Malan and Morgan set Middlesex platform

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Close, day two: Middlesex 275-3 lead Lancashire 266 by 9 runs

Dawid Malan and Eoin Morgan put Middlesex in a strong position as they dominated day two at Lord’s.

After home skipper Chris Rogers had departed in the second over, Malan (92) and Sam Robson (51) hit a century stand either side of lunch but both were run out when well set.

Morgan (76 not out) was watchful early on before playing some fluent shots as he shared an unbroken partnership of 94 with Neil Dexter (44 not out).

They had just established a first innings lead when a deluge brought play to an early halt with 10 overs remaining.

Having bowled Lancashire out in the closing overs of day one, Middlesex had the luxury of a night’s rest before beginning their reply.

But they suffered an early blow when Rogers was caught behind down the leg side in the second over.

Tight bowling from Kyle Hogg and veteran skipper Glen Chapple kept Middlesex bogged down in the first hour, but once they went off, Robson and Malan stepped on the gas and took the score to 91-1 at lunch.

Robson passed 50 in the first over of the afternoon but not long afterwards he was heading back to the pavilion as Malan called him through for a quick single and the opener was run out by a direct hit from Luis Reece.

The wicket again stemmed the flow of runs, but once Morgan had played himself in, the boundaries returned.

Malan in particular looked in excellent form, hitting 17 fours on his way to his best County Championship score since making 95 against the same opponents in September 2012.

But, agonisingly close to his century, he was to suffer the same fate as Robson.

Morgan reverse swept spinner Simon Kerrigan for four to take the partnership to 73 but the next ball tried to snatch a quick single and Malan came up short of his ground.

Undeterred, Morgan continued to bat fluently, reaching his 50 from 76 balls just before tea, with Middlesex going in at 211-3.

Neil Dexter, who had taken six wickets on Sunday, provided solid support as the hosts moved past Lancashire’s total and survived a truncated evening session without losing a wicket.

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