Malan puts Middlesex on top against Durham

Led by a composed 74 from Dawid Malan, Middlesex’s top seven all passed 25 on a fruitful first day against Durham at Chester-le-Street.

In his first appearance since the trauma of the final over for England at the World T20, Ben Stokes opened with a maiden and chipped in with two wickets, as did Graham Onions, to check Middlesex’s progress.

With the ball reluctant to swing in temperatures barely above freezing, it was no surprise that Middlesex opted for a toss in the hope of batting, a gamble that worked.

Though every batsman looked comfortable, at least three were complicit in their own downfall – the notable exception being Sam Robson, who having reached 26 was comprehensively bowled by Brydon Carse.

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Fellow opener Nick Gubbins who cut and pulled Carse for three successive fours in passing 50 off 67 balls, but added only 10 more before falling lbw.

Nick Compton departed for 38 – Durham’s only success of the afternoon – after dragging an attempted pull into his stumps, but Malan and skipper Adam Voges added 90 for the fourth wicket, taking the score to 267-3.

They were to both go in consecutive overs – Malan edged to wicket-keeper Michael Richardson while Voges, on 50, pushed forward to a good ball from Stokes and was caught by Scott Borthwick at second slip.

A stand of 71 in 18 overs followed between John Simpson (38) and Paul Stirling (41 not out), while James Harris was lbw in the final over as Durham took four wickets for 91 runs.