Yorkshire end Middlesex’s unbeaten start

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Middlesex 212 & 229 lost to Yorkshire 229 & 215-6 by four wickets

Middlesex’s unbeaten start to the Championship season was ended by Yorkshire who kept their own run intact by squeaking home at Headingley.

Stand-in skipper James Franklin held the visitors’ second innings together with an unbeaten 55, the third best batting performance in a low-scoring match.

He added 47 with John Simpson to take Middlesex to 206-6, a lead of 189, but they could only muster a further 23 runs before being bowled out.

Chasing 213, Yorkshire lost Alex Lees for just 10 but England team-mates Adam Lyth and Gary Ballance put on 71 to frustrate the Middlesex attack.

Even after Ballance went for 29, the home side still looked comfortable at 129-2 – but two wickets in two overs shifted the momentum.

First, Ollie Rayner (pictured) had Lyth caught behind for 67 and Toby Roland-Jones then removed first-innings centurion Jonny Bairstow without scoring.

Andrew Gale (37) and Jack Leaning (25) edged Yorkshire closer to their target but after they had fallen, Middlesex had a slight chance at 189-6.

But the lower-order collapse they required never materialised and Glenn Maxwell’s quickfire 23 saw the champions home and deposed Middlesex from the top of the table.

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