Middlesex build lead after Gohar five-for against Northants

Zafar Gohar's five-for was his first since joining Middlesex from Gloucestershire

Rothesay County Championship Division Two, County Ground, Northampton (day three)

Middlesex 413 & 215-3: De Caires 87, Robson 48; Holden 35*

Northamptonshire 435: Zaib 102, McManus 71, Broad 70; Gohar 5-121, Higgins 3-48

Middlesex (7 pts) lead Northants (6 pts) by 193 with seven wickets standing

Match scorecard

Josh de Caires struck 87, his highest first-class score, following a five-for by Zafar Gohar to put Middlesex in a strong position at the end of day three of their County Championship match against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.

Playing his first game of the season, de Caires, who has batted at seven for the last couple of years as a spinning all-rounder, shared an opening stand of 89 with Sam Robson (48) and the Seaxes finished the day on 215-3, a lead of 193.

It helped wrestle back the initiative after all-rounder Justin Broad hit 70 off 81 balls and combined with Lloyd Pope in a record 10th wicket partnership for Northamptonshire against Middlesex to earn them a slender first innings lead.

Broad and Pope's heroics came after Ryan Higgins' hat-trick spearheaded a Northamptonshire batting collapse in the morning session.

From a dominant 342-5, the hosts lost four wickets for eight runs in just 4.2 overs after Saif Zaib posted an excellent 102, his fourth century of the summer, making him the first Northants batter since Ben Duckett in 2016 to do so.

Higgins finished with figures of 3-48 while spinner Zafar Gohar took a further wicket to add to his four on day two for figures of 5-121.

Earlier, resuming on 308-5, Zaib and Lewis McManus looked to extend their defiant partnership which already extended into three figures.

Zaib reached three figures by bottom-edging an attempted reverse sweep past the keeper for four, but the shot proved his undoing later in the over when he picked out de Caires who took a stunning flying catch at backward point off Gohar.

That set in motion Northamptonshire's collapse, as Higgins, employing a short-pitched tactic, had McManus fending a legside bouncer to the keeper with the final ball of the 103rd over.

And he struck again with the first two balls of his next over to complete his hat-trick - Rob Keogh moved across his stumps and was bowled around his legs while Liam Guthrie upper cut a short ball straight to point.

Broad, though, was proactive from the outset, employing the sweep and reverse sweep against the spinners and muscling Gohar through mid-wicket.

With Pope providing solid support, Broad cut Gohar for four to bring up the 50 partnership and take Northamptonshire to 400.

He pulled Toby Roland-Jones to the ropes, but the Middlesex captain couldn't hold onto a difficult diving chance at mid-wicket, the ball going for four to bring up Broad's half-century.

Middlesex targeted Pope with the short ball, but he was content to duck under the bouncers and take runs off the spinners and give Broad the bulk of the strike.

Broad duly wiped out the deficit and took Northamptonshire into the lead just before the delayed lunch interval before falling shortly after the resumption when he stepped away to a Robson delivery which turned and hit leg-stump.

With the bat, Robson took three boundaries off Northamptonshire's seamers and the hosts soon turned to the spinners.

While he bowled the occasional half-tracker which Middlesex punished, Pope obtained some sharp turn and bounce out of the foot holes.

Calvin Harrison bowled tidily, conceding just one boundary in his first five overs, and also posed some tough questions for both batters, beating Robson's outside edge before de Caires failed to pick the googly.

Harrison struck with another wrong'un soon afterwards, trapping Robson lbw as he moved across his stumps.

De Caires brought up his half-century off 84 balls and after the break was harsh on anything loose from the spinners as he and Max Holden extended their partnership to 65.

Northamptonshire turned to Guthrie who made the breakthrough almost instantly, bowling a bouncer which lifted sharply to de Caires who could only fend to second slip.

Holden (35*) and Leus du Plooy (28) then added a brisk 48 together but the latter's departure came via a bizarre dismissal in the closing overs.

Caught in two minds, he seemed to be considering whether to reverse sweep or run the ball down to third man but instead guided the ball straight to the keeper.

The day ended tantalisingly poised with Middlesex considering when best to time their day four declaration.

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