Toby Roland-Jones steers Middlesex into controlling position vs Northants

Toby Roland-Jones led the hunt for wickets as Middlesex had the better of a rain-affected opening day against Northamptonshire at Merchant Taylors' School.

The Seaxes skipper, Middlesex's leading red-ball wicket-taker this season in this his benefit year, made good on his decision to bowl first under murky skies, returning 3 for 34.

Tom Helm , who produced a fiery opening burst backed up his skipper with 2 for 41 as the visitors struggled to 167 for 7 in the 44.4 overs played.

Emilio Gay with 42 provided the chief resistance for Northamptonshire, who gave a debut to seamer Dominic Leech, who joined on loan this week from Yorkshire ahead of starting a three-year contract at Wantage Road next season.

Morning rain meant no play before lunch and it was 1:25pm before Middlesex's bowlers got the chance to profit from winning the toss.

Indian Test opener Pritvhi Shaw made a positive start against some friendly offerings from Ethan Bamber and Roland-Jones. Two leg-side half-volleys were suitably despatched while two glorious drives fizzed through the covers. An injudicious attempted pull off Roland-Jones ended his fun, the ball skied to Mark Stoneman at point.

Tom Helm was next to strike. The quick had played drinks waiter since appearing for Birmingham Phoenix in the opening game of the Hundred last month, but showed no rustiness, luring Ricardo Vasconcelos into a pull shot which ballooned to Roland-Jones at wide mid-on.

The 30-year-old then produced the sort of ball pace bowlers dream off, bringing one back from outside off-stump to bowl Northamptonshire skipper Luke Proctor, the stump careering back almost to wicketkeeper Jack Davies.

George Bartlett gave Sam Robson the first of three slip catches and while Rob Keogh briefly launched a counter-offensive, twice striking successive boundaries, he also found the hands of the former England opener with an edge off Henry Brookes.

Gay had watched all the carnage from the other end. The opener, who departs for Durham at the end of the season, and who made a career-best 261 against the Seaxes at Wantage Road earlier in the campaign, batted with greater control than his teammates, using his height to defend off the back foot, while getting a good stride in when driving through the extra cover region.

It was going to take a good ball to dislodge him and Roland-Jones found a brute on the stroke of tea which lifted from around fourth stump causing Gay to edge to slip, Robson again the catcher.

Roland-Jones removed Justin Broad for an eight-ball duck soon after the resumption but Lewis McManus and Ben Sanderson stopped the bleeding before rain drove the players from the field.

They returned 90 minutes later and 14 deliveries proved enough for the batters to raise a valuable 50-partnership before bad light intervened.