road.
England captain Andrew Strauss had earlier made 25 before he departed but
Robson and London dug in and John Simpson and Gareth Berg saw Middlesex through
to the close on 281 for 5.
Middlesex, who have lost their opening two games of the season, avoided losing
any early wickets for the first time this term as openers Strauss and Scott
Newman put on 72 runs.
Their previous best had been a paltry 11 in the clash with Glamorgan last week
but Strauss was dismissed in the 18th over when he played Andrew Hall onto his
leg stump shortly after being dropped by Jack Brooks off the bowling of Luke
Evans.
Newman quickly followed after making a breezy 44 when his off stump was toppled
by David Lucas, the first time the former Surrey batsman had made it into double
figures this year.
Dawid Malan, who hit a century in his last innings against Glamorgan, made just
a single before he was trapped lbw by Brooks to leave Middlesex wobbling on 99
for 3 at lunch.
Robson and London stabilised their innings after the break with a solid if
unspectacular fourth-wicket partnership, with boundaries few and far between. They survived the whole of the afternoon session, their partnership reaching 107 at tea, with only Lucas looking like taking a wicket for Northants when he
twice narrowly missed Robson's off stump.
Both players achieved patient half-centuries in the 69th over off Northants
skipper Nicky Boje, with 20-year-old Robson's arriving from 149 balls and
21-year-old London's taking eight fewer.
But Boje finally made the breakthrough when Robson (52) edged to Hall at first
slip. London (77) finally went towards the end of the day when his attempted drive
off Boje led to him being stumped by wicketkeeper Paul Harrison.
That left Simpson (28 not out) and Berg (four not out) to bat out the final
four overs, but Northants might be left to rue the 50 extras they conceded in
the day.