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With suggestions that his international career was at the cross roads, Phillip Hughes made arguably his most important century to anchor the Blues on day one of this decider

The Bulletin by Alex Malcolm17-Mar-2011
ScorecardPhillip Hughes celebrates another century in a Shield final•Getty ImagesFour years ago in the 2007-08 Sheffield Shield final, Phillip Hughes announced himself as a future Test player with his first Shield hundred to help New South Wales to victory. Four years on, with suggestions that his international career was at the cross roads, Hughes made arguably his most important century to anchor the Blues on day one of this decider.It wasn’t the same Hughes that we’ve come to know and expect. It was a new and improved version. A mature batsman who has shelved his dashing, flashing, style for a recalibrated technique that allowed him to survive 278 balls, and compile a classy 138 on a fresh first day pitch in Hobart.Tasmania fans might look at the scorecard and wonder why George Bailey decided to bowl when the coin fell his way. But the Blues captain Simon Katich admitted he would have done the same on a surface that had a lot of live green grass. Add to that the fact that the average first innings total in Hobart this year has been just 172, and that the side fielding first in all five matches at Bellerive this year has won, it was no surprise Bailey elected to bowl.But the surface was harder than expected. Although it did plenty off the seam early, anything overpitched was driven without fear. Hughes and a rejuvenated David Warner set up the day with a wonderful opening stand. They put on 88 in the first 74 minutes. They played the lines and were unperturbed at being beaten on a consistent basis. But anything overpitched was punished. Warner was particularly savage on Ben Hilfenhaus, his first seven overs cost 40.Warner looked set for another big score before Xavier Doherty was introduced. Doherty didn’t produce consistent spin. But he spun two balls sharply and both claimed wickets. He enticed Warner to drive on 47 and ripped it back to through gate to rattle leg stump. Doherty then forced a defensive prod from Usman Khawaja, yielding an inside edge which was claimed by Ed Cowan’s quick reflexes at short leg.When James Faulkner trapped Phil Jaques in front just on lunch Tasmania looked to have reclaimed the ascendency. But the middle session belonged to Hughes. He had looked impressive but vulnerable at different times in the morning. He was 55 at lunch having been reprieved by the normally reliable Bailey on 48. But in the afternoon Hughes showed how far his game had come. He looked impenetrable. His movements were simple; his bat looked as wide as the Derwent. His previously unusual back foot movement to leg was now going to off. He covered off stump in defence. He drove magnificently straight when given the chance. He also cut responsibly and sensibly when offered width and struck one powerful slog sweep off Doherty for six.He combined beautifully with his captain and, at times, Test opening partner who was unusually batting at No. 5. Katich was dogged prior to tea while Hughes flourished. After tea Katich scored prolifically while Hughes dropped anchor. It was typical Katich. Anything short and wide was punished and anything straight picked off. Their partnership of 185 looked to set the game up before Tasmania took the new ball and showed the wicket still had plenty to offer for the bowlers. Katich was trapped four shy of a century by James Faulkner. His 96 had taken him to fourth all-time for total runs scored in Shield Finals. Hughes fell to a beauty from Luke Butterworth who bowled better than his one wicket suggested. Butterworth consistently beat the bat all day but Hughes’ was the only edge that went to hand.The Blues sent in nightwatchman Scott Coyte with Katich falling in the 87th over. But the man they were protecting, Ben Rohrer, batted anyway with Hughes departure. New South Wales will look to post 400 plus with Peter Nevill and Steve O’Keefe still to come. It will be a good platform for the away side that need to win to claim their 46th Shield. A draw will be good enough for Tasmania.

Anyone who witnessed that execrable contest at the SSC last week will agree that Test cricket is at its best when bowlers are backed by conditions that act as bait, and batsmen are forced to battle like salmon on the end of a hook

