Shah stars as Foxes beaten at Lord's

Date: Sunday 16 August 2009

Pro40 result: Middlesex Panthers (2 pts) 201 (Compton 46, Shah 43, Naik 2-29, Henderson 2-35) beat Leicestershire Foxes (0 pts) 174 (Taylor 50, Boyce 23, Shah 4-11) by 27 runs

Owais Shah proved an unlikely bowling hero as Middlesex Panthers beat Leicestershire Foxes by 27 runs at a sun-bathed Lord’s this afternoon.

After restricting the Panthers to 201-7 from their allocation, the Foxes had the chase well in control at 97-3 at the halfway stage with James Taylor (50) and Boeta Dippenaar (19) going nicely.

However, Shah took 4-11 in 3.2 overs with his occasional off breaks – including the key wicket of Taylor – as County let slip a match-winning position at the Home of Cricket, which looked a picture on a glorious afternoon.

All told, the Foxes lost their last six wickets for just 35 runs, going from 139-4 to 174 all out.

It was a disappointing end to what promised to be a good afternoon, as the team had put themselves into a position of strength over the first three-quarters of the game.

County had done well to drag things back after Middlesex won the toss and elected to bat, as the home side were going great guns at 99-1 in the 20th over.

It was Shah who again played a key role, making 43 alongside opener Nick Compton (46) in what was to prove the largest partnership in the game by some distance.

The duo put on 91 for the second wicket after Dawid Malan had been caught by Dippenaar at slip off Wayne White, playing in a largely risk-free manner.

The bulk of the early runs came from flicks and nudges rather than big shots and the Foxes’ cause was not helped by a flurry of early wides.

In fairness, some of the calls looked a bit harsh, but the Panthers had fifty on the board by the end of the tenth over nevertheless.

James Benning was introduced as the first change bowler in his County debut and he bowled tidily, mixing his pace well and claiming the important breakthrough of Compton.

The wicket prompted a good period for the Foxes, who squeezed impressively with Benning, Claude Henderson and Jigar Naik all doing a good job.

Although the situation had dictated that the spinners were not operating with the slope in their favour, both extracted turn and Naik ripped a few up the gradient from the Nursery End during a mightily impressive display.

The duo formed a successful bowling partnership, which saw Henderson (2-35) profit first. The slow left armer got rid of dangerman Shah courtesy of a catch by White at deep cover, and then bowled Gareth Berg as the home side lost three wickets for 23 runs.

Naik then deservedly got in on the act, removing Eoin Morgan (22) and John Simpson (12) before they accelerated. Both were caught in the deep; Morgan by Chris Thompson at deep mid-wicket and Simpson by Josh Cobb at long-off.

Spin was certainly having an impact and with momentum being stalled, Cobb was introduced himself for an over of off-spin.

He claimed the wicket of Neil Dexter (24), who was caught by Dippenaar, but Tyron Henderson ensured the home side ended on a high with an unbeaten 23 from 14 balls with two fours.

The Foxes would still have been happy to chase down 202 had it been offered beforehand, and got themselves into a winning position. However, like their Middlesex counterparts, the batsmen found ways of getting out when they seemed well set.

Benning was unable to get that start, being given out caught at slip in the first over despite the ball appearing to hit his shoulder.

Boyce and Cobb got themselves in, with the left-hander playing a nice cover drive and Cobb also looking to be positive.

Both fell just as they were looking to kick on, with Cobb trapped leg-before by a Berg slower ball and Boyce bowled by a good ball from the impressive David Burton.

County needed a stand of substance and Taylor and Dippenaar both settled to the task. The skipper got off the mark with a wonderful on-drive, with Taylor playing a similar shot early in his knock too.

The duo took the score to 97-3 at the halfway mark and 105 runs from twenty overs with seven wickets in hand should have been well within the team’s capabilities.

It was not to be though, with the Panthers’ tweakers having a similar effect to their Foxes counterparts.

The triumvirate of captain Shaun Udal, Malan and Shah literally turned the game in Middlesex’s favour, claiming 6-78 from their combined spells over 18.2 overs.

Udal struck the initial blow, trapping Dippenaar leg-before with a full ball.

Taylor then bought up a 65-ball half-century which included four boundaries but Shah critically struck either side of that milestone to leave County in bother.

Firstly, Shah had Tom New (20) stumped to end a promising stand of 31 and the off-spinner then bowled Taylor, who advanced down the track.

County had no frontline batters left and that proved costly. A target of 63 from ten overs was not out of the question but the required rate was higher than it had been at any stage of the County knock and no-one was established at the crease.

Thompson (10*) tried to get himself in but no-one hung around with him. Malan had White caught by Udal at mid-wicket, while Naik, who has had a good few days for the club, was stumped after making an entertaining twelve.

Henderson returned to claim his namesake Claude and Shah had the final say by bowling Harry Gurney.

It meant the team had not seen the job through, and that must be so frustrating after doing so much right over the course of the afternoon.

Still, the lessons need to be learnt quickly as the Foxes are back in Pro40 action on Tuesday evening under the floodlights at Grace Road against Kent Spitfires (4.40pm start).