Innings victory puts Middlesex back on top

Middlesex duly beat Derbyshire in their CricInfo Championship match at Southgate, getting home with an innings and more than day to spare. It was their second Championship win of the season - as many as they managed all last year - and it took them back to the top of the second division.

Phil Tufnell was the main architect of the win with 10 for 133 in the match. He was well supported by Paul Weekes who had match figures of 7 for 107. In addition, it was a day of mixed fortunes for 22-year-old locally-born Aaron Laraman who, on his Championship debut, took 2 for 20 but had the misfortune to re-injure the shoulder which had kept him out of the side until this match.

It took only 23 minutes for Middlesex to wrap up the Derbyshire first innings and have them following on, 411 behind. Tufnell took the final wicket to give him a season's-best 6 for 44. In the third over of their second innings, the visitors lost Steve Stubbings, who was leg before to Tim Bloomfield, the only other wicket in the match taken by a Middlesex seamer.

As early as the tenth over, Tufnell was brought into the attack and the spinners dominated for most of the rest of the day. Derbyshire did show a little more resolution than they had first time round and Nathan Dumelow confirmed his promise with a stylish 61 (his second half-century in only two Championship appearances) before he was very well caught at forward short leg.

Matthew Dowman made 44 but only four other batsmen reached double figures and it was a match that Derbyshire will want to forget.