The chances are that Iain O'Brien, Leicestershire's overseas player and fast-medium bowler, will not be replaced when he joins New Zealand's tour of Sri Lanka early next month. How the county must wish his tenure spanned the rest of the season after he lifted them from the foot of the second division with match figures of nine for 68, condemning Middlesex to the spot that Leicestershire had occupied.

O'Brien's aggregate in the past three innings stands at 15 for 155, his return in the second innings a postscript to his 33rd birthday last Friday, when he took six for 39 on a pitch helping bowlers to exploit poor batting whose surface was above censure from the umpires.

It took Leicestershire only 70 minutes, despite a rain interruption, to enforce Middlesex's capitulation to 91 all out, their lowest score of the season, from an overnight 76 for six, O'Brien adding two for ten in 4.1 overs to finish with three for 29. Andrew Harris captured two for two to complete match figures of five for 73.

It was Leicestershire's first championship win since the final game of last season against Derbyshire but still hard-earned. Needing only seven for victory, they lost Josh Cobb for a duck and Matthew Boyce, bowled off stump by Tim Murtagh, along the way.

The indictment of Middlesex was that only two batsman, David Malan and Eoin Morgan, topped 18 in a match of miserly contrasts with the previous meeting at Southgate two months earlier. On that occasion Morgan, Andrew Strauss and Phillip Hughes all scored hundreds in the same innings of 493 for seven declared for Middlesex. Leicestershire followed on but avoided defeat.

Frailty hounded Middlesex this time, reflected by their defeat with more than five sessions still available. As if their first-innings dismissal for 159 before tea on the first day were not enough, they were confounded by a sixth-wicket partnership worth 73, the biggest of the match, by Cobb and Tom New in Leicestershire's first innings.

That brought a cosy lead of 85 in the context of a low-scoring match and New, the wicketkeeping successor to Paul Nixon, had become a key player. He held two excellent catches off difficult to judge inside edges to dismiss both Gareth Berg and Shaun Udal in successive overs off O'Brien and Harris on the final day. Murtagh was caught at slip, driving without due care and attention, and finally, Steven Finn was plumb leg-before to O'Brien after the clock had barely struck midday.

Middlesex: First Innings 159 (D J Malan 67 not out; I E O'Brien 6 for 39)
Second Innings
B A Godleman lbw b Harris 14
N R D Compton b O'Brien 0
O A Shah c New b Gurney 18
E J G Morgan c Boyce b Harris 1
D J Malan lbw b Allenby 13
D C Nash c Dippenaar b Allenby 14
G K Berg c New b O'Brien 10
S D Udal c New b Harris 5
M Kartik not out 2
T J Murtagh c Dippenaar b Harris 4
S T Finn lbw b O'Brien 1
Extras (b 4, lb 3, w 2) 9
Total (40.2 overs) 91
Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-24, 3-32, 4-50, 5-64, 6-76, 7-84, 8-84, 9-90.
Bowling: O'Brien 15.2-5-29-3; Harris 13-6-24-4; Gurney 9-2-30-1; Allenby 3-2-1-2.

Leicestershire: First Innings 244 (J J Cobb 95; T J Murtagh 4 for 70, S T Finn 4 for 76)
Second Innings
J J Cobb c Nash b Finn2
M A G Boyce b T J Murtagh4
H H Dippenaar not out4
H D Ackerman not out0
Total (2 wkts, 4.1 overs) 10
Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-6.
Bowling: Finn 2.1-1-6-1; T J Murtagh 2-1-4-1.
Umpires: M J D Bodenham and J W Lloyds.