UXBRIDGE

(Day three of four):

Middlesex, with seven wickets remaining, are 203 runs behind Warwickshire

Lunch

As they sat watching the drizzle and grey skies, waiting for an early lunch, it was Warwickshire kicking themselves.

Rain threatened and then took the sides off at 11.35am after Middlesex had added 25 to their overnight 70 in 9.1overs and Jonathan Trott had dropped Owais Shah. Shah had not added to his overnight 25 when Martin’s bounce induced the edge to first slip.

Tea

Middlesex are facing the follow-on with wickets tumbling after lunch. In damp but humid conditions the ball continued to swing and Owais Shah was trapped leg-before in the first full over after lunch, as Neil Carter swung it back into his pads and the ball kept a little low.

Eoin Morgan, Middlesex’s man-in-form, edged a footless drive at Carter, swinging the ball away from the left-hander, to first slip. The Gatting Way end is proving the more intimidating for the batsmen, with the ball emerging from the dark chestnut trees surrounding the sightscreen.

Middlesex’s decision to go into this game with five bowlers again always looked questionable. With Tim Murtagh at seven, useful as he is, the whole lower order has vertigo and is batting at least one place too high.

Chris Woakes and Darren Maddy swung the ball from the Pavilion End, but Murtagh was another Middlesex batsman out to a poor footless swish outside off-stump, this time cutting at Woakes. That came three overs after Morgan and Middlesex were suddenly 109 for six in the 46th over.

Ben Scott, another Middlesex man in form, drove fluently and Murali Kartik hung around with no air of permanence until finally connecting with an ugly heave which looped to cover. Three balls later the rain returned and the players will take an early tea.

Close

Middlesex lost their last three wickets in a hurry after tea as their long tail wagged with all the vigour of dead dog’s. Warwickshire bowled them out for the lowest score of the season and asked them to follow on 223 runs behind. Rain brought them off after six overs of Middlesex’s second innings at 4.38pm with 36 overs left to bowl.

Alan Richardson edged yet another footless drive, at Darren Maddy, to second slip in the second over after the interval. The 6ft 7in Steven Finn, feet not moving, was leg before to Chris Martin in the next over. Ben Scott pulled one down long leg’s throat in Martin’s next over and Middlesex were staring down the barrel.

In a farcical finish to the day the teams re-emerged after two hours of waiting. They managed only two overs of spin before bad light was accepted by the batsmen. 54 overs were lost in the day and 84 in the match so far.