Clouds finally part for Middlesex with better times to come

It was as we entered into day two's evening session of this opening County Championship match between Middlesex and Somerset that the sun shone brightest.

The clouds that had accompanied it throughout the day had not yet returned from the tea break by the time Middlesex started their second innings. They began the day bats in hand with their first innings carrying over into Friday, setting them down for 49 overs to bowl Somerset out for 172 before picking them back up again to boost a lead of 141. By the end, that had swelled to 228 by stumps.

Saturday’s forecast in north London is particularly bad. And just as many weekend picnic plans have been scuppered, so too might Middlesex’s push for victory. They will expect to be chasing the win into the second-half of Sunday, and will no doubt be in a rush to ensure their fine work over the first half of this match does not become obsolete.

The key will be patience, and yet at the same time it would hard to begrudge any desperate clutching. Because to know of Middlesex’s recent iteration is to know of how quickly good times turn to bad with no warning. So passive has this decline, almost out of the blue, that no one really knows how it came about. What they do know is that emerging from the slump requires a lot more drive.

It was back in 2016 Middlesex claimed their first County Championship since 1993, winning a concocted thriller at HQ to end a drought that similarly crept up on them. Relegation the next season and missed opportunities followed. The worst of all came in 2019 when, in a 10-team Division Two with the top three gaining promotion, Middlesex finished eighth.

Thus as 2020’s Covid-19 season offered a pause for reflection, 2021’s presents the opportunity for a refresh. Yes, it’s only two days. But starting well for a team that has failed to start at all over the last five seasons is worth the raising of a curious and expecting eyebrow.

The first innings 313 and the second’s start of 87 for two owe to men who were not quite boys but still shared the glint of times to come. Sam Robson, seven years on from seven Test caps, provided 165 of his own, a 24th first class century that took him past 10,000 runs. His effort was backed up by Nick Gubbins and Stevie Eskinazi, best friends whose bond strengthened in the title-winning season that promised much for them, and probably grew stronger as that did not come to pass.

But just as they are “still young” at 27, so too are they experienced enough to guide the younger heads coming through. Both are in the sweet spot of knowledge of their own game, well versed on the county grind and able to socialise on both sides of the fence as wise heads or socialites.

On the former is, of course, the warlock himself Tim Murtagh, 40 this year and still getting it done with four for 46 from 14 overs which had Somerset reeling on 89 for nine. Marchant de Lange and Jack Leach’s contributions of 50 and 28 respectively clawed back some grace.

Yet the glory of day two, and perhaps of the season going forward, was contained within the Disney mouse expression of Ethan Bamber: a 22-year-old quick who many see as Murtagh’s heir. The difference here is that waiting to ascend Bamber only when Murtagh departs is a waste, and he proved that himself with figures of three for 24 that took him to 51 first-class wickets. A notable haul for any upstart, especially when they come for an average just north of 25.

If you’re waiting for a prediction of higher honours, maybe come back in a few years. He’s skilled with his fingers and sharp with his mind, though not the kind of pace that gets you fast-tracked in this country.

No matter, for as long as he is left alone, he and Middlesex will be fine. The future in north London is bright and, at the same time, what it always has been. The players are there, the desire remains and a handful of tune-ups taking place behind the scenes. This layout of this season’s County Championship, with its groups moving into Divisions, offers Middlesex a real shot at absolution. Even if we are only two days in, you can safely say they have never been in a better position to take it.