Middlesex’s unbeaten run ended at Lord’s

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Yorkshire 390 & 7-0 beat Middlesex 175 & 219 by 10 wickets
(Middlesex 2 pts, Yorkshire 22 pts)

Middlesex crashed to their first County Championship defeat in 11 matches and their first at Lord’s in more than two years.

The hosts resumed with six wickets in hand and needed a strong batting performance on the final day to preserve their unbeaten start to the Championship season.

But they were bowled out just before lunch was due, with Adil Rashid completing a five-wicket haul.

Middlesex just about avoided an innings defeat but set Yorkshire just five to win, a target they reached from 22 balls to go top of Division One.

It caps a disappointing week for Middlesex, having failed to beat another title rival Sussex from a similar position last Saturday.

This time it was Middlesex’s turn to try and snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat, with hopes pinned on the unbroken stand between Dexter and John Simpson continuing long into the final day.

However, Simpson (21) fell in the fourth over having added just one to his score and Dexter (36) followed a few overs later as he was bowled by Ryan Sidebottom.

Ollie Rayner was trapped lbw by Liam Plunkett for an 11-ball duck to leave Middlesex on 167-7, still 48 runs short of making Yorkshire bat again.

The Tykes’ march to victory was held up by a solid stand between Gareth Berg and James Harris.

Berg, who scored a half century in the first innings, looked in good form again as he scored 38 from 52 balls, while Harris dug in at the other end to take Middlesex close to parity.

But two wickets in four balls swung the momentum back in Yorkshire’s favour. Harris’s 35-ball vigil was ended by Steven Patterson and Rashid got the crucial wicket of Berg.

The last pair of Tim Murtagh and Corey Collymore took Middlesex into the lead before the West Indian holed out to give the visitors the tiniest of targets for victory.

Lunch was delayed while Yorkshire took their time in wrapping up the win, but they did so without loss to inflict a rare defeat on Middlesex.

It is their first County Championship loss since Surrey beat them by seven runs last August, and their first at Lord’s since Glamorgan’s win in May 2011.

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