Andrew Miller at Edgbaston06-Aug-2010Anyone who witnessed that execrable contest at the SSC last week will agree that Test cricket is at its best when bowlers are backed by conditions that act as bait, and batsmen are forced to battle like salmon on the end of a hook. What took place on the first day at Edgbaston, however, was more akin to lobbing a stick of dynamite into a reservoir. It took a measure of skill for England’s bowlers to land their projectiles in the right area, but as soon as they’d done so, the struggle was as good as over.Twice in five days Pakistan have set new record lows for Test innings against England, having themselves triggered the current trend for double-figure dismissals by detonating Australia’s batting for 88 at Headingley. The thrill of that contest, however, came in the manner in which the Aussies battled back for the remainder of the match, clawing at every half-chance going to end up a tantalising three wickets adrift. Pakistan, however, have already squandered five chances of varying degrees of difficulty in 34.2 overs of England’s first innings. The prospect of a fightback is as insubstantial as Zulqarnain Haider’s current Test average.Five Tests have been completed in England this summer – and only one of them has so far been taken to five days. Incredibly, given that teams with the reputation of Australia and Pakistan have been in town, it is the ever-lampooned Bangladeshis who have put up the fiercest fight, with Tamim Iqbal’s outrageously gung-ho century at Lord’s provoking his team-mates into the sort of resistance that this series is now crying out for. Ironically, Pakistan set their stalls for survival in this contest with Azhar Ali and Imran Farhat recording two of the slowest ducks of all time, but the team simply lacked the class to translate their resistance into progress.Mohammad Yousuf may yet be the man to inject Pakistan with some much-needed knowhow – his career average against England is 70, just two runs shy of his team-mates’ grand total in this first innings. But as Tamim went on to demonstrate in a one-man show in Bangladesh’s second Test at Old Trafford, a personal tour de force is irrelevant if your colleagues don’t have the technique or temperament to survive.Pakistan have been here before of course. In Sharjah back in 2002-03, they played the first of their now-habitual neutral series against Australia, and crumbled to twin scores of 59 and 53 in an ignominious second Test at Sharjah. Then as now, the feebleness of their batting disguised the enduring excellence of their seemingly unending production-line of fast bowling, with the finest spell of Shoaib Akhtar’s career going unrewarded in the first Test in Colombo. Now as then, we must hope they will come again, just as they did to everyone’s astonishment at Headingley last month. But the facts of the present make hugely unpalatable reading all the same.”We’ve been doing this all our lives and we have to clean up our own mess,” said a crestfallen captain, Salman Butt, who fronted up with the same sense of duty that he has shown throughout his brief tenure as captain, but whose authority is being eroded by the day – with Yousuf’s formidable presence cramping him on the one hand, and his own series tally of 16 runs in three innings undermining him on the other. His decision to bat first in grim grey conditions was not his finest, either, even if, as an opening batsman, it did demonstrate an admirable willingness to lead his team from the front.”It’s been like this since we’ve come here, we haven’t had one day with sunshine,” he added. “This pitch will not change. Given these conditions the ball will keep on swinging, so the idea was to put some runs on the board and let the other side get them. It was a positive move, but it didn’t happen for us. But they still bowled brilliantly, back-to-back performances require great efforts and that’s what they did.”For England, it was simply business as usual, not least for Stuart Broad, who played here a fortnight ago for Nottinghamshire and picked up career-best figures of 8 for 52, before extending that recent ground record to a remarkable 12 for 90. “It was slow and hard to drive on, so if you created pressure it meant they had to play shots at balls that weren’t there,” he said. “They had a 24-ball nought and a 32-ball nought, so that tells you it was quite hard to score on, but also a testament to how we bowled and the disciplines we stuck to.”England, in fairness, were excellent insofar as they needed to be. Half-trackers were non-existent as the three seamers stuck to their Trent Bridge gameplan of containment for containment’s sake, and a sixth consecutive Test victory is surely now an inevitability. “We’re putting huge amounts of pressure on the Pakistan batting line-up,” said Broad. “We’re bowling fantastically well, and we’ve had slightly cloudy conditions which have suited us. We’ve not given them a sniff.”But for the good of Test cricket, and even for England’s own long-term benefit, a bit more resistance from Pakistan would not go amiss. While stalemates of the SSC variety are the greatest menace to the game, a fundamental lack of competitivity runs a close second. Bangladesh have been accused of cheapening Test cricket for years, but at least in the last few seasons they have learned the necessary application to take a game the full distance. Pakistan on the other hand, like West Indies, seem worryingly intent on unlearning those same disciplines, and given the mighty heritage of that pair in particular, it is a distinctly unnerving development.If Edgbaston’s half-built and half-full ground had similar foundations to the Pakistan team, then outright demolition would be the only viable option. Broad, however, scoffed at the notion that life was getting too cushy for him and his team. “As the opposition I don’t have any sympathy,” he said. “English fans are very supportive of their teams, so I hope people wouldn’t lose interest because we are dominating.”I’m sure an Australian public wouldn’t lose interest when their team was winning comprehensively in the 1990s,” he added. “But it’s important that we continue to play exciting cricket. The Trent Bridge Test was a great Test to watch. If you batted well there were runs to be scored, but if you bowled in the final third you were in with a chance. The feedback I’ve got from friends and family is that it’s been a good series to watch, and long may that continue.”It has certainly been compelling viewing so far, but the narrative could do with another twist sometime soon.

