YORKSHIRE coach Jason Gillespie admitted his players had paid the price for their poor bowling on Tuesday evening after Middlesex completed their astonishing seven-wicket defeat of Joe Root’s team yesterday afternoon.

Led by skipper Chris Rogers, who made a quite brilliant 241 not out, the home side completed what was the County Championship’s third-highest successful run-chase in great comfort, but Gillespie conceded that the seeds of the home side’s epic victory had been sown by his own bowlers’ deficiencies.

“It’s very simple, we just weren’t disciplined with our lines and lengths and that’s something we pride ourselves on,” he said.

“The intention was good in that we were looking to pitch the ball up but it was disappointing in that we gave Middlesex too many four-balls on a good wicket on Tuesday evening. We didn’t get our skills right and we paid the price for that.

“Middlesex played pretty positively and looked to put us on the back foot but our efforts were pretty poor and our bowlers won’t mind me saying that.

“There were far too many half-volleys and far too many short and wide deliveries. At first-class level you just can’t do that and I’m hoping that our bowlers will take stock and learn from it. Today they were much better.

“Joe Root will be hurting now but that will stand him in good stead if he has captaincy aspirations. We’ve had a bit of a chat in the dressing room and we now have to regroup for the match against Durham. All I ask is that we learn from the things that we do well but also learn from the occasions when we don’t get it right.”

Gillespie’s criticisms of his attack on the third evening of the game at Lord’s are perfectly valid but what was remarkable about yesterday’s cricket was the composure with which Rogers and his colleagues went about their business and the ease with which they accomplished the task.

The two wickets taken by the Yorkshire bowlers seemed little more than minor interruptions in a morning and early afternoon which was dominated by the powerful driving and wristy cutting of Rogers, who hit 37 boundaries in his superlative display.

Resuming on 230-1, Middlesex lost Dawid Malan, who was lbw on the front foot to Ryan Sidebottom having added just seven runs to his overnight 28 not out. Around an hour later Eoin Morgan was caught at slip for 35 by Adam Lyth when a ball from off-spinner Kane Williamson looped into the air, very probably off the batsman’s glove.

Neil Dexter then joined Rogers and made 72 not out in an unbroken stand of 145 for the fourth wicket as the game ended in a flurry of boundaries.

Yet even when Yorkshire players have learned the hard lessons from yesterday’s defeat, they will surely acknowledge the quality of the innings played by Rogers at a sunlit home of cricket.

Middlesex’s managing director of cricket Angus Fraser said it was one of the best innings he can recall from one of his county’s batsmen and Gillespie broadly concurred in that assessment.

“It was a fantastic knock and sometimes you have to take your hat off to the opposition,” he said.

“Our bowlers gave it their all today but we just didn’t get our skills right earlier in the innings.”

 

LV County Championship

Division one

Middlesex v Yorkshire

at Lord’s

Yorkshire first innngs: 178 (L E Plunkett

56 no; S T Finn 4-50).

Middlesex first innings123 (R J Sidebottom 4-34).

Yorkshire second innings 416 (G Ballance 130, J E Root 63, A Lyth 54, A U Rashid 43; S Finn 4-89).

Middlesex second innings

C J L Rogers not out.............................. 122

S D Robson c Ballance b Brooks......... 77

D J Malan lbw b Sidebottom ....................... 35

E J G Morgan c Lyth b Williamson.................. 27

N J Dexter not out ................................... 72

Extras b8 lb4 nb8.............................................. 20

Total 3 wkts (101.4 overs)............................ 472

Fall: 1-181 2-257 3-327

Bowling: Sidebottom 20-3-80-1, Brroks 22-3-134-1, Patterson 11-2-40-0, Plunkett 13-2-57-0, Root 3-0-11-0, Rashid 18-0-69-0, Williamson 14.4-3-69-1.

Umpires: R J Bailey and S J O’Shaughnessy.