Leicestershire Dominates Middlesex on Day Two

Leicestershire 179 (Higgins 4-35, Roland-Jones 4-63) and 311 for 8 (Goldsworthy 75, Roland-Jones 5-76) lead Middlesex 86 (Mike 5-22, Green 4-28) by 404 runs

Middlesex is staring at their first loss of the season in the Vitality County Championship as Leicestershire took a commanding position on day two at the Uptonsteel County Ground.

Leicestershire, bolstered by the performances of Somerset loan players Lewis Goldsworthy and Ben Green, reached 311 for 8 in their second innings before rain curtailed the day's play, resulting in a loss of 37 overs. Middlesex's captain, Toby Roland-Jones, bowled brilliantly to take 5 for 76, but with his team bowled out for 86 and trailing by 93 runs after a 21-wicket opening day, they now face a deficit of 404 runs.

Starting at 40 for 1 overnight, Leicestershire soon found themselves at 63 for 4 within the first 10 overs, indicating another challenging day for batters. However, a 101-run fifth-wicket stand between Goldsworthy and Harry Swindells, along with partnerships of 62 between Louis Kimber and Ben Cox, and an unbeaten 71 between Green and Ben Mike, helped stabilise the innings.

During the early collapse, Ryan Higgins bowled Rishi Patel with a ball that sharply came back from outside off stump, and Roland-Jones trapped nightwatchman Scott Currie leg before with a ball that kept low. He then dismissed Lewis Hill, who edged to second slip after being hit painfully on the hand by a rising delivery.

Despite trailing by 93 runs on the first innings, Middlesex sensed a chance to claw back into the game but struggled to make another breakthrough until after lunch. Swindells, having played a supporting role in the partnership with Goldsworthy, edged behind off Henry Brookes, and Goldsworthy fell shortly after, caught at slip off Roland-Jones.

Goldsworthy, primarily loaned for his left-arm spin in the T20 Blast, had been one of the few batters to handle the tricky pitch well, scoring most of his 13 boundaries square on the leg side or through extra cover. Despite his departure, Kimber, confident after his performance at Hove last week, smashed 38 off 21 balls, including four consecutive sixes off Brookes, one of which cleared the ground.

Brookes eventually bowled Kimber with a slow yorker, and Roland-Jones completed his 27th career five-wicket haul by trapping Cox lbw. Green and Mike then extended Leicestershire's lead beyond 400.

While the pitch is offering less assistance to bowlers than on the first day, it seems unlikely the match will end in a draw unless there is significant rain, meaning Middlesex will need to achieve one of their highest-ever fourth-innings scores to win.