Second XI Championship
Venue: Beckenham
Duration: 3 days
CLOSE OF PLAY - DAY THREE
Match Drawn
Middlesex 2nd XI hold firm on the final day in Beckenham to get the draw after following on.
Our 2nd XI went into the final day against Kent having lost a flurry of wickets late in the previous day’s play, leaving Kent in the ascendancy. This continued into the morning session of day three, with Middlesex losing their final 2 wickets for just 11 runs, giving Kent a first innings lead of 188.
Kent’s impressive total of 552 enabled them to force Middlesex to follow on. Robbie White was the man to watch yet again, and batted brilliantly to reach another century- meaning he had achieved back-to-back centuries in the match.
It was only with the score at 254 that White eventually fell victim to Gray, but not before hitting 134. This meant Middlesex had 6 wickets remaining in order to avoid the loss on the final day.
Nathan Sowter batted solidly to ensure this didn’t happen, hitting 76 from 174 balls- his third consecutive half century, to help guide Middlesex to the close with 4 wickets remaining.
A really competitive opener to the Second Eleven Championship campaign with plenty of positives for Middlesex to take into round two.
CLOSE OF PLAY - DAY TWO
Middlesex 353 for 8
Kent 552 for 8 dec
Hosts Kent resumed their first innings this morning on 447 for 5 at Beckenham with Stewart and Lysaught at the crease.
They'd added a further 47 runs to their overnight score when George Scott broke through, picking up the first wicket of the day, as Lysaught was caught by Walallawita for 43.
Sowter struck soon after, dismissing Stewart for a well-worked 50, before Bamber claimed the final Kent wicket of the day, that of Qayyum for 13, caught by Tom Lace.
Riley and Richardson progressed the score to 552 for 8 before Kent skipper Robinson deemed that enough was enough and duly declared the hosts' innings.
Middlesex's reply didn't get off to the start they were looking for as both Lace (13) and Perera (14) were dismissed cheaply, with the visitors going in to lunch on 43 for 2.
Robbie White and George Scott restored normal order as the dominance of bat over ball continued after lunch, with the pair piling on the runs for the visitors. Their 157 third wicket partnership was finally broken as Scott fell for 75, caught by keeper Riley off the bowling of Richardson.
Nathan Sowter joined White at the crease, and the latter soon brought up a magnificent hundred, as he and Sowter took the Middlesex score past 300.
Sowter was providing great support for White, and the pair began to build a very useful partnership together in the middle of the innings. Sowter brought up a well deserved fifty - his second of the week, and White passed the 150 milestone, before their 137 run 4th wicket partnership was brought to an end.
White's dismissal for a superb 155 brought Richardson his third wicket of the innings, which soon became four when he also dismissed Sowter, for a fine 58. At this stage the Middlesex score stood at 340 for 5.
A late rally by the Kent attack saw Middlesex lose three more quick wickets in the evening session, as Cracknell (7), Shukla (1) and Patel (0) all fell cheaply. From 337 for 3 Middlesex had lost five wickets quickly for just nine runs, and the balance had firmly shifted in favour of the hosts as Middlesex fell to 346 for 8
Birts and John survived to the close, taking the score to 353 for 8 at stumps, with Richardson the pick of the Kent bowlers, finishing with 5 for 38 from 13 overs.
Kent have the initiative going into the final day, leading Middlesex by 199 runs, with the visitors looking to put some runs on the board to reduce Kent's first innings lead tomorrow morning.
CLOSE OF PLAY - DAY ONE
Kent - 447 for 5
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Kent were able to take advantage of a good track and finished on 447-5 at close of play on day one.
Robinson and Henenti opened the batting on day one, and started positively by building a solid opening partnership of 73 before the first wicket fell at the hands of Walallawita.
Manuwelge was the next man at the crease, and he and Robinson were able to press on to a solid 186 before Manuwelge eventually went for 72.
Sadly for Middlesex, Kent's positive start set the tone for the day, with Robinson leading from the front from this point onwards. He and Ali built a 3rd wicket partnership of 185, in which Robinson secured his century.
Robinson was by no means finished there, and it was only with the score at 431 that he eventually fell victim to Birts' bowling, after hitting an incredible 223.
Kent finished the day on 447-5, with Robinson's innings responsible for half of the total on day one.
Walallawita was the pick of the Middlesex bowlers on the day, taking 2-71 on a day in which conditions proved more suitable to the batting team.
On day two, Middlesex will look to take wickets quickly and aim to replicate Kent's first innings batting performance.
An up to date live scorecard for the game can be found here: http://www.totalcricketscorer.com/TCSLive/TCSScore...
The Middlesex 2nd XI squad is as follows:
TC Lace
SD Perera
RG White*+
GFB Scott
NA Sowter
JB Cracknell
S Shukla
RH Patel
MA John
ODW Birts
TN Walallawita
ER Bamber
