Ben Kosky of ECB Reporters’ Network reports from Lord’s

Lord’s Cricket Ground – Photo by the blowup on Unsplash

Ben Duckett maintained his early-season form with an undefeated century at Lord’s as Nottinghamshire reached 252 for five on the opening day of their LV= Insurance County Championship clash with Middlesex.

The England opener, who recorded scores of 51 and 75 in the first two matches of the summer, topped those performances with a diligent 119 not out before bad light brought play to a premature close.

Having survived an edge off Ethan Bamber when he had yet to score, Duckett capitalised by sharing an opening stand of 117 with Haseeb Hameed, who missed out on the chance of a third consecutive Championship ton at Lord’s.

Bamber, who eventually claimed the scalp of Hameed for 55, was the pick of the Middlesex bowlers with figures of two for 62.

Nottinghamshire exceeded 400 after being put in at Lord’s last year and they immediately began constructing a similar platform following Middlesex’s curious decision to offer them first use of favourable batting conditions in the morning.

It might have been a different story had Duckett’s edge off Bamber – when the left-hander had yet to open his account – gone to hand instead of sailing between wicketkeeper John Simpson and first slip.

Bamber also beat the bat a number of times, but Duckett and Hameed took full advantage of the short boundary on the grandstand side of the ground, bringing up Nottinghamshire’s 50 within the first hour.

Duckett also employed the paddle shot to good effect as the opening pair continued to make progress, although a tidy pre-lunch spell from Ryan Higgins at the Nursery End slowed the scoring rate.

Hameed was first to reach his half-century, albeit only by a single delivery – the next one, from Martin Andersson, was dispatched over the rope by Duckett to propel him beyond the same landmark.

Middlesex switched Bamber to the Pavilion End, a move that paid dividends just before the interval as Hameed, prodding outside off stump, was taken low by a diving Stephen Eskinazi in the slips.

The afternoon session yielded further wickets for the Seaxes, with Ben Slater run out after straying at the non-striker’s end as Toby Roland-Jones deflected Duckett’s drive onto the stumps.

Matthew Montgomery’s first appearance of the season was a brief one as Bamber had him caught behind and, when Joe Clarke slapped Roland-Jones straight to the cover fielder for a duck, Nottinghamshire seemed to be experiencing a wobble at 152 for four.

However, Lyndon James restored the innings to an even keel, punching Andersson off the back foot for two fours and also taking runs from Luke Hollman’s leg-spin while Duckett eased himself into an anchor role.

Despite becoming slightly bogged down in the 90s, the opener eventually turned Hollman around the corner for a single to register his hundred from 152 balls as he and James added 73 for the fifth wicket.

Having struck eight boundaries in his knock of 41, James was visibly frustrated to depart before tea, nibbling at an Andersson delivery to provide Simpson with his second catch of the day.

Only five overs were bowled in the evening session, with the floodlights already switched on by the time Nottinghamshire secured a batting bonus point and deteriorating overhead conditions forced the teams off soon afterwards.

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