Toby Roland-Jones picked up three wickets to take his first-class tally to a personal best of 66 in a season as promotion-chasing Middlesex established control on day one of the LV=Insurance County Championship match with Worcestershire at New Road.

The former England pace bowler exploited ideal conditions for seam bowling as he moved past his previous most productive haul of 64 victims in 2012.

He received excellent support from Middlesex captain, Tim Murtagh, and Ryan Higgins as Worcestershire were reduced to 167-8 on a day shortened to 68.5 overs by rain and bad light. It enabled visitors to collect two of the maximum haul of 16 points needed to ensure promotion to Division One. Worcestershire Club Captain, Brett D’Oliveira, dug in for three and a quarter hours for a fighting 44.

Both teams and coaches formed a guard of honour before the start of play for umpire Nick Cook who is officiating in his final game before retirement. Murtagh, won an important toss and put the home side into bat on a greenish pitch used previously for the Championship match with Sussex in April.

The veteran seamer then struck with the first delivery of the game. Ed Pollock had been Worcestershire’s match winner against Middlesex earlier in the season with 113 off 77 balls at Merchant Taylor’s School. But he was instantly undone by a ball of extra bounce after pushing forward and edged through to keeper John Simpson. 

Murtagh and Roland-Jones skilfully exploited the sideways movement and variable bounce and there was plenty of playing and missing from Jake Libby and new batter, Jack Haynes. Libby (4) was lbw to an inswinging ball of full length from Roland-Jones.

Haynes produced the first aggressive shots of the day in off driving and pulling Roland-Jones for boundaries. But it was primarily a battle for survival and Azhar Ali had scrapped away for one run off 33 balls before rain led to an early lunch with Worcestershire 26-2 off 16 overs.

The Pakistan Test player needed only three more balls to collect his first boundary with a straight drive off Ethan Bamber when play resumed at 1pm after an early lunch. But Roland-Jones struck for the second time when Haynes (20) prodded at a delivery and found the hands of Sam Robson at second slip.

Azhar temporarily lifted the shackles with a cut and cover drive for boundaries after Ryan Higgins came into the attack. But after surviving for two and a half hours he was leg before for 27 to a delivery from the same player which nipped back in.

Ed Barnard, in his final appearance for Worcestershire before joining Warwickshire, immediately looked in good touch. The all-rounder profited from the cut shot with boundaries off Higgins and Ethan Bamber and he and Brett D’Oliveira steered Worcestershire to 113-4 off 51 overs by tea.

Two wickets in two overs after tea tipped the balance in Middlesex’s favour. Barnard (28) was pouched at first slip after driving at Roland-Jones and Gareth Roderick (0), who had scored centuries in his previous two knocks, was the victim of a sharp catch at short leg off Murtagh.

D’Oliveira continued to play in determined fashion but also produced some aggressive strokes and he collected two boundaries from handsome drives in a Murtagh over.

Matthew Waite, on loan from Yorkshire until he begins a three-year contract next summer, struck some useful blows before he inside edged a Higgins delivery onto the stumps. 

D’Oliveira’s resistance was finally ended by Ethan Bamber with Robson collecting another chance at second slip shortly before the premature close at 5.10pm.

Speaking at close of play, Middlesex seamer Toby Roland-Jones, who picked up three wickets to take his 2022 tally to 66, said: “It is always pleasing to pass a personal milestone (his most first class wickets in a season).”

He added: “We stuck to our processes pretty well. It can still get away from you when you are beating the edge and it is not quite going your way.

“We managed to hang in there and probably got our rewards by the end to get them eight wickets down.”

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