Franklin 135 rescues Middlesex after Shantry haul

It was a day when the honours, in the grand scheme of things, were too early to dish out. But Worcestershire enjoyed enough success at the beginning of the day to claim it. Rarely will the opening day of a Championship game bring wickets on its first and last ball, but strange things tend to happen at Uxbridge.

As a place, it's hard to describe. Uxbridge Cricket Club sits as its own green off-shoot from an A road that for moments of the day were parted for sirens and, occasionally, the odd motorbike treating the recommended speed limit as a previous high score. It may not have the quaintness of an Arundel, or the postcard print of New Road, but it is very Middlesex. The clubhouse sits raised at 45-degrees to the closest end. Inside, mates congregate to talk runs, wickets and wrong-uns from the set of league fixtures the day before. The beer is fizzy, the standards are mixed but the desire is real and raw.

Few of these weekend warriors were in when Sam Robson was walking back, having edged the first ball of the match from Charlie Morris to Tom Fell at third slip. Not surprising, though, given the timing of Robson's dismissal was actually a minute before the official start time. But they were well-sauced and in full voice when Morris' hands were pierced by a James Franklin hook that bounced just in front of the rope for four. It would take the Middlesex captain to 124 and be the only let off he enjoyed during a second Championship century of the season, before his innings was finished at the day's end.

Having won the toss and decided to bat, Franklin returned to the middle in the 20th over, with the electronic scoreboard reading 51 for 4 (as ever at club grounds, the rate at which the manual one updated suggested it was still operating on Greenwich Mean Time).

His innings was put into context by his teammates. Nicks Gubbins and Compton were staunch in defence but unable to really get full value for their attacking shots. The frustration was palpable when Compton, having been served a leg-stump full-toss from Joe Leach, hammered it aerially to Richard Oliver at midwicket, who dived forward to take a smart catch. Compton indicated that he thought it had bounced in front of Oliver, but the umpires dismissed the claim.

Joe Burns accompanied Franklin in a partnership of 51, gritted out first before playing some well-timed, almost open-chested drives through the off-side in making 57. Having done the hard-work, he seemed to have wrestled back control of his own fate before becoming Jack Shantry's third wicket of the match.

It was Shantry who benefitted the most from a green pitch that slowed rather than seamed, as evidenced by his wicket of Gubbins; Shantry getting the ball to hold-up and pop, as ever, giving Saeed Ajmal a simple catch at mid-on. And it was Shantry who brought the day to a close when he got his fourth by making a 15-over old new ball tail and skip into Franklin, who worked it around the corner to leg-slip.

From nought to 120, Franklin was flawless. It is hard to remember a false stroke or even one meant for the floor that spent time in the air. Everything seemed to come out of the middle. When he's in this kind of form, the Kiwi looks less practical batting-allrounder and more moving art installation: his arms and joints moving with the breeze rather than reacting to the tics and twitches he has honed from more than a decade of cricket. Given that the ball was not coming onto the bat, his drives down the ground were worth savouring, particularly his straight checked effort on the front foot off Shantry, which took him from 99 to 103.

Franklin added 72 in the middle session, part of which contributed to a 170-run partnership with John Simpson, who made 41. With both gone, batting time might be a tough ask for the Middlesex lower order; the likes of Ollie Rayner, James Harris and Toby Roland-Jones would rather live fast than die old.

At stumps Shantry, one away from a second consecutive Championship five-wicket haul, said three more wickets within the allotted bonus point overs would be ideal. If they manage that, and if this Uxbridge track plays to type and flattens out, they will be in a sound position.

As for Moeen Ali, he got little from a dull track. If there can be any criticism from his 12 overs, it could be that his length could have been drawn back a fraction to get the batsmen pushing out to him. He was given the token over before lunch, the one before tea, only to miss out on the holy trifecta when Daryl Mitchell gave him the penultimate one before the close.