Panthers suffer defeats in double header
Middlesex 180-5 (20 ov) lost to Essex 181-2 (18.5 ov) by eight wickets
Sussex 128 (19.4 ov) beat Middlesex 115-6 (20 ov) by 13 runs
Middlesex Panthers’ T20 Blast campaign got off to the worst possible start as they were beaten twice in the first ever Lord’s double header.
They lost to Essex Eagles by eight wickets in the first match, in spite of a century partnership between opener Dawid Malan (86 not out) and captain Eoin Morgan (77) that saw them post 180-5.
Ravi Patel took a couple of wickets but Mark Pettini smashed 14 fours and a six in an unbeaten 95 as Essex won with seven balls to spare.
Middlesex had looked on course for a victory when bowling Sussex Sharks out for just 128 in the second match.
But on a slow pitch, they were unable to cut loose and were always behind a manageable run-rate, coming up 14 runs short.
A busy but far from full Lord’s was treated to plenty of big hits and great catches as the T20 group stage saw back-to-back matches for the first time.
Malan and Morgan led the way for the Panthers against Essex with a stand of 118 in 75 balls, the skipper striking four maximums before he was caught for 77.
The out-of-form Joe Denly lasted just eight deliveries and new signing Dan Christian was out first ball but the defiant Malan helped Middlesex add 41 in the final five overs.
Essex made a sensational start by reaching 71-0 after the six powerplay overs, with Pettini hitting Toby Roland-Jones for four successive boundaries.
Patel removed England Test captain Alastair Cook and also accounted for Jesse Ryder as the run-rate began to slow up a little.
However, Ravi Bopara hammered a quickfire 45 not out, including 20 off the penultimate over, before Pettini secured the victory.
Panthers were unchanged for the Sussex match and, after electing to field, they made immediate inroads into the Sharks’ top order.
Christian bowled the dangerous Luke Wright in the first over and took a fine catch as Sussex reached 58-4 at the halfway mark.
Middlesex kept the squeeze on, with boundaries few and far between until a late burst, and Roland-Jones wrapped up a fine team bowling effort with two wickets in the final over.
In response, Malan and Morgan kept the scoreboard ticking over in a slow-paced game to reach 51-1 after 10 overs but never picked up the scoring in the face of tight bowling.
Morgan and Adam Rossington both fell in the 16th over and when Christian clubbed Yasir Arafat straight down the throat of Rory Hamilton-Brown, Panthers looked in trouble.
The Sussex bowlers restricted Middlesex to just seven boundaries in the entire 20 overs, and closed things out to win by 13 runs.
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