The manner and nature of Pakistan’s squad selection for this summer’s tour to England has come under fire from members of the selection committee itself, who claimed they weren’t consulted over the composition

Cricinfo staff21-Jun-2010The manner and nature of Pakistan’s squad selection for this summer’s tour to England has come under fire from members of the selection committee itself, who are unhappy with the Twenty20 and Test squad, claiming they weren’t consulted over the composition.The squads were announced on Sunday by the board after a meeting between chairman of selectors Mohsin Khan, coach Waqar Younis, manager Yawar Saeed and captain Shahid Afridi in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, where the Asia Cup is underway. Cricinfo understands that the remaining selectors in Pakistan were not involved or consulted at all in the choices.A couple of key inclusions in particular – the recall of Yasir Hameed and Wahab Riaz and the overlooking of Younis Khan and Mohammad Sami – seem to have irked the selectors who are thought to have been against the decisions had they been consulted. The snub from the chief selector has led at least one of the selectors to ponder handing in his resignation.One of the selectors claims he wasn’t contacted until just before the announcement was made and that too only to be asked about the statistics of a player under consideration. The chief selector, it is claimed, wasn’t prepared enough in the first place to make the selections. Mohsin, still in Sri Lanka, has not spoken to the media yet about the squad.The squads’ composition has also been criticised for lacking experience, particularly in the batting; the overlooking of Younis is a case in point. Banned indefinitely in the aftermath of the Australia tour, Younis was one of several players whose punishments were subsequently overturned on appeal.But over the last couple of weeks the sense has emerged that the board will not let him back in unless he apologises for what they deem to be his mistakes, as the other returnees have done. Ijaz Butt, chairman of the board, said last week that Younis’s return would require clearance from the board, an issue that wasn’t deemed to be an issue at all with Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi and the Akmal brothers.”I feel Younis has been victimised,” Iqbal Qasim, the former chief selector who resigned from the post in February after the Australia tour, said. “He fought his case and was outspoken against the treatment and was dropped.”The absence of Younis and Mohammad Yousuf – who retired from international cricket in protest at his indefinite ban – from the 17-man Test squad robs an already fragile batting side of their two most experienced and successful Test batsman. The pair have scored nearly 30% of Pakistan’s Test runs since October 2004 and almost half their Test hundreds.Even with the pair Pakistan have crossed 300 in a Test innings only 11 times in their last 30 attempts. Now the most experienced batsman in the middle order in their absence is Malik, who has played 29 Tests without fully cementing his spot in the side and is not a certain Test starter in any case. Imran Farhat, with 33 Tests, is the most experienced specialist batsman in the squad.Javed Miandad, director general and regular critic of the board, was also left asking questions about the selection and the manner of it. “An England tour is always a difficult one and we’re playing good teams,” he told . “The conditions are such that you need experience because even they will be troubled, so new, inexperienced players also struggle. In the middle order there is no one to play a Test match innings. One or two experienced guys were necessary for the balance of the side, but apparently even the selectors here didn’t know about the team.”Miandad said he would brief the patron of the PCB, President Asif Ali Zardari, on the matter. “The president is a cricket lover, he encouraged me to take up the job in the PCB for the betterment of the game,” he said. “He must know what’s wrong in the PCB.”Former captain Rashid Latif said that, along with Younis, Sami, Faisal Iqbal and Khurram Manzoor also deserved a place in the squad. “I respect the selection but four players – Younis, Sami, Iqbal and Manzoor – deserved places in the team,” said Latif.

A lot of the talk around north London this week has been surrounding Tanguy Ndombele’s future at Tottenham Hotspur and just days away from the derby, there is all sorts coming out behind the scenes.

Indeed, the Frenchman has been subject to controversy once again, with reports suggesting that the club are trying to move him on before Deadline Day on January 31st.

He was booed off during their FA Cup third-round victory over Morecambe on Sunday afternoon. He went straight down the tunnel after being substituted in the second half and the more raucous the crowd’s reaction was, the slower he trudged off.

