BATTING		R	B	M	4s	6s	SR
Nick Browne	c Robson b Murtagh	22	23	36	4	0	95.65

Alastair Cook	c †Simpson b Roland-Jones	16	26	35	1	0	61.53

Tom Westley (c)	c Holden b Roland-Jones	48	129	193	6	0	37.20

Dan Lawrence	lbw b Helm	105	204	256	11	2	51.47

Matt Critchley	c †Simpson b Roland-Jones	55	104	167	9	0	52.88

Adam Rossington †	c Hollman b Roland-Jones	8	36	47	1	0	22.22

Simon Harmer	lbw b Roland-Jones	1	9	16	0	0	11.11

Shane Snater	b Roland-Jones	0	1	2	0	0	0.00

Ben Allison	lbw b Roland-Jones	8	18	21	1	0	44.44

Sam Cook	c Eskinazi b Helm	0	3	6	0	0	0.00

Jamie Porter	not out	0	6	10	0	0	0.00
Extras	(lb 3)	3
TOTAL	93.1 Ov (RR: 2.85)	266
Fall of wickets: 1-38 (Alastair Cook, 7.6 ov), 2-38 (Nick Browne, 8.1 ov), 3-159 (Tom Westley, 54.3 ov), 4-199 (Dan Lawrence, 69.4 ov), 5-213 (Adam Rossington, 81.4 ov), 6-229 (Simon Harmer, 85.1 ov), 7-229 (Shane Snater, 85.2 ov), 8-255 (Ben Allison, 89.6 ov), 9-260 (Sam Cook, 90.6 ov), 10-266 (Matt Critchley, 93.1 ov)

BOWLING	O	M	R	W	ECON	0s	4s	6s	WD	NB
Tim Murtagh	22	5	95	1	4.31	96	12	1	0	0
8.1 to NLJ Browne, TWO IN TWO! A misjudgement from Browne, as he rocks onto the back foot and tries to punch a delivery from Murtagh through extra cover. The nip away off the pitch does the left-hander for a healthy edge, well held by Sam Robson at second slip. 38/2
Toby Roland-Jones	27.1	7	61	7	2.24	132	6	1	0	0
7.6 to AN Cook, STRANGLED! Cook goes tamely with a tickle down the leg side, just as he had started to get going. This was not the first delivery Roland-Jones past the former England captain's hip, but the thinnest of flicks is taken well by Simpson diving to his right. 38/1 54.3 to T Westley, GONE! Westley pushes forward into a drive but Roland-Jones has got some late shape away from the right-hander to take enough of the outside half of the bat. The ball skews quickly towards backward point, where Max Holden takes a smart catch low to his right. A strong third-wicket partnership is ended on 121. 159/3 81.4 to AM Rossington, THE PRESSURE TELLS! Middlesex's attack have really put the brakes on Essex since Lawrence's dismissal. Rossington's attempts to score end with him finding Hollman out at deep square leg on the short side. Between this and the previous wicket, the visitors have managed just 14 runs in 12 overs. 213/5 85.1 to SR Harmer, OUT! Harmer steps across his stumps and is pinned on the pads. He's not happy with the decision, but he had moved right in front of middle and off, with leg stump visible at the point of impact. 229/6 85.2 to S Snater, TRJ'S ON A HAT-TRICK! Snater is walking straight back towards the Pavilion. Bit of nip into the batter from Roland-Jones is helped onto the stumps by Snater's inside edge. Unnecessarily expansive, perhaps but it's a deserved five wicket haul for the Middlesex captain. 229/7 89.6 to BMJ Allison, SIX FOR TRJ! Bit of nip into Allison traps him in front as the right-hander pushes forward with what looked like a solid forward defence. 255/8 93.1 to MJJ Critchley, SEVEN! Critchley gets lured into a swipe to the short-boundary, top-edging into the bright blue sky behind him. Simpson steadies himself and has to fall back to complete a good catch. Roland-Jones finishes with 7 for 61, his second best career-figures . 266/10
Ryan Higgins	17	7	29	0	1.70	88	3	0	0	0
Tom Helm	21	3	75	2	3.57	94	12	0	0	0
69.4 to DW Lawrence, Gone! Lawrence targets the short side, stepping across to Helm - who is wider on the crease - and attempts his patented whip up-and-over square leg. Alas, the centurion finds nothing but thin air as the ball thuds into his pad in front of middle stump, arrowing towards leg. 199/4 90.6 to SJ Cook, SHARP Helm pushes one through at good pace that Cook can only edge, taken well by Eskinazi at first slip. 260/9
Luke Hollman	6	3	3	0	0.50	33	0	0	0	0

