MIDDLESEX V NOTTS – DAY 1
Nottinghamshire 315-8
Nottinghamshire won the toss and elected to bat
Finn lured England one-day star Michael Lumb into an imprudent hook shot in his first spell before getting Steven Mullaney caught at slip shortly before tea.
The 25-year-old later flattened Chris Read’s off-stump and had Wessells caught in the slips, while fellow quick James Harris also bagged four wickets on his best day yet in a Middlesex shirt .
However, with James Taylor (62), Mattheus Wessells (58) and Steven Mullaney (52) all chalking up half centuries on a drier than usual April wicket at Lord’s, the hosts, beaten by an innings by Sussex at hove last week are on the back foot once more heading into day two.
The day began badly for skipper Chris Rogers as he lost the toss under a virtually cloudless sky at the home of cricket.
Yet after all the players had been presented with commemorative medallions marking the start of MCC’s 200th year, Middlesex began well, bowling three maidens in a row.
Harris had already had a good caught behind shout turned down when Phil Jacques nicked one into the gloves of John Simpson to leave Notts 16-1.
Lumb began positively and had just driven Finn for a sumptuous straight four when he hooked a ball too quick for him and skied it to Sam Robson who clung on running back from square leg.
That was 42-2 and Taylor in his first knock of the County Championship season started nervously, struggling to find the middle of the bat in the face of a testing spell by Gareth Berg.
However, Harris’ second spell lacked the discipline of his first allowing Taylor some easy boundaries before lunch and he was in the groove after the resumption.
Looking to press his own England claims Taylor struck 13 4s in all, but harris had the last laugh, pinning him LBW for 62, though the 24-year-old right-hander would later claim he got an inside edge.
When Samit Patel edged to Simpson four balls later without scoring Notts were 131-4 and that became 164-5 when Finn induced an edge from the bat of the obdurate Mullaney just after he had completed his half century.
Again though the hosts failed to press home the advantage as Wessells and Read compiled a stand of 86 to swing the game Notts’ way once more.
Finn hit back in the best of styles by uprooting Read’s off-stump with a ball which beat him for pace – no better sight for a man battling back from his Ashes nightmare.
He got Wessells too for 58, taken at slip by the giant hands of Ollie Rayner, meaning Simpson’s miss of him off Berg 15 runs earlier was not too costly.
At 259-7 Middlesex scented an opening, but Aussie Peter Siddle slammed it shut with a quick-fire 40 and though Harris had him caught by Morgan before stumps the feeling seemed to be Notts were already beyond par.
A Middlesex batting line-up which crumbled badly twice at Hove will be under the microscope with plenty of work to do when play resumes at 11am.