A shocking sign from your club-record signing when the team was 1-0 down at the time. It’s hard to imagine any way back for him now. But we’ve been here before under both Jose Mourinho and Nuno Santo.

In fact, some reports suggest that he isn’t even unhappy at the club and it will be hard enough to find an exit strategy for him when he’s rolling in £200k-per-week.

It wouldn’t be the end of the world if he did stay as he’s certainly been better than his fellow club-record arrival, Giovani Lo Celso, who in his absence delivered another shocking display during their Carabao Cup semi-final exit earlier in the week.

The Argentine playmaker, who also cost Spurs around £55m from Real Betis in August 2019, has shown an inability to beat the first man with his set-pieces – leading to a parody account being made on social media about his mistakes – whilst he has very rarely contributed in front of goal.

As per Transfermarkt, the 25-year-old midfielder has provided only eight goals and six assists across 83 appearances, nearly lower than the total number of yellow cards he’s received (13). That is a direct goal contribution of once every six matches (or once every 327 minutes).

Ndombele by comparison is clear as an attacking option. He has managed a goal or assist once every 4.7 games (or once every 271 minutes), also via Transfermarkt.

As you can see by those figures alone, the disgraced Frenchman is way, way clear of his fellow expensive flop.

Lo Celso does earn less on around £70k-per-week but that doesn’t excuse the fact that he has been absolutely stealing a living from the club, more so than Ndombele.

Now valued at just €30m (£25m) by CIES Football Observatory, perhaps it is the Argentina international who needs to be axed this month. After two-and-a-half years at the club, he is yet to show much promise at all and his stats being worse than Ndombele’s is certainly alarming.

Once dubbed “phenomenal” by Mourinho, Lo Celso’s time at Spurs must be waring thin after another disappointing outing.

AND in other news, Forget Gollini: £74k-p/w Spurs calamity who had only 21 touches failed Conte yet again…

The ICC has reacted strongly to FICA chief Tim May’s comments about players not approaching its Anti Corruption and Security Unit [ACSU] because they have no faith in it.

Nagraj Gollapudi12-Nov-2010The ICC has reacted strongly to FICA chief Tim May’s comments about players not approaching its Anti Corruption and Security Unit [ACSU] because they have no faith in it. Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, said he was extremely annoyed by May’s remarks and even called them “irresponsible”. Lorgat said he would have normally preferred not to react but what had fuelled his ire was May’s point that the ICC leaked details to the media in the past of the players who approached its watchdog. That only led to players becoming more insecure, May said.”He said that the players have no confidence in approaching the ACSU. I felt quite strange that Tim May [was] making such comments,” Lorgat told ESPNcricinfo. He said he was trying hard to understand the FICA chief’s reasoning. “He either made that out of ignorance or I hope he is not being irresponsible. Those comments are certainly not justified in my view.”In an interview to BBC World Service on Thursday, May had praised former Pakistan wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider’s defection to the United Kingdom after receiving threats from unnamed people during the ODI series against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates. In London, Haider subsequently revealed to the media the reasons behind his escape. He even had a few suggestions for the ACSU including “tapping” the players’ phones to discourage the bookies.May said Haider had made an unprecedented and brave move. “If what he [Haider] says is true, what he’s done is not cowardly, it has taken a significant amount of courage, because no one has ever done that before,” May said. But May, a former Australian off spinner, said there were not many players like the Pakistani. “Some players have concerns about reporting [corruption]. They fear the confidential nature of them reporting it will be breached,” May said.According to May the players’ biggest concern was they feared the details they shared with the ACSU would be made public without their knowledge. “In the past, players have gone to the anti-corruption unit and somewhere details of their talks with the anti-corruption has reached the media. Whether those leaks have come from the ICC or whatever, it still gives the players the question over whether they can trust the ICC’s anti-corruption unit.”Lorgat was critical of May’s opinion and disagreed. “In fact we have got numerous players who have come forward and told us they were willing to talk,” he said, while stressing that neither the ICC nor the ACSU had ever gone public whenever a player revealed any kind of approach. “We have never done that,” he said.Lorgat also picked up on one of the May’s comments in the BBC interview, in which he stated that FICA had made a couple of suggestions to the ACSU recently which would encourage players to come forth with more information whenever any approach was made. “We have put forward a couple of options to the ICC in a meeting we had with anti-corruption unit in October for a change in the reporting system,” May said, and added that he was still waiting for a positive reply.Lorgat said May had only exposed his own hand here. “That is a classical example that he going to talk to media. The ACSU or ICC did not go to the media. In the past a few players made their own declarations about talking or speaking to the ACSU. We have made never made any disclosure about which player came and spoke to us. We don’t say who has come because we protect their identities.”

