Nick Gubbins defied Yorkshire’s five-man seam attack with a battling 120 not out at Lord’s to guide Middlesex to 208 for 5 on the opening day of the potential Specsavers County Championship title decider between the top two in Division One.
Gubbins, the 22-year-old left-hander, reached his fourth championship hundred of the season by pulling Ryan Sidebottom for six into the Grand Stand and an unbroken sixth wicket stand of 54 with James Franklin, who is 21 not out, had tilted the first skirmishes of what promises to be a fascinating contest Middlesex’s way before bad light lopped 14 overs from the final hour’s play.
Yorkshire took the early honours after an uncontested toss, their decision to bowl first vindicated when Middlesex slid to 57 for 3 with Jack Brooks taking 2 for 22 in a probing new ball spell in overcast conditions.
But Gubbins led the fightback and there was a big moment in the day just before tea when Franklin, on 1, was badly missed by Gary Ballance at third slip off an unlucky Tim Bresnan. After the interval, on 96, Gubbins looked to have tickled a legside catch to the keeper off Sidebottom, but umpire Rob Bailey turned down Yorkshire appeals.
Middlesex's Nick Gubbins played superbly under pressure for his 4th ton of the season & brought it up with a ! pic.twitter.com/YH8dYPgGz6
— County Championship (@CountyChamp) September 20, 2016
Yorkshire only had themselves to blame, though, for letting Gubbins get that far. On 22, with Middlesex’s total 53, Gubbins was also dropped at point by Azeem Rafiq, who leapt to try to claw down a square cut at Steven Patterson but could not cling on.
Earlier, Brooks sent back Sam Robson and Nick Compton in his new ball burst, before David Willey held his nerve against Dawid Malan to bowl the aggressive left-hander off an inside edge for 22.
Opener Gubbins, unfortunate not to be selected for England’s winter Test tours after a prolific season in championship cricket in which he has now topped 1300 runs, fought hard to hold Middlesex’s first innings together while both Stevie Eskinazi and then John Simpson hung on with him for a while on a pitch offering occasional low bounce.
Eskinazi played on to the impressive Brooks for 12 and Simpson’s innings of 15 ended when he shouldered arms to an inswinger from Bresnan which pinned him palpably in front. Brooks ended the first day with 3 for 45.
Robson had been leg-before for a duck in Brooks’ fourth over from the Nursery End, beaten by a full ball angled into him. Compton was also lbw, for 8, offering no stroke to a ball from Brooks which nipped back up the Lord’s slope.
How big could that wicket be in the title race?
Compton goes for 8 & @BrooksyFerret has wickets in 25 balls... https://t.co/ykocPwKcAo— County Championship (@CountyChamp) September 20, 2016
Malan greeted Willey’s introduction by hitting four fours and a two from the first seven balls he faced from the left-arm seamer, but perished when he aimed one expansive off drive too many. Willey, whose first over cost 15 runs, ended up with creditable figures of 1 for 25 from his initial six-over spell.
Rafiq’s off breaks were not introduced until the 56th over and he bowled only a handful of overs before Yorkshire took the second new ball immediately it was due. Two overs later, however, bad light intervened with MCC not allowed to use the Lord’s floodlights because of an agreement with the local council limiting the number of times they can be switched on in a season. That means, in essence, that floodlights cannot be used in any championship fixture on the ground.
Yorkshire – aiming to win a third successive county title – began the game nine points behind leaders Middlesex, with both counties wary of third-placed Somerset, who began this final round of games just a point behind Yorkshire and who must beat Nottinghamshire at Taunton if they are to have a chance of finishing as champions for the first time in their history.
Middlesex centurion Nick Gubbins said at close of play: "It’s about scoring runs when it matters. Thankfully it was my day today – I rode my luck. And it ended up being a pretty even day in the end.
"It was testing to be put into bat, 1030 and overcast. The pitch is pretty good, but there was movement all day. If you’d given us that at the start of the day I think we would have taken it in those conditions. But in the position we’re in now we’re looking for 300.
"That was a slight heart in mouth moment [when reprieved on 97]. You’ve got to ride your luck don’t you, and I did that today. It’s the umpire’s call, and I wasn’t sure. Those decisions even themselves out over the course of a season."