Rogers and Robson seal Middlesex victory

Middlesex 439-9 dec & 112-0 beat Notts 326 & 224 by 10 wickets
(Middlesex 23pts, Notts 4pts)

Chris Rogers and Sam Robson blasted Middlesex to a convincing 10-wicket win at Lord’s, set up by Tim Murtagh’s impressive bowling.

The opening pair reached their target of 112 in just 18 overs, with Rogers hammering 63 off just 50 deliveries.

It had taken Middlesex just over an hour to wrap up the final five Nottinghamshire wickets.

Murtagh accounted for the dangerous Chris Read (44) and Riki Wessels (34), before Rogers’ half century helped Middlesex over the line.

Notts had been in trouble on Tuesday, effectively 7-5, but Read and Wessels put on 64 during the final session to drag them back into the match.

Middlesex knew they needed to break that partnership quickly and Murtagh duly obliged in the second over of the day as he had Read caught behind.

Wessels cracked a couple of boundaries before he spooned a catch to James Harris at mid-on, again off Murtagh.

The tail failed to wag as Notts added just 40 to their overnight score, setting Middlesex a small victory target.

Rogers and Robson began steadily, but once the skipper cut loose there looked only one winner.

Rogers scored 52 of his 63 runs in boundaries, including the four which clinched victory.

Robson, who made 163 in the first innings, chipped in with a more circumspect 41 as Middlesex earned their first win of the campaign.