Middlesex youngsters hold nerve to beat Lancashire

A rousing finish at Lord's saw Middlesex home by three wickets with just a ball to spare in their Norwich Union League game with Lancashire.

With 16 required off the last over, bowled by Glen Chapple, two relatively inexperienced players, 20-year-old Jamie Dalrymple and Chad Keegan, 21, in his first season with the county, kept their nerve to bring about this exciting victory.

Dalrymple hit the first ball for six over wide mid-wicket to the Tavern Stand then got a faint edge to the next ball which went to the third man boundary and took some of the pressure off. Eventually, with five needed from three, Keegan struck a boundary at backward square-leg before the last triumphant single.

There is, however, no significant change in the second division league table with these two sides occupying second and third positions from the bottom.

Middlesex, chasing 206, seemed to be progressing well at the start of their innings and after losing David Alleyne to a lofted drive to mid-off, on 30, the left-handed pair Andy Strauss and Stephen Fleming put on 54 before Joe Scuderi had Fleming lbw for 28.

Scuderi struck again in his sixth over with the wicket of Strauss soon after he had reached his third limited-overs half-century this season. On 54, he edged behind from a push, having faced 87 balls and hit six boundaries.

Middlesex lost their fourth wicket on 112 when Ed Joyce was trapped leg before wicket by Scuderi who finished with three for 28, his best figures in the league.

It was the fifth-wicket stand of 69 from 86 balls between Owais Shah, whose 49 came from 62 balls, and Paul Weekes, 28, that strengthened the innings before they both departed within two runs of each other.

The next wicket went a run later on 184 and the balance seemed to swing back in Lancashire's favour until the two young batsmen turned the match once again for the London side.

Earlier, Andy Flintoff's powerful hitting in his 35-ball knock enlivened the Lancashire innings after Middlesex had put them in and sent both the opening batsmen back to the pavilion in six overs with only nine on the board.

Angus Fraser brought one back into Mark Chilton in his third over to bowl him for four and then had Chapple sky his shot to be held at point. Fraser eventually finished with three for 24.

Quick scoring by Flintoff brought the 50 up in the 14th over with a straight four off Tim Bloomfield and in the next over, the first from Simon Cook, he reached 30 with an extra cover drive for four followed by a six over long-on. 12 runs came from the over.

He was dismissed for 45, the next ball after hitting his seventh boundary, when he cut Keegan firmly but straight into the hands of Shah for his second catch at point.

Lancashire lost three quick wickets with Flintoff's dismissal on 72 as Neil Fairbrother went on 79 and John Crawley, six runs later. He had shared a 63-run stand with Flintoff in 56 balls.

Finally Graham Lloyd, top scoring with 46 and Scuderi, 42, took the total to 157 before Lloyd was sixth out, bowled, as he attempted a reverse sweep.