Middlesex 1st Innings

BATTING		R	B	M	4s	6s	SR
Sam Robson	lbw b Porter	0	1	1	0	0	0.00

Mark Stoneman	c AN Cook b SJ Cook	0	10	21	0	0	0.00

Pieter Malan	b Porter	0	2	3	0	0	0.00

Stephen Eskinazi	c †Rossington b Porter	0	8	11	0	0	0.00

Max Holden	c Harmer b Porter	6	22	37	0	0	27.27

John Simpson †	c Westley b Porter	63	183	233	4	0	34.42

Ryan Higgins	b Harmer	70	127	171	7	0	55.11

Luke Hollman	lbw b Harmer	4	5	9	1	0	80.00

Toby Roland-Jones (c)	c AN Cook b Porter	1	8	12	0	0	12.50

Tom Helm	not out	8	17	14	0	0	47.05
Tim Murtagh	lbw b Harmer	0	1	5	0	0	0.00

Extras	(b 9, lb 3, nb 6)	18
TOTAL	63.3 Ov (RR: 2.67)	170
Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Sam Robson, 0.1 ov), 2-2 (Pieter Malan, 0.2 ov), 3-2 (Stephen Eskinazi, 2.4 ov), 4-4 (Mark Stoneman, 3.3 ov), 5-20 (Max Holden, 10.3 ov), 6-147 (Ryan Higgins, 55.6 ov), 7-157 (Luke Hollman, 57.3 ov), 8-162 (Toby Roland-Jones, 60.1 ov), 9-169 (John Simpson, 62.6 ov), 10-170 (Tim Murtagh, 63.3 ov)

BOWLING	O	M	R	W	ECON	0s	4s	6s	WD	NB
Jamie Porter	15	4	35	6	2.33	75	3	0	0	1
0.1 to SD Robson, WHAT A START! Porter is immediately on the money: straight, little bit of nip through the air and off the pitch comes in to Sam Robson, doing him for pace. The umpire does the rest!. 0/1 0.2 to PJ Malan, AND ANOTHER! This one's gone the other way, skidding through the gate of Pieter Malan!. 2/2 2.4 to SS Eskinazi, SCENES! Eskinanzi tucks this around the corner where Rossington scoots across to take the catch. 2/3 10.3 to MDE Holden, Four for Porter! Holden offers an angled bat outside off stump to Porter from around the wicket, and Harmer takes a good low catch at a wide second slip. 20/5 60.1 to TS Roland-Jones, FIVE FOR PORTER! And it's a first five-wicket haul for the seamer since 2020! Roland-Jones hangs his bat outside off stump after following a delivery that seamed away. 162/8 62.6 to JA Simpson, SIX! For Porter, that is. Simpson understandably tries to dial the aggression up to 11 with the tail, but totally mistimes a pull, looping it straight to Tom Westley at mid on. 169/9 See all photos
Sam Cook	16	3	42	1	2.62	77	4	0	0	2
3.3 to MD Stoneman, WHAT IS GOING ON?! Wild, wild scenes here at HQ, where Sam Cook, having beaten Stoneman ball after ball, comes around the wicket and finally gets an edge through to Alastair Cook at first slip. Middlesex are four down and still have not scored a run off the bat!. 4/4
Shane Snater	7	0	33	0	4.71	30	2	0	0	0
Ben Allison	8	3	15	0	1.87	39	1	0	0	0
Simon Harmer	17.3	6	33	3	1.88	85	2	0	0	0
55.6 to RF Higgins, What a delivery! Some dismissal that - pitching on a fourth stump and spinning through the gate to clip off stump. It needed to be something special to break this stand, which ends on 127. 147/6 57.3 to LBK Hollman, Arm ball! Harmer's around the wicket to Hollman and gets one to skid in sharply to trap the left-hander on the crease in front of middle-and-leg. 157/7 63.3 to TJ Murtagh, That's all she wrote! Harmer finishes the innings with a belt-and-braces off-spinner dismissal to a left-hander from around the wicket. After the early carnage, it has been a diligent effort from Essex's bowlers during a long final session. A first innings lead of 96 has been established. 170/10

Essex 2nd Innings

BATTING		R	B	M	4s	6s	SR
Nick Browne	c Stoneman b Murtagh	24	41	57	3	1	58.53

Alastair Cook	c & b Higgins	28	57	73	3	0	49.12

Tom Westley (c)	c †Simpson b Murtagh	7	16	26	1	0	43.75

Dan Lawrence	c †Simpson b Higgins	37	56	77	6	0	66.07

Matt Critchley	lbw b Murtagh	53	80	128	8	0	66.25
Adam Rossington †	c Eskinazi b Hollman	0	2	3	0	0	0.00

