Sunday 21 June 2015 19:45, UK
James Franklin played a captain's innings of 135 to steer Middlesex out of trouble against Worcestershire on the opening day of their LV= County Championship Division One match at Uxbridge.
Franklin came in at 51-4 after Middlesex saw his decision to bat first initially backfire, but by the time the 34-year-old former New Zealand all-rounder was out to what became the last ball of the day he had been vindicated as his team reached 289-7.
John Simpson kept Franklin faithful company in a sixth-wicket stand of 170 in 48 overs. The Middlesex wicketkeeper's three-hour 41 was also a vital innings for his county, who began this Championship round tied on 98 points with Yorkshire in fourth place in Division One.
Simpson fell deep into the final session, edging Charlie Morris to second slip in the eighth over of the second new ball but Ollie Rayner then stayed with Franklin until his captain flicked a ball from Jack Shantry to leg slip to depart to the first ball of the 96th over.
For Worcestershire, the high point of the opening day came when Middlesex lost Joe Burns to slip to 102-5 but neither of their two off spinners, Saeed Ajmal and England's No 1 Test slow bowler Moeen Ali, could make any impression.
Ajmal looks a shadow of his former self after the rehabilitation process he has gone through since being banned by the ICC for an illegal kink in his action, and took 0-41 from 18 overs, while Moeen's 12 overs in five spells – two of them single overs before lunch and tea, and another the penultimate over of the day – brought him no wicket for 37.
In the opening session it had seemed a good toss for Worcestershire to lose. There were two wickets before lunch for Shantry and one apiece for his fellow seamers Morris and Leach.
Sam Robson was out to the very first ball of the match, smartly-held by a tumbling Fell at third slip as he looked to turn Morris towards mid-wicket.
And Middlesex were 5-2 in the fourth over when Nick Compton, on three, clipped a leg stump half-volley from Leach low to mid-wicket where Richard Oliver held a good catch. However, Franklin led the recovery and it is honours even heading into day two.
Tom Abell fell 12 runs short of his maiden first-class century as Somerset edged the opening day of their clash against Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl.
Abell batted smartly to reach 88 and was one of three Somerset batsmen to pass 50 on the first day, along with experienced duo Marcus Trescothick and James Hildreth.
The 21-year-old reached his half-century in 122 balls but narrowly missed out on passing his previous top score of 95, which he made on debut against Warwickshire, as Somerset closed on 310-6.
After Somerset had won the toss and opted to bat, Abell, who scored 76 not out and 72 in his last Championship match against Nottinghamshire, was the more watchful of the opening pair as Trescothick scored freely and moved past 500 runs for the season.
He was bowled by an excellent spinning delivery from Liam Dawson just short of his first hundred at this level.
Jackson Bird impressed with the ball on his first Championship outing at the Ageas Bowl, as he ended the day with economical figures of 1-58 off 22 overs.
The Australian Test fast bowler looked especially threatening with the second new ball with which he found Hildreth playing-and-missing before striking the former England Lions batsman on the head.
Hildreth became the third 50-maker of the day, from 108 balls, although he became the second benefactor of Dawson's butterfingers at second slip when he was dropped on 12.
Peter Trego made a slow 21 before he was clean bowled by Sean Ervine as Hampshire kept plugging away.
James Tomlinson took his first wicket for six weeks as he managed to trap the dangerous Hildreth lbw for 76, to bring former Hampshire wicketkeeper Michael Bates to the crease to a hero's welcome.
Bates finished the day on eight, with Lewis Gregory on five.
