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

Lord's cricket ground - where Middlesex are playing Kent this week — Lord’s Cricket Ground – Photo by the blowup on Unsplash

Middlesex 229

Kent 186 & 40-2

Tim Murtagh dismissed England opener Zak Crawley for a golden duck and was on a hat-trick on a day of clattering wickets between Middlesex and Kent at Lord’s.

Murtagh, who turns 42 in August, making him the third oldest seamer in county cricket behind Gareth Berg and Michael Hogan, denied Crawley valuable batting time ahead of the first Ashes Test, causing him to fend a shortish ball into the hands of Stephen Eskinazi at slip. The former Ireland international then pinned Daniel Bell-Drummond with the very next ball, forcing Jack Leaning to come out and defend the hat-trick ball.

Murtagh’s spell ended at 2-9, before Leaning and Ben Compton nursed the visitors to 40-2, a deficit of just three when bad light ended play four overs early.

Earlier, combative all-rounder Ryan Higgins’ fourth half century of the season rescued Middlesex following another top-order collapse, his 71 out of a total of 229 granting the Seaxes a first-innings lead of 43 despite 4-60 from Wes Agar.

All this drama came after Kent were dismissed for 186 in the morning session, Compton top-scoring with 52 while Murtagh and Ethan Bamber claimed four wickets apiece.

Resuming on 113-6 not out batters Compton and Grant Stewart initially prospered against bowling which lacked the miserly quality of 24 hours previously.

Compton nicked one between slip and gully to reach an obdurate 50 from 165 balls and shortly afterwards four leg byes raised a precious 50 stand for the seventh wicket. However, Compton departed to the very next ball, an attempted pull shot out of keeping with the rest of his watchful vigil ending up in the gloves of wicketkeeper John Simpson.

While wickets fell at the other end Stewart went into all-out attack mode. The Kent man has history of such heroics against the Seaxes, his blistering career-best of 103 having come in Kent’s 342-run pink ball game thrashing of the men of Lord’s five years ago.

Stewart wouldn’t reach those heights, but he lofted one offering from Bamber into the Tavern Stand before smiting another blow over the short boundary on the leg side.

It took a catch in a million to see the back of him, Tom Helm somehow clinging on one-handed to a steepling, swirling top edge which found its way to fine third man.

Middlesex, perhaps buoyed by their successful final innings run chase against Nottinghamshire on Sunday, began with a flurry of boundaries, Mark Stoneman square driving and then cutting wide balls from Agar to the point fence in the first over. Sam Robson caught the mood, driving a trio of balls from Hogan through cover and mid-off.

It would though prove a false dawn as Stoneman fell to the first ball of Agar’s second over, cutting at one far to close to him for the shot.

Pieter Malan failed to build on his 61 in the Notts run chase, surviving two big lbw shouts before perishing to a leg-side strangle almost immediately after lunch.

It sparked the all-too familiar procession of Middlesex’s top order too and from the pavilion to a mixture of good balls and injudicious shot making, stand-in skipper Eskinazi and John Simpson in the former category, while Sam Robson was very much in the latter camp.

At 90-6 the hosts were up against it, but Higgins stood firm, driving the ball confidently and playing with a security which had eluded his teammates higher up the order. Again, not for the first time this season he found an ally in Luke Hollman, the leg-spinning all-rounder hitting cleanly in a stand of 75.

Once Hollman was bowled by Matthew Quinn, Higgins, who reached 50 in 93 balls with seven fours, began swinging for the hills, bludgeoning a six high into the Mound Stand and just clearing the rope with another blow off Agar. He perished attempting to repeat the feat, but Middlesex’s advantage looked useful.

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