Matt Henry makes merry with bat and ball as Somerset flip screw on Middlesex

Middlesex 175 (Simpson 57*, Henry 5-45) and 81 for 1 path Somerset 404 (Bartlett 121, Abell 77) by 148 runs

The New Zealand paceman, who took 4 for 93 in opposition to England in a Test at Lord’s eight years in the past, once more excelled on the house of cricket, returning 5 for 45 as Middlesex had been bundled out for 175 of their first innings.

Following on, Middlesex misplaced Sam Robson in reaching 81 for 1, Mark Stoneman having survived an edge to 3rd slip unbeaten on 45. They nonetheless path by 148 and face an uphill battle to keep away from a fourth defeat in six video games.

Somerset quickly misplaced Craig Overton to Murtagh in solely the third over the day, however that merely served to deliver Henry to the crease and, no slouch bat in hand, he signalled his intent with a brutal drive again previous the bowler to get off the mark with a boundary.

Thereafter, he struck the ball actually cleanly to ship six extra deliveries to the ropes, although he was helped by some pleasant choices from the house assault.

In the blink of a watch Henry had reached 40 in solely 22 balls and it wanted the introduction of Higgins to finish the revelry, the short hooking a brief one into the fingers of Ethan Bamber behind sq..

England spinner Jack Leach got here out swinging, earlier than shedding his off-stump to Bamber, however Lewis Gregory ensured a fourth batting level.

It quickly turned obvious Henry’s whirlwind innings had merely been an hors d’oeuvre for heroics with ball in hand.

He and Overton subjected Middlesex openers Stoneman and Robson to a looking out examination with the brand new ball, Henry particularly beating the bat with monotonous regularity.

It appeared as if the hosts had handed the check when with lunch looming Henry produced a Jaffa to get one between Stoneman’s unhealthy and pad flattening the leg-stump. And Henry made that lunch all however indigestible for Middlesex by producing an outswinger first as much as Stephen Eskinazi which he nicked by to wicketkeeper Steve Davies.

The hat-trick ball was delayed by the interval earlier than Henry got here near the feat with a supply, left by Robson, which missed his off-stump by the proverbial coat of varnish.

If the primary two wickets may very well be put all the way down to Henry’s brilliance the identical wasn’t true of those who adopted. Max Holden began effectively sufficient, twice driving Henry to the duvet fence, solely to then play no shot to at least one which got here again up the slope and trapped him in entrance.

Robbie White’s first knock of the summer time lasted two balls earlier than skipper Lewis Gregory pinned him on the crease and when Robson turned the newest Middlesex participant this season to be strangled down the leg-side, half their aspect had been gone with simply 70 on the board.

To his credit score Simpson was at his gritty finest, driving fluently and briefly threatening a counter-offensive in firm with Higgins.

However, the latter missed a full toss from Leach (2 for 22) to be leg-before and with the rot set in Luke Hollman inexplicably reverse swept one other from the England spinner into the fingers of slip.

Simpson turned becalmed and entrenched, earlier than a seventh 4 took him to a 92-ball 50, whereas house skipper Roland-Jones got here out firing, hitting cleanly by the mid-on mid-off arc to smite six boundaries in a speedy 39, the pair including 54 for the eighth wicket.

But nemesis Henry returned to take away each Roland-Jones and Bamber to finish a five-for to sentence Middlesex to the follow-on.