County Championship: Essex beat Middlesex to maintain bid

South African off-spinner Harmer returned figures of 5-43 to pass 50 wickets for the sixth time in seven English seasons as Middlesex were beaten by 297 runs.

Indian debutant Yadav, meanwhile, opened his Essex account by steaming in from the Hayes Close End and taking three wickets in a devastating eight-over spell either side of tea.

Set a nominal 445 in a possible four-and-a-half sessions, relegation-threatened Middlesex collapsed to 55-5 before sinking to 147 all out. It left Essex 18 points adrift of Surrey with two games to play.

Sir Alastair Cook had laid the foundations for Essex’s 319-7 declared with a phlegmatic 84 from 178 balls before Matt Critchley’s belligerent run-a-ball 65 hastened the declaration an hour after lunch.

Middlesex off-spinner Josh de Caires added two second-innings wickets to post the first 10-wicket match haul of his embryonic career at a personal cost of 190.

When Middlesex started their forlorn chase, Harmer made immediate inroads as Sam Robson turned the off-spinner’s second ball to Dan Lawrence who took a spectacular, full-length diving catch at leg slip. A second wicket followed quickly when Joe Cracknell played back and was lbw.

Enter Yadav, who had been unable to take a wicket in the first innings but soon had Middlesex on the skids with his pace.

Jack Davies played at one that moved away to end up in first slip’s hands and Mark Stoneman’s 47-ball six was ended when he diverted another to third slip. Middlesex were 42-4 at tea.

Max Holden lasted four overs after the interval before he became Yadav’s third wicket – and 350th in first-class cricket – when the left-hander dangled his bat and was caught behind.

John Simpson and Ryan Higgins stalled Essex for 19 overs while eking out 42 runs. However, when Critchley switched ends, he had Simpson trying unsuccessfully to fend off a turning ball and was lbw.

Harmer’s return after a brief break brought instant reward as with his third ball he had Luke Hollman snaffled by Nick Browne at silly mid-off. Middlesex were 113-7 which became 115-8 when de Caires fell to the same catcher-bowler combination.

With eight wickets down, and the light fading on another sun-baked day, Essex claimed the extra half-an-hour. And in the sixth additional over Critchley bowled Ryan Higgins to end his two-hour vigil for 21 from 96 balls.

In a frantic climax, with seven minutes remaining, Toby Roland-Jones flicked a long hop from Harmer against Browne at bat-pad from where it ricocheted to Adam Rossington.

It had been more serene earlier in the day as Cook and Tom Westley took Essex’s advantage past 300 before their second-wicket partnership of 114 was ended when the captain swished over a ball from Ethan Bamber and was lbw for 47.

The pair were circumspect, taking 130 balls to put on the first fifty of their stand, but speeding up noticeably with just another 69 balls required for the seocn fifty.

Cook departed three overs after his skipper, rocking on to the backfoot in an attempt to execute a trademark punch past point only to nick behind and give occasional leg-spinner Robson a first wicket of the season to mark his 200th first-class appearance.

The tempo increased post-lunch with Critchley reserve-sweeping four off de Caires that brought up the fifty partnership with Lawrence from 49 balls.

After his eight wickets in the first innings, de Caires had to wait 25 overs for his ninth of the match. Lawrence, having scored a rapid 26, bounced down the wicket and lofted to deep extra cover.

The 21-year-old off-spinner claimed his milestone 10th victim when Paul Walter followed Lawrence’s ill-advised heave and holed out in the deep.

A lofted straight drive from Critchley landed just inside the rope off Hollman, but next ball did clear the boundary to complete his eighth score of fifty or more this season.

Rossington perished reverse-sweeping Robson, who was then carted for 18 in an over as Harmer found the short boundary with four, four, six off successive balls.

Critchley was dropped on 63 by Holden at deep midwicket off Higgins but next ball stepped out of his crease in attempting another mighty blow and was stumped. The declaration followed shortly afterwards.

*report by Martin Smith.