Middlesex pull off remarkable win over Yorkshire

Middlesex staged a remarkable performance with both bat and ball on the final day to inflict a rare defeat on champions Yorkshire and in the process go top of the Division One table.

Toby Roland-Jones and Tim Murtagh were pivotal to the stunning victory at Scarborough – scoring a torrent of runs in the first hour of the day and then taking six wickets between them as the hosts collapsed.

Yorkshire came within a few runs of making Middlesex bat again but Murtagh clinched it shortly after the final hour had begun, when he had Jack Brooks caught at slip.

There had been no sign of a positive result given that only 18 wickets had fallen in the first three days and Middlesex were still to finish their first innings at the start of Wednesday’s final day.

But Roland-Jones (79 not out) and Murtagh (47) plundered 107 runs in just 9.4 overs, with at one point 50 of those coming off 13 balls, including six sixes.

In desperation, Yorkshire skipper Andrew Gale turned to Adam Lyth’s off-spin and he brought the carnage to a close with two wickets in two balls, taking a low return catch to dismiss Murtagh and then having Steven Finn caught at cover.

Middlesex’s 577 was their highest against Yorkshire, beating the 573-8 declared at Lord’s last September when Roland-Jones scored his maiden century.

Yorkshire were 171 behind but would have been confident of batting out a draw when Lyth and Alex Lees put on 41 for the first wicket.

But when Lyth fell to Roland-Jones’ first ball, Yorkshire began on the slippery road to defeat with wickets going down at regular intervals.

Finn and Ollie Rayner both chipped in with two apiece and the chief resistance came from Tim Bresnan, but when he was skittled by a low one from Murtagh for 39, Yorkshire were 144-7 and fading fast.

When the end came, it was Yorkshire’s third Championship loss since the start of the 2014 season – and Middlesex have been the victors on each occasion.