Simpson ton drags Middlesex from mire
Close, day two: Yorkshire 253 & 29-1 lead Middlesex 232 by 50 runs
John Simpson’s second century of the season rescued Middlesex from a potentially embarrassing slump as they fought back strongly on a seesaw second day at Scarborough.
Tim Murtagh and Steven Finn cleaned up the Yorkshire tail between them as the hosts were bowled out for 253.
In reply, Middlesex were then reduced to 11-4 – but Simpson (110) and Dawid Malan (78) dragged their side out of trouble with a brilliant 168-run partnership.
Despite the appalling start, and Ryan Sidebottom’s seven-wicket haul, Middlesex only trailed by 21 when they were bowled out for 232.
Murtagh then had Yorkshire’s first-innings centurion Adam Lyth caught at slip to leave the match on a knife-edge going into day three.
Lyth’s dismissal was the 15th wicket of a dramatic day and further scalps early on Monday will give Middlesex hope of working their way back into the game.
Yorkshire resumed, after a slight delay for rain, on 211-6 and added 23 before Middlesex made the first breakthrough of the day, Adil Rashid falling to Finn shortly after the new ball was taken.
Murtagh took wickets in successive overs before Finn (4-81) finished things off by having one-time England colleague Tim Bresnan caught for 20.
Middlesex’s response started disastrously – and only got worse. Chris Rogers, Nick Gubbins and Eoin Morgan all fell without troubling the scorers and when Sidebottom, the 36-year-old former England left-armer, removed Paul Stirling for four, the visitors were reeling on 11-4.
Malan and Simpson steadied the ship with both reaching their half-centuries before the tea interval, when the scorecard looked a little more palatable at 122-4.
The pair put on a further 57 in the evening session before Malan edged Sidebottom to second slip.
Simpson completed his century but found support from the lower order hard to come by, with only Tom Helm (11 not out) making double figures.
Middlesex lost their final five wickets for 37 runs and Simpson’s brilliant innings – 110 from 155 deliveries, including 17 fours and a six – ended when he was run out. Sidebottom ended with figures of 7-44.
The late order collapse cost Middlesex a tilt at an unlikely lead but they got the breakthrough they needed early in Yorkshire’s second innings when Lyth, who plundered 117 on Saturday, made only nine.
Alex Lees and Kane Williamson kept themselves out of danger before the close, guiding the hosts to 29-1, a lead of 50.
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