Comment

James Middlebrook enjoyed his best championship return for four years when he took five for 59 to reduce Middlesex to 263 for seven wickets by the close of the opening day of the County Championship fixture at Chelmsford after the visitors had been put into bat.

Not since the penultimate match of the 2004 season, when he took five for 24 against Derbyshire at the County Ground, had the off-spinner enjoyed such a rich harvest in the competition but he was rewarded yesterday for an incisive unchanged, superb spell of bowling from the River End that embraced variation of flight and pace with some turn and tight control on a green Chelmsford pitch.

The Leeds-born player, who moved south from his native Yorkshire in 2002, has often had to play the support role to Danish Kaneria but took the opportunity to illustrate his own effective prowess ahead of the Pakistan leg-spinner's return in two weeks time.

Middlebrook would love the chance to display his all-round talents that include useful lower order runs and dependable fielding, on a higher stage with an opportunity for the England one-day side but one man already inked in for the First Test against New Zealand at Lord's next week made a welcome return to form.

After a cagey start, Andrew Strauss produced a hard-fought 88 relying on a gritty application to overcome any assistance offered by the pitch to the Essex attack.

He spent three hours and 40 minutes at the crease in a show of determined application facing 177 deliveries with ten boundaries before he attempted to cut a ball from Middlebrook that found bounce and was caught behind the wicket.

That was the off-spinner's third victim having struck twice in three deliveries before lunch and leave the bowler with figures of 13.2-3-31-3 at that stage after Strauss and Billy Godleman had posted 85 for the first wicket.

Missing David Masters, who stood down from the match because of a family illness, Essex drafted in Tony Palladino to join Andre Nel with the new ball and although the Middlesex openers played a missed a couple of times early on, a generally watchful approach saw them through until Middlebrook struck for the first time.

Godleman had reached 29 when he perished - and in identical fashion to the England opener - when attempting to cut and immediately an indeterminate push from Ed Smith, who was still to get off the mark, gave Jason Gallian a slip catch.

That saw the arrival of Ed Joyce at the wicket and the Dublin-born batsman, who has made 17 One-Day International appearances for England, looked the most fluent of the visitors batsmen and reached his half-century with his eighth boundary having faced 101 balls.

VIGILANT He added 103 with Strauss for the third wicket but after the latter's departure, he was joined by Eoin Morgan and became more vigilant taking another 45 balls to add 16 before he was trapped leg before by Ryan ten Doeschate attempting to work the ball into the leg side.

David Nash came and went quickly scoring just five when he was caught by Varun Chopra.

The batsman though showed refreshingly fine sportsmanship having played a shot off the inside edge that went onto pad and responded to the appeal for the catch by walking although umpire Vanburn Holder had shown some doubt about the merits of the incident by not raising the finger.

Having somewhat lost their initiative with a collapse that saw the score 229 for five, the visitors run rate slowed to a crawl with Morgan finally and Vernon Philander taking nine overs to add 14 before Morgan chased a ball from ten Doeschate that was angled across the batsman who obligingly steered it into Foster's gloves.

Middlebrook then added to the visitors post-tea blues by having Tim Murtagh snapped up by Mark Pettini at forward short leg to leave the hosts satisfied with their day's work and Middlebrook enjoying the deserved plaudits as he led his side off the field

8:35am Thursday 8th May 2008

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