Middlesex hopes hang in the balance

Close, day two: Lancashire 259-6 lead Middlesex 214 by 45 runs
Lancashire 5 pts, Middlesex 2 pts

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Toby Roland-Jones took three wickets but Middlesex were unable to secure their Division One status on day two of their relegation decider at Old Trafford.

Needing to prevent Lancashire from reaching 300 to guarantee safety, Middlesex looked on course when they reduced the home side to 160-5.

But Steven Croft’s 60, and useful contributions further down the order from Luke Proctor (37 not out) and Glen Chapple (21 not out), kept Lancashire’s hopes alive.

The future of both sides may be decided in the first 14 overs on Thursday.

If Middlesex take three more wickets before Lancashire reach 300, they will be safe. If not, they will have to avoid defeat to keep their place in the top flight.

After being bowled our for 214 on the first day, Middlesex knew they had to restrict Lancashire to under 300 and they got off o a good start when Tim Murtagh had Paul Horton lbw in the seventh over.

But a stand of 86 between Luis Reece and Ashwell Prince, which took Lancashire beyond lunch without further damage, frustrated the vistors’ attack.

Roland-Jones removed both within a few overs, with Reece edging to Dawid Malan at slip for 45 and Prince succumbing to mid-on for 48.

James Harris accounted for Karl Brown not long afterwards to leave Lancashire reeling on 118-4.

Croft and Jos Buttler put on another 42 but just as the England wicketkeeper got settled, he fell lbw to Ravi Patel.

It wasn’t the gateway to the tail that Middlesex were hoping for, as Proctor hung around with Croft in a patient stand of 61 in 26 overs that gave Lancashire renewed hope.

Roland-Jones finally dislodged Brown, caught behind, but Proctor and Chapple batted out the final 11 overs without major alarm to keep the fight to avoid the drop going into the penultimate day of the season.

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