Masood hits 91 as Derbyshire begin fight back

Shan Masood scored 91 in his first LV= County Championship innings for Derbyshire, as the visitors began their fight back on Day Two at Lord’s. 

Middlesex’s Tim Murtagh claimed his 900 first-class wicket, while  Masood’s 91 for Derbyshire is comfortably the highest-ever score by a debutant for the county against Middlesex at Lord’s. His 220-minute vigil allowed the visitors to reply with 177-4 after bowling out the hosts for 401 on the stroke of lunch, Alex Thomson returning 4-103 his best figures in County Championship cricket.

Middlesex resumed on 307-4 with eyes on a fourth batting point ahead of the 110-over cut-off. What looked straightforward became a fraught chase as first Jack Davies lost his off-stump to Anuj Dal before Thomson struck twice in three balls in the 110th over to see off John Simpson and Toby Roland-Jones.

The precious point was only secured when Robbie White sent the final ball of the over to the mid-wicket fence. He perished soon afterwards for 65 and it needed a few meaty blows from Tom Helm in an unbeaten 30 to lift Middlesex beyond 400 in the first innings at Lords for the first time since September 2018.

Godleman, formerly of this parish, posted a landmark of 1000 runs at Lord’s when he reached eight, but the former teammate of Murtagh in the late noughties would later play the role of walk-on part in the veteran seamer’s historic moment.

Meanwhile, Masood forged on. The Pakistan Test opener was born in Kuwait, but raised in Lincolnshire and has graduated from both Durham and Loughborough Universities. Perhaps that explains why he felt so at home inside the Grace gates.

A sumptuous square drive took him passed 50 and at 58 he surpassed the previous highest score made by a Derbyshire debutant at Lord’s, Chesney Hughes’ 57 back in 2010.

He survived a testing spell from Tom Helm after tea and looked poised for a century when Murtagh, in search of a breakthrough, threw the ball to spinner De Caires, who lured him down the track with one he held back, and Simpson whipped off the bails to send him packing for 91. It marked the youngster’s debut wicket in first-class cricket.

At the close of play, Masood said: “I think in English conditions, you wait to get set and then take the attack on. You want to make it big, unfortunately I didn’t. The team would have been in a better position with only three down, but those things happen, you have to score runs and take a few chances, some of them come off and others don’t.

“It’s disappointing in the end, but I’m always happy to get stuck in and face around 150 balls, that sets me up well for the season. Runs are a by-product of how well you’re playing and I feel I’m making good shapes and in decent balance. It was a decent attack out there and I like to test myself against decent attacks.”

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