Simon Harmer	lbw b Murtagh	26	57	78	4	0	45.61
Shane Snater	b Helm	19	29	41	4	0	65.51
Ben Allison	not out	9	34	36	0	0	26.47
Sam Cook	c Higgins b Hollman	2	3	10	0	0	66.66

Jamie Porter	lbw b Helm	0	5	5	0	0	0.00

Extras	(b 4, lb 2)	6
TOTAL	63.2 Ov (RR: 3.33)	211
Fall of wickets: 1-52 (Nick Browne, 14.2 ov), 2-60 (Alastair Cook, 17.6 ov), 3-68 (Tom Westley, 20.1 ov), 4-122 (Dan Lawrence, 35.6 ov), 5-123 (Adam Rossington, 36.3 ov), 6-171 (Matt Critchley, 49.3 ov), 7-184 (Simon Harmer, 53.5 ov), 8-203 (Shane Snater, 59.5 ov), 9-210 (Sam Cook, 62.2 ov), 10-211 (Jamie Porter, 63.2 ov)

BOWLING	O	M	R	W	ECON	0s	4s	6s	WD	NB
Ryan Higgins	14	4	44	2	3.14	70	9	0	0	0
17.6 to AN Cook, Brilliant! Cook leans into the drive but only makes contact with the inside half of his bat. There's still enough force behind the ball to send it straight back down the pitch, but Higgins sticks out his left-hand in his follow-through and takes a superb return catch!. 60/2 35.6 to DW Lawrence, Lawrence goes! The first innings centurion is on his way, thanks to a fine piece of bowling from Higgins, who gets a delivery to hold its line and take Lawrence's edge, who was anticipating it to come down the slope. 122/4
Toby Roland-Jones	13	1	42	0	3.23	53	3	0	0	0
Tim Murtagh	15	5	44	4	2.93	70	5	1	0	0
14.2 to NLJ Browne, Straight to cover! A tame dismissal for Browne, who had looked to have the better of Murtagh, as he offers some catching practice straight to the man on the drive. 52/1 20.1 to T Westley, Tickled! Westley's cursing his luck as he helps a delivery down the leg side and into the gloves of the keeper. 68/3 49.3 to MJJ Critchley, . 171/6 53.5 to SR Harmer, . 184/7
Tom Helm	10.2	1	38	2	3.67	49	7	0	0	0
59.5 to S Snater, . 203/8 63.2 to JA Porter, Done and dusted! Helm gets his second, trapping Porter in front of all three. Middlesex require 308 for victory.... 211/10
Luke Hollman	11	2	37	2	3.36	48	5	0	0	0
36.3 to AM Rossington, Another! 2 in 4 balls for Middlesex as Rossington wafts one to Eskinazi at first slip. 123/5 62.2 to SJ Cook, Chipped to cover! Two balls after the tea break and Cook is walking back to the Pavilion, after nailing a half-volley straight to Ryan Higgins, who stoops to take the catch. 210/9

Middlesex 2nd Innings (T: 308 runs)

BATTING		R	B	M	4s	6s	SR
Mark Stoneman	lbw b Porter	0	3	4	0	0	0.00
Sam Robson	lbw b SJ Cook	3	3	16	0	0	100.00
Pieter Malan	lbw b SJ Cook	4	28	32	0	0	14.28
Stephen Eskinazi	lbw b Porter	37	114	173	4	0	32.45
Max Holden	lbw b Harmer	25	37	43	5	0	67.56
John Simpson †	c & b Critchley	19	71	69	2	0	26.76

Tom Helm	c AN Cook b SJ Cook	0	7	12	0	0	0.00

Ryan Higgins	lbw b Snater	41	102	149	2	1	40.19
Luke Hollman	not out	63	121	146	8	0	52.06
Toby Roland-Jones (c)	c AN Cook b Snater	0	1	2	0	0	0.00
Tim Murtagh	b Porter	6	11	27	1	0	54.54
Extras	(b 8, lb 4)	12
TOTAL	83 Ov (RR: 2.53)	210
Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Mark Stoneman, 0.3 ov), 2-4 (Sam Robson, 3.1 ov), 3-15 (Pieter Malan, 7.3 ov), 4-41 (Max Holden, 17.4 ov), 5-76 (John Simpson, 36.6 ov), 6-77 (Tom Helm, 39.4 ov), 7-93 (Stephen Eskinazi, 46.4 ov), 8-180 (Ryan Higgins, 76.5 ov), 9-180 (Toby Roland-Jones, 76.6 ov), 10-210 (Tim Murtagh, 82.6 ov)

