Middlesex suffer in the sun at Uxbridge

Close, day one: Warwickshire 269-2 v Middlesex

Varun Chopra punished two early dropped catches to post an unbeaten 141 as Middlesex endured a tough opening day in the field on their return to County Championship action.

The Warwickshire opener was put down twice in the slips having not scored a run – and those proved costly as he went on to share in two stands of 113 with Ian Westwood (65) and Laurie Evans (37).

On a sweltering day at Uxbridge, Toby Roland-Jones and Neil Dexter provided the only relief for Middlesex.

Roland-Jones, pictured, had Westwood caught by David Malan just after lunch to break the century opening partnership, while Dexter had the watchful Evans caught behind.

Although wickets were a rare sight, Warwickshire scored at just under three an over, largely thanks to the tight control of Dexter (1-11 off 8 overs) and fellow spinner Ravi Patel (0-49 from 29 overs).

After the early missed catches, Chopra and Westwood guided the Bears to 103-0 at lunch but Roland-Jones made the breakthrough shortly after the interval.

Just 68 runs were scored in the afternoon session but Middlesex weren’t able to convert that pressure into wickets and Chopra completed his century, off 235 balls, after tea as Warwickshire passed the 200 mark.

Dexter removed the stubborn Evans, with wicket-keeper John Simpson making the catch, ending an innings of 37 that lasted 123 balls.

Ateeq Javid kept Chopra company until the close, ensuring Warwickshire took a firm hold on the match going into Tuesday’s second day.

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