Close, day one: Middlesex 280-3 v Northamptonshire
Chris Rogers, debutant Nick Gubbins and Dawid Malan all scored half centuries to put Middlesex into a strong position at the end of a rain-affected first day at Lord’s.
Rogers (86) and Gubbins (54) put on an opening stand of 128 after Northants had charitably asked them to bat having won the toss.
Three times play was delayed by rain and after the third interruption, early in the evening session, Malan moved beyond 50 as he shared healthy partnerships with Eoin Morgan and Neil Dexter.
By stumps, Middlesex had reached 280-3 with Malan unbeaten on 72 and Dexter 19 not out.
After a break of two weeks for T20 action, Middlesex returned to the format in which they look the most comfortable, with their first County Championship match at Lord’s since mid-May.
After Northants won the toss, they surprisingly opted to put the hosts into bat, perhaps mindful of the weather forecast later in the day.
Middlesex gave Gubbins his debut, allowing Malan – who had been opening in the absence of new England cap Sam Robson – to drop back to number three.
The 20-year-old, who scored a century for Middlesex against Oxford University earlier this month, hit six fours and a six on his way to a well-deserved 50.
Rogers was the more attacking of the two, reaching his half-century first as Middlesex went in at lunch on 105-0.
Gubbins’ knock came to an end when he offered up a catch to mid-on before Malan helped add another 40 alongside the skipper.
Rogers was 14 runs short of yet another Middlesex ton when he was bowled by Steven Crook.
A very short interruption failed to break the concentration of the Middlesex batsmen as Malan and Morgan guided their team past 200 and were still there when rain forced an early tea.
Their partnership of 62 came to an end when Morgan was bowled by Andrew Hall for 27 but Malan, who hit 12 fours, remained steadfast and put on a further 50 with the watchful Dexter.
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This post was last modified on 30/06/2014