By Jon Batham for ECB Reporters’ Network supported by Rothesay
DAY ONE
Ben Aitchison’s first five-fer of the summer put Derbyshire in command before Middlesex’s own seamers hit back on day one of their County Championship clash at Lord’s.
The 26-year-old seamer exploited bowler-friendly conditions to the full to return 5-47 as the hosts, who collapsed from 66-1 to 89-6 either side of lunch, were hustled out for 177. Rory Haydon, in only his sixth first-class, game proved a great foil from the other end with 2-60.
Middlesex though fought back ball in hand, Ryan Higgins leading the way with 2-28 as Derbyshire struggled to 106-4 at stumps, 71 in arrears.
The other good news of the day for the hosts was England Lions call-ups for Ben Geddes and Naavya Sharma for the upcoming clashes with South Africa A.
Inserted under cloudy skies Middlesex weathered the initial assault with Sam Robson striking three early boundaries.
Geddes was Robson’s opening partner, having impressed in the role during the second innings of last week’s win over Lancashire. There, the former Surrey batter had scored at a run a ball but this was a different proposition with Aitchison in particular making his stay an uncomfortable one.
Nevertheless, the opening stand had reached 47 when, having survived this going over, Geddes tossed his wicket away, throwing his bat at a wide long hop from former Middlesex man Martin Andersson, getting the ball on the toe end and looping it to cover.
Max Holden played one good pull shot in his brief stay, only to be undone by an Aitchison delivery which deviated a fraction to beat the inside edge and trap him lbw.
Robson, had become stuck since his early flourish and he would depart eight balls later caught at slip, feeling for a widish ball from Haydon. If that served to make their lunch indigestible, their demise continued immediately upon the resumption, du Plooy trapped on the crease to the last ball of the afternoon’s opening over bowled by Aitchison.
Higgins then edged a beauty from Haydon through to wicketkeeper Brooke Guest and when youngster Caleb Falconer played all around a straight one from Aitchison, the hosts had slumped to 89-6.
For a while Zafar Gohar and Harry Duke stemmed the bleeding, rotating the strike to tick the score along, but patience with their pedestrian rate of progress ran thin, both departing in quick succession to catches behind from loose wafts.
Thereafter only a few big blows from overseas ace Eathan Bosch, including a huge straight six into the pavilion seats delayed Derbyshire for long, Aitchison completing his first five-wicket haul at Lord’s when Toby Roland Jones was bowled off the inside edge.
The visitors started positively in reply, Reece clipping Roland-Jones through midwicket for successive fours.
As so often this season it was Higgins who made the breakthrough, Harry Came nicking one through to Duke and it should have been two in two, Matthew Montgomery edging to slip, but skipper du Plooy grassed the chance.
Higgins soon clung on to another edge from Reece to give Bosch his first red-ball wicket for the county, while Montgomery didn’t make the most of his earlier reprieve, surviving one huge lbw shout from Sharma only to fall victim to another from Roland-Jones.
The hosts still weren’t done as Higgins clattered one into Caleb Jewell’s leg stump, leaving the two nightwatchmen, Aitchison and Nick Potts to nurse their side to the close.
Middlesex Men
Derbyshire Men
