Middlesex tailenders frustrate Gloucestershire

Middlesex tailenders Sebastian Morgan and Toby Roland-Jones joined forces to frustrate Gloucestershire on the opening day of the Rothesay County Championship Second Division match at the Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol.

Roland-Jones chiseled 44 not out from 98 balls and staged a stubborn ninth-wicket partnership of 74 with Morgan, who contributed 38 and struck seven boundaries as the visitors recovered from 222 for 8 to post a handy 324 for 9 after winning the toss.

All but one of the Middlesex batters made it into double figures, but none managed a half-century, Caleb Falconer top-scoring with 49, his highest first class tally in his fifth appearance.

Seamers James Langridge and Matt Taylor took two wickets apiece and slow left-armer Sai Kishore weighed in with 2 for 54 from 26 overs on a used pitch which is expected to offer increased assistance to spin as the game goes on.

Having elected to bat, Middlesex lost both openers with the score on 15. On loan from Somerset, Langridge bowled Luke Hollman via a thickish inside edge, while left arm seamer Taylor, bowling around the wicket to the right hander, got one to straighten and knock back Sam Robson's off stump.

Gloucestershire's bowlers were on top and Langridge should have collected another wicket in the seventh, Max Holden edging to third slip where Miles Hammond uncharacteristically fumbled. Pinned in front of the stumps by the next delivery, Ben Geddes was hugely relieved to hear a no-ball called. They might have enjoyed outrageous good fortune, but the third-wicket pair made good their escape, rebuilding steadily in a restorative third-wicket partnership of 66 in 17 overs.

Called into the attack inside the first hour, Kishore lured Holden forward, located his outside edge and celebrated as Ollie Price stooped to conquer at slip.

Acting as captain in the absence of Leus du Plooy, Holden had scored 41 from 71 balls and struck seven boundaries, helping Middlesex reach lunch on 91 for 3. Geddes and new batter Falconer added 49 for the fourth wicket and advanced the score to 130 before their serene progress was interrupted by a Kishore wicket maiden. Playing back to a ball that straightened, Geddes was bowled for 38 to set the tone for a session in which the visitors lost five wickets for 92 runs.

Benefiting from a positive approach, Falconer rose to the challenge posed by Kishore, dancing down the pitch and crashing the Indian international high over the long-on boundary. The England Lions batter was one run shy of a maiden first-class fifty when Daz Ahmed found his outside edge and Ed Middleton pouched a fine reaction catch at first slip. Ryan Higgins then attempted to drive at a wide delivery from Taylor and nicked off to Ollie Price at second slip as Middlesex slipped to 180 for 6.

Harry Duke and Zafar Gohar mustered dogged defiance in a stand of 42 for the seventh wicket and the game was evenly poised when the visitors suffered a double lapse shortly before tea. Running the ball down to backward point and setting off in pursuit of a notional single, Duke was run out for 30 by Ahmed's throw. When Zafar contrived to surrender his wicket in identical fashion and fell to Taylor's throw in the next over, Middlesex were 222 for 8 and under pressure going into the final session.

Determined to keep the home side in the field for as long as possible, Roland-Jones and Morgan offered stiff resistance. Having safely negotiated the spinners, they then survived five overs against the new ball before Langridge bowled Morgan with the score 296 for 9. Thereafter, Roland-Jones and debutant Danny Ferns (12 not out) survived long enough to bank a second batting bonus point and ensure Middlesex finished the happier of the two sides.