Everton manager Frank Lampard must unleash defender Jarrad Branthwaite against Leicester City tomorrow to help solve their issues at the back.

On the chalkboard

The Toffees have been woeful defensively throughout the season and it has resulted in a battle for survival. Whilst they can’t improve their back-four through signing anyone until the summer, they can make better use of what they already have.

Branthwaite moved to Goodison Park in 2020 from Carlisle United for £990k and has since been tipped as another bargain young signing for Everton.

He is only 19-years old so has many years ahead of him, but he should be used by Lampard now and could be the answer to their problems.

Former Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti described him as “confident” and said that “he never loses control”. Praise like that from one of the world’s elite manager has surely got to mean something.

If it doesn’t to the Toffees then it will to other clubs with a recent report in the Daily Mirror linking the £7.2m rated man to Manchester United.

The Toffees are 5th when it comes to goals conceded this season and it has been the main problem as to why they could be relegated. Branthwaite is better than Everton’s current partnership of Ben Godfrey and Michael Keane in many defensive areas.

He has the second highest successful press percentage amongst the squad this season and the highest of any defender at 48.1%. Winning possession of the ball back can be key to ensuring Everton concede less.

The Englishman has also won far more of his aerial duals than his fellow defenders at 71.4% which again ranks the highest amongst those in his position.

We have only seen glimpses of Branthwaite this season as he has suffered from injuries, but it may also be down to the fact that Lampard wants to trust more experienced players in a serious relegation battle.

However, the little we have seen of the 19-year old has been enough to say that he deserves a chance and should start against Leicester.

In a defence as leaky as Everton’s, it’s hard to see why he has only been given four appearances. Trying something different may give them the best chance at surviving.

IN other news: Everton could repeat Pickford masterclass as exciting behind-the-scenes news emerges – opinion

Leeds United are actively pursuing deals, according to LeedsLive journalist Beren Cross…

What’s the word?

“Leeds will certainly be pursuing targets. As you say, [Victor] Orta has his shortlists and he will ensure he is on top of each of their situations to swoop if or when an opportunity arises,” the reliable reporter responded to one supporter during a recent online Q&A.

“There may be little concrete out there right now because the targets they have identified are not available as yet. There is nothing to report if the moves are not in motion.

“Leeds are open for business in this window, but there is such a small pool of players who will be available at the right price, with the right quality and amount of 21/22 minutes to make it all worthwhile.”

Expect business?

It is no secret that the Whites need to bolster Marcelo Bielsa’s playing squad this month as the Yorkshire giants have seriously struggled with injuries and inconsistencies throughout the 2021/22 campaign.

Over the festive period, the Argentine was missing as many as 11 players, including nine first-team stars, in key areas, too. Last season’s top goalscorer Patrick Bamford has been missing for large parts without any true centre-forward backup, whilst many of Bielsa’s centre-backs have been injured too.

The squad is also in need of midfield reinforcements but traditionally, Leeds under Bielsa and Orta have never spent during the winter, so that trend must change if they are to resolve the aforementioned situation.

Leeds’ recent win over Burnley moved them eight points clear of the relegation zone – a sign of encouragement after such a poor start to the season, though things could quickly change with another downturn in form.

The fact that Cross has suggested that Orta and co are looking to complete deals is certainly exciting and would suggest that things will be very different this time around. Fans will no doubt be delighted as a result.

AND in other news, Bielsa must brutally axe £55k-p/w Leeds liability who’s “like a kid in the playground”…

Rain limited the final day’s play to just 4.4 overs as South Africans drew their two-day encounter with Trinidad & Tobago in St Augustine

Cricinfo staff08-Jun-2010
ScorecardRain limited the final day’s play to just 4.4 overs and the South Africans drew their two-day encounter with Trinidad & Tobago in St Augustine. During the little play that was possible, Dale Steyn got Lendl Simmons to edge behind. Earlier the visitors declared their first innings closed at the overnight score of 347 for 7.South Africa’s batsmen had cashed in on the first day, before bad weather intervened, with four batsmen scoring half-centuries. Alviro Petersen pushed forth his credentials as opener with 65, before AB de Villiers continued his fine run of form with 53 before retiring out. JP Duminy and Mark Boucher were the other half-centurions, with the latter finding touch as he prepared to take wicketkeeping duties from de Villiers, who wore the big gloves in the limited-overs leg of the tour.

