The Middlesex Cricket D40 First XI faced Surrey on Sunday, knowing that avoiding defeat would see them secure second place in the D40 Quest table.
After being asked to bat first at William Perkin School, in humid overcast conditions, Middlesex got off to a quick start with 22 runs coming off the first over.
George Greenway was the first Middlesex batter to be dismissed, when he went in the fifth over – yet the score was already 55/1 with opener Maddox Colby seeing the ball nicely.
The Middlesex middle order struggled slightly against the Surrey bowling attack, and could only manage single figure scores. When Colby was dismissed for 40, Middlesex were 97/5 after 18 overs.
Farooq Mohammed then came in and steadied the innings impressively, as he made his way to an unbeaten 42 which included 4 fours. He was well supported by Moazzam Rashid, who made 22 with 3 fours and a six.
The innings closed with Mohammed and Haroon Rashid (14*) taking 50 runs from the final five overs to get Middlesex up to a competitive score of 197/7.
Mohammed (8-1-25-0) and Greenway took the new ball, and despite some threatening bowling they were unable to break through the Surrey openers’ resistance, with the visitors reaching 51/0 from 10 overs.
James Nordin (8-0-40-3) then brought himself on and claimed the wickets of both Surrey openers – the first caught behind by Elliot Brown, and the second caught by Matthew Jones. This left Surrey on 75/3 with two new batters at the crease, with Jones bowling the visitors number three.
Middlesex then started to take wickets at regular intervals, just as Surrey looked to build a decent partnership in the middle overs. Jones (8-0-21-2) bowled a brilliant spell, picking up his second wicket with an LBW, and Greenway (8-1-33-2) returned to the attack to claim two wickets for himself.
Ben Mason and Neil Magdani took one wicket each, to leave Surrey 153/7 with seven overs left.
Nordin took the ball for the final over, with Surrey needing nine for victory with two wickets in hand. After five from the first two balls, Nordin then took his third wicket to leave Surrey needing four from two balls.
The visitors scrambled through for two from the final ball to finish on 197/9, with the game ending as a thrilling tie. Both teams took 15 points from the fixture, meaning that Middlesex secure second place ahead of their opponents.
With the D40 Quest season coming to a close ahead of the Disability Premier League starting in September, all eyes turn to the final two games of the Super 9s’ season before the D40 Second XI’s National Play-off, after they won the D40 Pursuit South title.