BOWLING	O	M	R	W	ECON	0s	4s	6s	WD	NB
Jamie Porter	16	3	34	3	2.12	79	3	0	0	0
0.3 to MD Stoneman, . 0/1 46.4 to SS Eskinazi, . 93/7 82.6 to TJ Murtagh, . 210/10
Sam Cook	17	6	31	3	1.82	84	3	0	0	0
3.1 to SD Robson, . 4/2 7.3 to PJ Malan, . 15/3 39.4 to TG Helm, One down, four to go! Sam Cook needs just 4 deliveries to nip out the nightwatcher, as Helm is coaxed into edging straight to second slip. 77/6
Shane Snater	14	7	34	2	2.42	70	5	0	0	0
76.5 to RF Higgins, . 180/8 76.6 to TS Roland-Jones, . 180/9
Ben Allison	11	4	23	0	2.09	57	4	0	0	0
Simon Harmer	24	7	72	1	3.00	111	6	1	0	0
17.4 to MDE Holden, . 41/4
Matt Critchley	1	0	4	1	4.00	5	1	0	0	0
36.6 to JA Simpson, Oh no! John Simpson, what have you done?! A full toss is there to smack anywhere, but the keeper-batter inexplicably thumps it back to the bowler. Critchley is too embarrassed to celebrate.... 76/5

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CLOSE OF PLAY

Thu, 06 Apr - day 1 - Essex 1st innings 162/3 (Dan Lawrence 74*, Matt Critchley 0*, 56 ov)

Fri, 07 Apr - day 2 - Middlesex 1st innings 170

Sat, 08 Apr - day 3 - Middlesex 2nd innings 77/5 (Stephen Eskinazi 24*, Tom Helm 0*, 38 ov)

Sun, 09 Apr - day 4 - Middlesex 2nd innings 210 (83 ov) - end of match

MATCH FLOW

Day 4

Middlesex 2nd innings
Batting and bowling points: Essex 4, Middlesex 3

MATCH DETAILS

Lord's, London
Toss	Middlesex, elected to field first
Series	County Championship Division One
Season	2023
Match days	6,7,8,9 April 2023 - day (4-day match)
Umpires	Mike Burns Richard Illingworth
Match Referee	James Whitaker
Points	Essex 20, Middlesex 3

Match Coverage

All Match News

Essex state their Championship case with comprehensive victory over Middlesex

Champions of 2017 and 2019 - and Bob Willis Trophy winners in 2020 - as ruthless as ever

Middlesex face chastening defeat as Essex rip through batting once more

Flimsy batting leaves hosts on brink of defeat in first match back in top flight

Jamie Porter's duck-shoot leaves Middlesex with top-flight reality check

Vithushan Ehantharajah witnesses stunning collapse after Lawrence century, Roland-Jones seven-for

Lawrence stays true to himself and Essex to show he fits the England mould

Free-spirited innings in tough conditions reaffirms sense that Essex batter is a coming man

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Middlesex Innings

PLAYER NAME		R	B
MD Stoneman	lbw	0	3
SD Robson	lbw	3	3
PJ Malan	lbw	4	28
SS Eskinazi	lbw	37	114
MDE Holden	lbw	25	37
JA Simpson	caught	19	71
TG Helm	caught	0	7
RF Higgins	lbw	41	102
LBK Hollman	not out	63	121
TS Roland-Jones	caught	0	1
TJ Murtagh	bowled	6	11
Extras	(b 8, lb 4)
Total	210(10 wkts; 83 ovs)

PLAYER NAME	O	M	R	W	Econ
JA Porter	16	3	34	3	2.12
SJ Cook	17	6	31	3	1.82
S Snater	14	7	34	2	2.42
BMJ Allison	11	4	23	0	2.09
SR Harmer	24	7	72	1	3
MJJ Critchley	1	0	4	1	4

WKT	RUNS	PLAYERS
1st	0	Mark Stoneman	Sam Robson
2nd	4	Sam Robson	Pieter Malan
3rd	11	Pieter Malan	Stephen Eskinazi
4th	26	Stephen Eskinazi	Max Holden
5th	35	John Simpson	Stephen Eskinazi
6th	1	Tom Helm	Stephen Eskinazi
7th	16	Ryan Higgins	Stephen Eskinazi
8th	87	Ryan Higgins	Luke Hollman
9th	0	Toby Roland-Jones	Luke Hollman
10th	30	Tim Murtagh	Luke Hollman

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County Championship Division One

TEAM	M	W	L	D	PT
SURR	14	8	2	4	216
ESSEX	14	7	3	4	196
HANTS	14	8	4	2	192
WARKS	14	6	4	4	179
LANCS	14	3	1	10	161
NOTTS	14	4	4	6	151
SOM	14	3	4	7	148
KENT	14	2	7	5	111
MIDDX	14	3	9	2	104
NHNTS	14	2	8	4	96

Full Table