A BAD day for Scotland was compounded by a break-in to their dressing-room that saw the players’ stripped of valuables that included £200 and a gold bangle belonging to Rahul Dravid.

“I haven’t spoken to Rahul but I am sure he is pretty cross — £200 is £200,” Chris Carruthers, the president of Scottish Cricket Limited, said. “But there was a large sign in the dressing-room saying that players should take responsibility for their own valuables. We know when you play at club grounds these things are more likely to happen.”

“It was disappointing there weren’t some attendants watching the rooms,” Tony Judd, the Scotland coach, said. He was disappointed, too, with his side’s performance, although he said “we’re taking it as a compliment that sides are preparing so thoroughly against us”.

It was the first time the amateurs from Scotland had been humbled in the National League. When Dravid was out in the twelfth over, leg-before to one from Ashley Noffke that looked a little high, they found themselves 36 for five. It got better, but only slightly, some late blows from Paul Hoffman, who struck 33 in 14 balls, taking the edge off the humiliation.

After their batsman had posted their highest total of the season in the competition, the Middlesex bowlers extracted far more life from the wicket than Scotland had managed. But how different things might have been had Dougie Lockhart held a regulation chance at second slip after Paul Weekes had nicked the first ball of the day from James Brinkley.

Lockhart missed Weekes again at short mid-wicket in the ninth over when he had scored 23. He went on to his fifty off 33 balls, adding 98 in 93 balls with Owais Shah before Ed Joyce, who scored an undefeated 59, helped the tail to lift Middlesex to a final total of 255.

MIDDLESEX

P N Weekes st Smith b Haq 80
A J Strauss c Dravid b Brinkley 8
C B Keegan c and b Hoffmann 22
O A Shah c Smith b Haq 19
E C Joyce not out 59
D C Nash c Hoffmann b Watson 17
S J Cook st Smith b Haq 0
R M S Weston b Watson 14
B L Hutton c Lockhart b Hoffmann 5
A A Noffke run out 4
J H Dawes not out 1
Extras (b 6, lb 8, w 8, nb 4) 26
Total (9 wkts, 45 overs) 255

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-21, 2-46, 3-144, 4-147, 5-201, 6-203, 7-226, 8-237, 9-252.

BOWLING: Brinkley 5-0-27-1; Hoffmann 9-0-60-2; Kent 5-0-35-0; Wright 9-0-40-0; Haq 9-0-39-3; Watson 8-0-40-2.

SCOTLAND

D R Lockhart c Shah b Cook 6
R R Watson b Keegan 3
J G Williamson b Keegan 7
R Dravid lbw b Noffke 6
J C Kent run out 3
C J O Smith c Weekes b Cook 17
C M Wright c and b Keegan 20
I M Stanger c Weekes b Keegan 9
J E Brinkley c Joyce b Keegan 7
P J C Hoffmann c Dawes b Weekes 33
R M Haq not out 16
Extras (lb 4, w 12) 16
Total (30.1 overs) 143

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-12, 2-20, 3-23, 4-31, 5-36, 6-54, 7-78, 8-88, 9-120.

BOWLING: Noffke 6-1-22-1; Keegan 9-0-48-5; Cook 9-2-23-2; Dawes 6-0-46-0; Weekes 0.1-0-0-1.

Umpires: G I Burgess and V A Holder.