Malan and bowlers put Middlesex on top
Close, day two: Northants 89-3 trail Middlesex 488-9 dec by 399 runs
Dawid Malan’s unbeaten 154 and three wickets late on day two helped Middlesex assert their dominance over Northamptonshire at Lord’s.
Malan’s masterful knock was his highest County Championship score and his first century in four-day cricket for almost two years.
John Simpson scored 67 and shared in a sixth-wicket stand of 128 with Malan as Middlesex were able to declare on 488-9.
Tim Murtagh, Toby Roland-Jones and Steven Finn all chipped in with a wicket apiece to leave Northants trailing by almost 400 runs at stumps.
Having made 280-3 on a rain-affected first day, Middlesex knew they needed to push on in the hope of declaring and only batting the once to force a result.
They lost Neil Dexter and Joe Denly in the first 40 minutes of the second day, leaving the hosts on 308-5, but Malan and Simpson remained strong up until lunch and took the score on to 364-5.
Shortly after the interval, Malan was able to celebrate his first Championship century since August 2012 and Simpson passed 50 as the pair took the game away from Northants with a century stand.
The wicket-keeper was trapped lbw by Matt Spriegel but Malan was given good support by Roland-Jones to put on a further 36 for the seventh wicket.
Malan, who scored a century on his Championship debut against Northants six years ago, passed his best score in the competition – 143 against Derbyshire in 2011 – as Middlesex declared.
Tea was taken with 42 overs left to bowl and Murtagh made the perfect start to the visitors’ reply when he had James Middlebrook caught behind in the third over.
Malan then took a catch at slip to remove captain Stephen Peters for 18 off Roland-Jones’ bowling before Finn made it Middlesex’s day by bowling Matt Spriegel.
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