Jon Batham of ECB Reporters’ Network reports from Lord’s

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

Middlesex: 274

Nottinghamshire: 364 & 158-6

Stuart Broad warmed up for Ashes duty with a four-wicket haul as Nottinghamshire maintained the upper hand over hosts Middlesex on day three of their LV= Insurance Division One clash at Lord’s.

The 36-year-old with 576 Test wickets hopes to return to the home of cricket with England on June 28, and his 4-68 charging in from the Pavilion End was a more than decent dress-rehearsal.

Lyndon James weighed in with 3-58, but 76 from Mark Stoneman and 53 for Ryan Higgins, the all-rounder’s third half-century of the season, saved the follow-on and restricted Nottinghamshire’s lead to 90.

The visitors stretched that to 248 by the close thanks to Joe Clarke’s somewhat skittish 52 ended by the last ball of the day. They’ll hope tomorrow’s threatened rain stays away and allows them to push home their advantage on a pitch showing the first signs of wear and tear.

Nottinghamshire’s homework paid off as Broad, who’d struck with the final ball of day two didn’t take long to make the breakthrough. A leg-slip was deployed for Stephen Eskinazi, strangled down leg-side in the season opener with Essex a fortnight ago. The ploy brought almost immediate reward as Middlesex’s white-ball skipper flicked a short one to the posted fielder.

It set the theme for the morning as the visitors set traps and the home side’s batters obligingly fell into them. Max Holden, a man short of runs, drove Broad uppishly into the hands of an astutely placed short mid-wicket. Stoneman initially carried on his good work of day two, but some short pitch bowling from Brett Hutton forced the former England opener back onto his stumps before pinning him lbw trapped on the crease – not the first time this season he’s suffered that fate.

More clever planning saw the undoing of the usually obdurate John Simpson as Nott’s skipper Steven Mullaney employed a six-three leg-side field for James, who had relieved Hutton at the Nursery End, to ply the diminutive wicketkeeper with some short-pitched bowling. Again, the ploy worked as Simpson, caught between pulling and not, gloved one to fellow wicketkeeper Clarke.

At 171-6 the hosts still needed 44 to save the follow-on but Higgins, Middlesex’s most reliable source of runs so far in the campaign, found an ally in Luke Hollman and the pair reduced the tally required to 18 by lunch.

The half hour or so after the resumption was excruciatingly tense as the hosts traded in singles only for Broad’s toe-crushing Yorker to trap Hollman lbw with seven needed and they were still two shy when Martin Andersson slashed lazily into the hands of gully. Higgins though stood firm to push the two needed through cover to relieved applause from the home faithful.

That box ticked, the all-rounder, in his second spell with the tenants of Lord’s, set his sights on another half-century and raised it by pulling a short one from James to the square leg fence, but he barely had time to soak up the acclaim before dragging the next ball into his off and middle stumps.

Middlesex would though register their first batting point of the season thanks to some lusty blows from skipper Roland-Jones and resilient defence from last man Ethan Bamber.

Hopes we would be entertained for the rest of the afternoon by England opener Ben Duckett were quickly dashed, the first-innings centurion nicking Roland-Jones through to Simpson.

Haseeb Hameed and Matthew Montgomery both fell to the combination of Bamber and Simpson and had Roland-Jones clung on to Ben Slater’s loose drive wide to his left at mid-off the visitors would have been four down with a lead of 150.

Slater didn’t make the most of the reprieve, bowled by a beauty from Hollman which turned between bat and pad. Clarke’s half-century was also far from convincing but Nottinghamshire remain favourites on day four if the clouds stay away.

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