Essex bowling attack as good as any claims Matt Critchley

Having declared at 319-7 in their second innings, to set Middlesex a target of 445 for victory, the hosts saw overseas due Simon Harmer and Umesh Yadav combine with the ball to good effect.

Off-spinner Harmer claimed 5-43 in 25 overs, while Indian seamer Yadav – making his debut for the side – picked up 3-32.

“That’s six wins on the bounce now to keep the pressure on Surrey,” said Critchley. 

“We are playing some good cricket and that’s probably as good as we’ve played on a wicket that was spinning, we got over 300 twice. 

“‘Ports’ (Jamie Porter) bowled beautifully in the first innings [taking 6-34] and Harmy did the same in the second and overall, it was as good as a performance that you could have hoped for.

“Yadav bowled really well, to get wickets on a flat wicket and look as if he could get two or three wickets an over was very impressive. He’s obviously an international performer and to come in and have that impact shows his quality. 

“That four-man attack with him and Simon Harmer, Jamie Porter and Sam Cook, the way they bowled in this match was probably as good as you are going to get in this country. It’s a hell of an attack to face.

“We’ve got two more games to go and hopefully, we can keep our winning run going.”

Critchley (2-17) claimed the scalps of John Simpson (32 off 72) and Ryan Higgins (21 off 96) in a seven-over spell to help dismiss Middlesex for 147 and added: “I’m pleased with my bowling, I broke into the team at Derbyshire as an 18 or 19-year-old as a leggie and then was pretty much their first spinner throughout most of my career there. 

“Obviously since moving to Essex, when you are behind someone like Harmer, you might not get as much of a bowl as you would like sometimes.

“But one of the reasons that I moved to a good team like this was that you get  opportunities to bowl and get a few wickets and help win the game in the fourth innings.

“Overall, it’s been a pretty successful season for us so far but we want to go on and win the championship title. There were a few results earlier in the season when the rain didn’t quite help us out so that was a little disappointing but we’ll be trying to do all we can in the last two games.

“We can only do what we can do, win our last couple of games and hope that somewhere along the line, results go our way. If they don’t, well far play  to Surrey but we’ve both a helluva lot of games.”