| LV= County Championship Division One, Trent Bridge (day 4) |
| Middlesex 366: Higgins 137, Eskinazi 58, Yadav 56; Hutton 5-94 & 224-6 dec: Robson 105*, De Caires 49; Hutton 2-38 |
| Nottinghamshire 384: Slater 140, Clarke 70, Montgomery 52; De Caires 3-56 & 210-8: Slater 49; Robson 4-46 |
| Nottinghamshire (22 pts) beat Middlesex (6 pts) by two wickets |
| Match scorecard |
Middlesex’s determined bid for a dramatic final-day victory simply fell quick at Trent Bridge as they misplaced narrowly to Nottinghamshire by two wickets to be relegated again to Division Two of the County Championship.
After only one season again within the high flight, Middlesex knew they needed to higher rivals Kent’s factors complete from their ultimate recreation towards Lancashire to remain up.
Kent had been pressured to accept a draw with Lancashire, to present Middlesex an outdoor likelihood if they might power victory.
There have been tense scenes in Nottingham and Canterbury when Notts misplaced their eighth wicket with 5 runs nonetheless wanted, however they only about saved their heads to recover from the road and ship Middlesex down, whereas Kent survived.
There had appeared to be just one end result when Middlesex skipper Toby Roland-Jones set Notts a goal of simply 207 in a beneficiant 58 overs.
However on a dry, turning pitch on a superbly sunny final afternoon of the season, the Middlesex spinners made an actual struggle of it.
Frontline spinners Jayant Yadav (2-68) and Josh de Caires (1-24) had been upstaged, nonetheless, by former England opener and occasional leg-spinner Sam Robson, who adopted up his earlier century to complete with a career-best 4-46.
The guests gave the hosts an actual scare as they slipped to 157-7 earlier than Matt Montgomery (34 not out) held the tail collectively to tug Notts throughout the road.
Brett Hutton, who had earlier edging forward of Simon Harmer on 62 scalps to complete because the County Championship’s high wicket taker, weighed in with a quickfire 17, earlier than holing out trying to hit a second six.
However, fittingly, it was Notts quantity 10 Jake Ball – within the former England paceman’s ultimate look – who swept Robson for the profitable boundary, to maneuver his aspect one place up the desk to sixth.
Earlier, as Nottinghamshire set fields that allowed Middlesex to set the sport up, Robson hit a 109-ball unbeaten 105 – his third of the paltry complete of 4 red-ball tons of that his aspect have managed this season.
That is Middlesex’s third relegation since two-division cricket started in 2000, having additionally gone down in 2006 and 2017.
And, though they managed yet another win than Kent over the course of the season, they paid the value for some poor batting shows.
Their bowling assault plundered 39 bowling factors, simply two lower than champions Surrey who, together with Warwickshire, racked up a close to most 41 factors out of a attainable 42.
However Middlesex managed simply 5 batting factors in 14 video games, their solely different red-ball centurion in 2023 other than Robson having been Ryan Higgins within the first innings of this match.
Nottinghamshire skipper Steven Mullaney:
“I want to pay tribute to Middlesex for the way in which they performed. There have been no conversations about organising the sport. It was performed in the proper spirit. Integrity was actually essential. For them to exit this morning and get a 200-run lead and accept that was actually gutsy.
“Our considering with the fields we set was, even when they scored at six an over and batted for 30 or 40 overs it was solely going to be about 200 that we’d be chasing.
“It might have gone both method at sure factors. The pitch was taking spin and it was robust work. Robson bowled completely brilliantly, Yadav is a global participant and de Caires has had an honest season.
“For Jake Ball to hit the profitable runs, he was saying earlier he’d like whoever writes Stuart Broad’s scripts to put in writing just a few for him. It was so becoming it needs to be him that obtained us over the road in the long run. It was essential to finish the season with a win.”
Middlesex captain Toby Roland-Jones:
“We knew coming into this recreation that we needed to attempt to power a consequence and we had a reasonably clear image. We requested the fellows to present it every thing and to really imagine each consequence was attainable.
“We took it proper all the way down to the wire. I am undoubtedly pleased with the fellows. On different events in shut video games the place we have been outwrestled, we weren’t in a position to compete as now we have completed over 4 days right here.
“The frustration is that on a carrying wicket on the final day we had been in a great place however, basically as a gaggle over the course of a 14-game season now we have not discovered our true kind and located ourselves in a state of affairs with which you’ll’t actually argue.”
Middlesex head coach Richard Johnson:
“We had a determine in thoughts that we had been comfy defending and that would depart ourselves sufficient time to get 10 wickets. That labored out completely.
“Sam Robson anchored the innings superbly whereas everybody performed round him and that arrange the sport for our bowlers to place them as a lot underneath stress as they might. Once we had them seven down I felt there was an actual alternative however their guys dug in effectively.
“It has taken up till these final three or 4 video games to begin to carry out and put our greatest foot ahead. It has come too late however what it means is that we will begin subsequent season with positivity.”