Batty stars as County go top
6:50pm Thursday 24th July 2008
FIVE wickets in just 34 balls from Gareth Batty fired Worcestershire to a 10-wicket win over promotion rivals Middlesex in their LV County Championship Division Two match at Lord’s.
The inspired spell of bowling from the former England off-spinner, who took 5-33, saw him claim the wickets of Ben Scott, Shaun Udal and Dawid Malan without conceding a run as Middlesex were bowled out for just 164 leaving the visitors needing to score 104 for victory.
Thanks to Stephen Moore’s 55 in 56 balls, the County then polished off the required runs in just 17 overs as fellow opener Daryl Mitchell also weighed in with 48.
The 21 points Worcestershire gained for the victory moved them to the top of the Division Two table above local rivals Warwickshire, who have a game in hand.
It was another poor display from Middlesex who suffered their second successive championship defeat to dent their hopes of gaining promotion to the top flight.
Resuming the day on 350-9, Worcestershire extended their first-innings lead to 61 before new signing Imran Arif was dismissed for five, trapped leg before wicket on the back foot by Indian spinner Murali Kartik.
The experiment of using Ed Joyce as an opener failed dismally as the skipper was dismissed for a third-ball duck, caught behind off the bowling off Kabir Ali.
The New Road paceman bowled quite beautifully during the first session.
Kabir then snapped up the wicket of the hosts’ other opener, Nick Compton, for one in the fifth over to leave Middlesex struggling on 4-2.
That soon became 21-3 when number four batsman Eoin Morgan (six) was unfortunately run out from Ali’s deflection following a brilliant drive by Owais Shah.
Gareth Andrew’s first over saw him take the wicket of Shah (six), who edged a drive to the safe hands of Graeme Hick at second slip.
Both Malan and Scott delayed the inevitable with a superb stand of 113 in 25 overs.
However, the introduction of Worcestershire vice-captain Batty saw him take the wicket of the latter for 58, beaten by the turn and caught by Hick at slip.
He followed that up in his next over with the wicket of Udal, who after his first innings 91 was dismissed for a duck, caught by Moore off a top-edged sweep.
Batty then reacted quickly to take a smart return catch as Malan fell for 52 to leave Middlesex on 139-7.
The spinner then accounted for Kartik and Evans in quick succession — the pair respectively caught at backward point by Kabir for seven and pouched behind by Steven Davies for nought.
A brief stand of 13 between Steve Finn and Tim Murtagh was broken when Andrew clean bowled Finn for five in the over before tea with Murtagh stranded on 13.