MIDDLESEX TIGHTEN THEIR GRIP by Marcus Hook
Middlesex 445 v Surrey 203 & 34-2.

Middlesex underlined their right to be top of Division Two in the County Championship yesterday, tightening their grip on this contest, which looks as though it could end in a second innings victory over Surrey at Lord's in less than a year. The North Londoners, who started the season 7-1 against are now being quoted as evens favourites to win the second division.

Having allowed their opponents to wriggle off the hook on the first day, Surrey did at least make short work of the tail once John Simpson and Ollie Rayner were prized apart, with Gareth Batty picking up figures of 5-76. In leading the visitors' response, Tom Maynard batted superbly, but, sadly, he was denied a second hundred in as many innings, not to mention let down by his colleagues' shot selection.

Nine of the Surrey batsmen were either caught or stumped. Apart from Maynard, only Rory Hamilton-Brown managed to muster more than 19, and even the Surrey captain will be ashamed of the shot he was playing when Steven Crook had him leg before for a 58-ball 47 to make it 89-5 in the 27th over.

Following on 242 runs behind, it got even worse for the visitors when, in the third over, Michael Brown was pinned on the crease by a delivery from Steven Finn that kept low and Zander de Bruyn was dismissed very next ball, needing to take evasive action. Surrey will start day three 208 runs adrift with eight second innings scalps intact.

There was no indication that 17 wickets would fall in the day when Simpson and Rayner picked up where they left off the night before. In the second over of proceedings, Rayner despatched Yasir Arafat behind square on the off-side for a brace of fours. The fifty partnership for the sixth wicket was posted six overs later and Rayner took Middlesex to 400 with an on-driven four off Jade Dernbach in the next.

Simpson was eventually dismissed for 143 when Batty's second delivery back caught the 22-year-old left-hander in two minds. Two overs later, Rayner drilled the ball straight back to Batty and then Dernbach picked up his 150th first-class wicket by ripping out Toby Roland-Jones's leg stump with an unplayable inswinging yorker. In the 117th over, Crook swept Batty into the waiting hands of Hamilton-Brown at leg slip before Finn holed out to deep mid-wicket, two overs later, to draw a line under the hosts' first innings at 445.

With twenty minutes to negotiate before lunch, Gary Wilson was caught at first slip without scoring, in the third over, and Brown, fending at a short ball from Finn was pouched at second slip two overs later. After the break, Steven Davies, playing away from his body, was caught at third slip off Corey Collymore. 12-3 became 19-4 when Zander de Bruyn, looking to cut a ball from the West Indian that was too close to him for such a shot, was taken behind.

For the next 19 overs Hamilton-Brown and Maynard put on 70 for the fifth wicket, but there was never really a sense that their alliance would point Surrey in the direction of maximum batting points. Maynard was the more subdued, but, in the 20th over, the Welshman fetched Collymore high into the Grandstand for six. Hamilton-Brown played some delightful shots in the V between mid-on and extra cover. But then, looking to whip Crook to the rope at mid-wicket, the Surrey skipper fell leg before.

Batty was undone by a ball that left him off the pitch. Just before tea, Jordan went in similar fashion, but after the break Arafat had no excuses after he danced down the pitch and looked to heave Rayner.

Maynard straight drove Neil Dexter for six to move to 78 and, in so doing, reach 1,000 runs in first-class cricket. But, five overs later, Linley and Dernbach prodded forward to successive deliveries from Rayner, both of which were snapped up at slip to leave Maynard with an unbeaten 98, which had come off 150 balls, taken 195 minutes and included 10 fours and two maximums.

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