Having entered the winter break in eighth place in the Premier League table with 34 points on the board from 21 games, Wolves are in a comfortable place to push on with their campaign and aim to secure a European place by the end of the season.

In addition to that, it seems as though the Old Gold could be set to see the return of one of their barely seen players from injury in the coming weeks.

What’s the latest?

On the subject of what the current situation is with defender Willy Boly in regards to his recovery from injuries that have kept him sidelined for the past few weeks, Lage had this to say on the matter.

He said: “He’s started training outside, not with the team, with his physio. Good news.”

Wolves originally signed Boly back in the 2017 summer transfer window from FC Porto on loan before securing him on a permanent basis a year later.

Overall, the 30-year-old has gone on to make a total of 137 appearances in a Wolves shirt across all competitions, scoring nine goals and providing four assists along the way, which is a decent return for a defender.

Fans will be delighted

While a full return to action may not be on the cards for the Ivory Coast international just yet, it’s good to hear that he has taken a step towards making a full recovery, something that surely delight a lot of fans in the process.

Even though the trio of Conor Coady, Romain Saiss and Max Kilman have been three of the top five outfield Wolves players in terms of minutes played this season in the Premier League, and have done pretty well as a defensive unit with Lage’s side conceding just 16 league goals this season, it would be a massive boost for them to have Boly back as a viable option at the back in case any of the other defenders get injured.

After all, he is still vitally important. Last term, for instance, in a three-month injury layoff Wolves played 15 league matches and kept just one clean sheet. Once Boly returned, they didn’t concede over the next 283 minutes of league action.

Moving forward, if the defender can recover as quickly as possible and keep his fitness up for the remainder of the season, he could put a turbulent first half to his latest campaign with Wolves behind him and potentially help his side secure European football again.

In other news: Alex Dicken delivers crushing Wolves transfer claim, Shi is making a huge mistake – opinion

Stephen Peters fell one run short of what would have been the firstdouble-century of his career after batting for just over nine hours to putNorthamptonshire in a commanding position against Middlesex at Lord’s

06-Jun-2010
ScorecardStephen Peters fell one run short of what would have been the firstdouble-century of his career after batting for just over nine hours to putNorthamptonshire in a commanding position against Middlesex at Lord’s.He had faced 391 balls and hit 20 fours in the County Championship DivisionTwo match when he chipped a return catch to Shaun Udal, sprawling to his right. Peters looked crestfallen but he had done a great job for his side in sharing stands of 182 with Alex Wakely, 70 with Nicky Boje and 144 with his captain Andrew Hall.Hall went on to make 133 off 192 balls with 17 fours and when he declared at581 for 7, Northamptonshire’s highest score against Middlesex, they were 234ahead. Middlesex closed on 48 for the loss of Scott Newman.Northamptonshire had resumed at 280 for 4 in reply to Middlesex’s first innings347 and Peters and Boje added 50 in 14 overs before Boje pulled Pedro Collinsstraight to square leg. Peters, 115 overnight, was never in trouble as he went past his previoushighest score of 183 not out – scored in leading Northamptonshire to asix-wicket victory over Middlesex at Northampton in April – but he becameincreasingly tentative as he neared his milestone.In the end he could not get there but he had still made the highest score by aNorthamptonshire batsman against Middlesex and given Hall the perfect platformto build his first century of the season.David Murphy, a wicketkeeper-batsman from Loughborough University who isdeputising for the injured Niall O’Brien, joined him in a seventh-wicket standof 107. Murphy made an unbeaten 50, his highest score in the championship, off 87 ballsand by the time Hall was bowled driving at Pedro Collins Middlesex were indisarray.Udal, their captain, had his left hand strapped after splitting the webbingbetween his thumb and forefinger, and Gareth Berg, their newly-cappedall-rounder, was off the field with back trouble.No fewer than nine bowlers were used with only Udal himself and Collinsemerging with any credit and the fielding was so poor that there were jeers froma section of the small crowd. Their mood did not improve when Newman edged his third ball from Jack Brooks to first slip but at least Sam Robson and Owais Shah held out until the close.