August 19, 2004 – When Northamptonshire got third time lucky with an appeal

Middlesex toured the Northampton’s County Ground to face the Northamptonshire team in the Division One County Championship fixture that began on 18th August 2004. Middlesex (137) were 4th on the points table but only nine points separated them and the 2nd ranked Kent (146). Northamptonshire, on the other hand, were well set towards relegation as they were stable at the bottom of the table. The first day of the game was affected by rain but 61 overs of play was possible after Middlesex elected to bat.

The visiting side made only 182 runs for the loss of two wickets on the first day that included a 137-run stand for the 2nd wicket between Ben Hutton and Owais Shah. Hutton got out on the 2nd day soon after he brought up his hundred off 243 balls while Shah made 62 before getting out at end of day one. The Middlesex skipper Ed Joyce stood at the crease for 142 minutes but scored only 23 off 101 balls. Joyce was dismissed as the 7th wicket for the score of 272 after testing the patience of the spectators.

Appeal…appeal…appeal:

Simon Cook, the Middlesex’s No.9, was hit on the pad by a delivery from Johann Louw. The players appealed but David Constant turned it down while the ball flew into the slips. The fielder in slips Graeme Swann caught the ball and appealed for a catch. As the ball was not dead yet, Swann found Cook standing outside his crease and hit the stumps at the striker’s end. The off-spinner now looked at the square-leg Umpire Peter Willey and appealed for a runout.

The Northamptonshire skipper David Sales quickly went to Umpire Constant and asked the reason for turning down the appeal. The umpire responded that the ball hit the bat first before hitting the pads. Soon the Northampton captain told that in the case of an inside-edge, they appealed for a catch. David Constant was left with no option except to consult the leg-umpire Willey whether the catch was taken clean. The duo adjudged Cook out caught in the slips by Swann for a 24-ball 15.

A thrilling draw:

Middlesex were bowled out for 345 while the home team replied by scoring 295 in their first innings. Usman Afzaal’s gritty 111 off 303 balls and a 57 from captain Sales pulled Northants out of early troubles. Louw, who bagged a four-wicket haul in the first innings, scored an 84-ball 63 to reduce the deficit. The paceman followed his efforts with a five-wicket haul in the 2nd innings.

Middlesex made 216/6 in their 2nd essay thanks to a century from Owais Shah and they set a target of 267 for the hosts with a minimum of 48 overs. Timothy Roberts (46 off 76) added 49 runs in ten overs for the 3rd wicket with David Sales but the skipper was short of proper support after Roberts’ dismissal. Sales made an unbeaten 73 in 99 balls as his team ended the game at 155/7 and bagged nine points while Middlesex gained ten.

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