Match Result – The Australians win by 101 runs
Middlesex fell short today at Lord’s despite a valiant effort from a young side against the Australians.
After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, The Australians began proceedings on the front foot. Short & Head batted aggressively from the off, scoring at around 10 an over until the partnership was broken by Tom Barber. He removed Short on 18; with Sowter taking possibly one of the best diving catches Lord’s has ever seen.
Marsh joined Head at the crease with the score at 31-1. However, the next partnership proved much more difficult to break, with the pair scoring at an assured tempo of 5 an over without giving away many chances.
The partnership went beyond 100 before the next wicket fell, with Marsh falling 1 short of his half century to the spin of Nathan Sowter.
This proved a catalyst for Middlesex, who then took Maxwell for just 3 off the bowling of Ravi Patel, with the score now on 150-3.
The bowlers kept the run rate down throughout, with Max Holden impressing in particular with an economy of 2.90 from his 10 overs.
The next flourish of wickets came after Head had reached an impressive century for the Australians, who eventually went for 106. Another 2 wickets fell in the final 4 overs, leaving the visitors on 283/6 from their 50 overs.
Tom Barber finished with figures of 3-62 as the pick of the bowlers, with Holden, Patel and Sowter taking one each.
Middlesex openers Max Holden and Nick Gubbins started off well, with both batsmen finding boundaries early on to set a good tempo for the home side.
The Australians, however, fought back hard. 3 quick wickets left the score at 60-3 after 12.4 overs, and Max Holden was joined at the crease by Hilton Cartwright, fresh off his quick fire 60* in the One-Day Cup.
The two calmed the storm, and Holden passed his 50 as the pair created a partnership which seemed to keep Middlesex in with a chance of chasing the Australians’ total down.
However, Cartwright eventually fell for 31, leaving the score at 121-4 at the halfway point in the innings.
It seemed like an uphill battle at this point, and it was made all the more challenging when Holden finally went having scored an impressive 71 from as many balls.
James Franklin resisted the Australian attack for a while too, scoring another 31 runs before Richardson claimed his 2nd of 4 wickets and the Australians’ 8th with the score at 172-8.
Steven Finn came to the crease on the front foot, finding early boundaries to provide entertainment for the crowd. However, the Australians were able to wrap up the win with 9 overs left, dismissing Patel & Barber for 0 to give them the victory by 101 runs at Lord’s.
Middlesex
Australia
