Sunday 15 April 2012

Middlesex skittle Surrey to win thriller




Middlesex have beaten Surrey in the LVCC Division 1 match at Lord’s by just 3 runs, after Tim Murtagh and Toby Roland-Jones ran through the lower order, dismissing the visitors for 137.

Surrey were favourites heading into the day, with just 46 more needed and 6 wickets in hand. However, in just the 3rd over of the day, Tom Maynard looked to whip a full ball from Berg through the left side, but missed and was trapped LBW. Jordan was the next to go, when Murtagh bowled him all ends up without scoring. And Gareth Batty’s retched form with the bat continued, when, like Maynard, he missed a full ball and gave Roland-Jones his first wicket. Jon Lewis came to the crease to join the skipper, and the pair looked to be edging Surrey towards the finishing line, with the 36 year old the aggressor. However, Roland-Jones got the massive wicket of RHB, when he couldn’t resist a nibble at a ball outside off stump, and went for 63. A captains knock, but just not quite enough.

15 runs were still required when the Viscount joined Lewis, but he didn’t last long, as he edged Roland-Jones to Malan at slip. Lewis struggled to find the boundary thereafter as the field was out, so Dernbach was often on strike. With just 4 to win, Dernbach looked to launch Murtagh down the ground, but found the toe of the bat, and Sam Robson held onto the catch. Surrey all out for 137.

Not many stood out for Surrey, on a poor pitch for the supposed “Home of Cricket.” Adams and Ramprakash, who know their pitches, both slated the surface afterwards. However, that is no excuse for Surrey, who should have won the game. Their inability to finish off the Middlesex first innings came back to bite them, something that Meaker could have had a say in, but we will never know.

The batsman had it tough out there with the pitch, and also Middlesex did bowl very well. Most of the batsman could be excused for the way they got out, but some will be disappointed. Rudolph played a poor, uncharacteristic, shot in the first innings, which opened the door for Middlesex. Davies and de Bruyn both played loose shots in the second, and if one of them had kicked on, Surrey would have probably walked home. Ramps looks terribly out of nick at the moment, and even if he is moaning about the pitch, a couple of the batsman did manage to conquer it. Malan and RHB both played completely different innings, but still managed to get a score, so I think Ramps’ failure is mostly down to form, not the track.

As expected, all the bowlers did a good job. Lewis obviously stood out, claiming his first fifer for his new club, and Dernbach was once again consistent in both innings. Linley took a while to get into his stride before finding his rhythm from 2011 in the first innings, but was used sparingly in the second. Jordan was the most wayward of the bowlers, but did claim the final 2 wickets of the first innings, dismissing Malan before he could reach his century. And Gareth Batty was hardly used, as the conditions considerably favoured the seam up brigade.

In hindsight, we probably had too many bowlers in the end. Roy could have played instead of Jordan to add depth to the batting, and Meaker should have played on the basis that he changes games, and with him, Middlesex wouldn’t have put on 127 for the last 3 wickets. For the neutrals, it must have been great to watch and listen to, and a great advert for the County game. However, the players won't care about that, and will just be devastated with the outcome.

We now face Worcestershire back at the Kia Oval, with the guarantee that Bill and the groundstaff will put together a far better cricket wicket. Meaker will most likely come back in for Linley, and Adams will once again choose between Jordan or Roy for that number 7 spot. We have to put this game behind us now, and look for the positives, rather than dwelling on the negatives.

by Lewis Winter
twitter.com/surreyfanblog

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