SIXTEEN wickets fell on Day One at Lord’s as Middlesex bowled Worcestershire out for 191, only to then find themselves 91 for 6 at stumps, just marginally behind in the contest.
Having come off the back of a thumping innings victory against Gloucestershire, Middlesex chose to bowl first and made full use of the spicy conditions to take five wickets in the morning session, and then bowl out Worcestershire for 191, despite a courageous 75 from Brett D’Oliveira.
Worcestershire, off the back of a draw at Derbyshire last week, managed to rattle through the Middlesex top order and ended the day with a lead of 100, alongside just four more wickets to get in the first innings.
Morning Session
Du Plooy’s choice to field first was immediately vindicated, as teenage sensation Sebastian Morgan continued his form from last week, with an absolute seed that pitched on middle, then straightened and nipped down the slope to send Jake Libby’s off stump flying out of the ground, for an eight ball duck.
Worcestershire opener Daniel Lategan put up a good fight, hitting several boundaries in very quick succession. Starting with a cut shot through the offside, then a duo of straight drives, followed by an edge over the slip cordon, before surviving two very close LBW appeals from Toby Roland-Jones.
Eventually, Lategan’s fortune ran out as it was third time lucky for Middlesex when Ryan Higgins pinned him LBW for a well made 31, before new man Adam Hose also escaped two very loud LWB appeals.
Middlesex continued their excellent start to the morning, when Naavya Sharma found the outside edge of Kashif Ali’s bat, only to watch Sam Robson drop a simple chance at first slip. Therefore, after an hours play of the hosts creating wicket taking chances, Worcestershire did well to only be 51 for 2.
That quickly changed as Sharma had his first wicket when he squared up Hose, whose edge looked to be falling short of first slip, only for wicket keeper Joe Cracknell to snatch it with his right hand.
It soon became 60 for 4 when Higgins bowled a beauty that pitched on a length and straightened against the slope to beat Kashif Ali’s outside edge, before then clipping the top of his off stump for just 14 runs.
Just moments later, Worcestershire lost their fifth as Sharma found Gareth Roderick’s outside edge for a six ball duck, before Brett D’Oliveira and Ethan Brookes guided the visitors into lunch on 84 for 5.
Afternoon Session
Worcestershire continued losing wickets after the break, as Roland-Jones had Brookes squared up and caught at slip by Josh De Caires, before Matthew Waite was run out for a four ball duck, after attempting a quick single to mid-on where he was dismissed by a direct hit from Sharma, reducing the visitors to 106-7.
D’Oliveira and new batter Tom Taylor then slowly began the Worcestershire rebuild as the visiting captain reached his half century with a forceful drive down the ground, against the bowling of Higgins.
Middlesex then introduced spin for the first time in the match and struck a breakthrough straight away, as Zafar Gohar found Taylor’s outside edge on the way through to Cracknell, with the visitors now 158 for 8.
With wickets falling around him, D’Oliveira decided to press on the gas as he twice pulled Morgan into the stands for six, before slicing one to Max Holden at deep cover to end a fighting knock of 75 from 109 balls.
Worcestershire were finally bowled out when Higgins beat Finch’s inside edge, as the ball clattered into the tailender’s middle stump, with the visitors going into tea all out for 191 inside 55 overs.
Evening Session
A probing start from the Worcestershire seamers saw Oliver Hannon-Dalby find the outside edge of De Caires, only to watch the ball fly through the hands of second slip and away to the boundary for four.
The visitors had their first wicket in the 7th over, when Robson inside-edged onto his front pad, before the ball gently looped back to the bowler Taylor, as the Australian born opener departed for just six runs.
In the following over, Hannon-Dalby found the outside edge of De Caires on the way though to the wicketkeeper Roderick, with Middlesex swiftly falling to 16 for 2.
Following a flurry of boundaries through the offside, Du Plooy flashed at a wide one from Finch and edged it to the keeper, as the Middlesex captain put his team in a tricky spot at 32 for 3.
Holden then stroked boundaries through the offside before being dropped at second slip from the bowling of Brookes, whilst Ben Geddes also regularly found the fence but didn’t have the same luck as his batting partner, when his edge nestled into the hands of Hose at first slip, giving Hannon-Dalby his second wicket.
Worcestershire then grabbed another in the following over, as Holden edged Taylor straight to Hose at first slip, with Middlesex now swiftly collapsing to 86 for 5 in the gloomy evening skies at Lord’s.
The next over brought another Worcestershire wicket when Hannon-Dalby beat the defences of Higgins to disturb the right-hander’s middle stump, as bad light ended the day with Middlesex on 91 for 6.
