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ESPNcricinfo previews the second ODI between England and Australia

The Preview by David Hopps07-Sep-2013Match FactsSeptember 8, Old Trafford
Start time 10.15am (0915 GMT)Australia captain Michael Clarke is still looking for his first win over England on tour•Getty ImagesThe Big PictureNow the traditional Headingley washout has been concluded, it is time to move on to the cricket. Four remaining matches in the NatWest series still give two fresh and experimental squads time to show their true flavour. The sense of anticipation remains, although too many of the showers forecast for Manchester on Sunday might put a bit of a damper on proceedings.England have expectations that Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara can make the sort of impact batting at Nos. 5 and 6 that will carry them through to the 2015 World Cup. Confidence abounds following their hundreds against Ireland in Malahide and a partnership of 226, which was an ODI record for the fifth wicket. S Rajesh, in Numbers Game, has reflected upon England’s commitment since another failed World Cup campaign in 2011 to lifting the strike rate at this stage of the innings.Australia’s tour of England has so far included a 3-0 Ashes series loss, a Champions Trophy campaign in which they failed to win a match and only two international victories: a Twenty20 game against England and an ODI win over minnows Scotland.Fifty miles east of Manchester, Yorkshire will be rueing their ill luck. A third washout in five one-day internationals was not the sort of news that Yorkshire need when they are still wrestling with debts not far short of £20m. Profits of half a million from a capacity crowd of 17,250 have been washed away, leaving Yorkshire with no chance to recover the losses made on an under-budget Test against New Zealand in May. One money-saving scheme has been abandoned as Yorkshire have concluded that the floodlights at the defunct Don Valley athletics stadium are unsuitable.Form guide (Most recent first)
England WLWWL
Australia WLLWWWatch out for…Fawad Ahmed has attracted attention in the pre-match build-up because of criticism of Cricket Australia’s willingness to allow him to follow his religious beliefs and not wear a brewers’ logo on his shirt. The discord that has sounded from the wings cannot have eased his integration and he will be eager to do what he does best and remind everybody of his legspin prowess. For England, Ravi Bopara has had a decent summer. He played with a new maturity in the Champions Trophy and that century in Ireland furthered hopes that, at 28, he can yet have a consistently rewarding England career.Team newsBen Stokes has the capacity to make the grade as a fully fledged allrounder. He batted as low as No. 8 in Ireland but England have resisted the temptation to award a first cap to Chris Jordan, whose bowling suit is a little stronger. Australia are expected to retain the side that gave Scotland a 200-run thumping.England (possible) 1 Michael Carberry, 2 Kevin Pietersen, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Joe Root, 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 Ravi Bopara, 7 Jos Buttler (wk), 8 Ben Stokes, 9 James Tredwell, 10 Boyd Rankin, 11 Steven FinnAustralia (possible) 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Shaun Marsh, 3 Shane Watson, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 George Bailey, 6 Adam Voges, 7 Matthew Wade, 8 James Faulkner, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Clint McKay, 11 Fawad AhmedPitch and conditionsAfter one of the warmest summers in northern England for many years, the weather has turned a little grouchy, which considering the 10.15am start could make bowling first a big temptation. The Old Trafford pitch was one of the better ones in the Ashes series, although the pace and bounce that was often apparent a few years ago is no longer as common.Stats and trivia England’s last one-day defeat at Old Trafford came in 2006 against Sri Lanka. Since then they have won four in a row, including twice against Australia.Australia have won five and lost five of their ten ODIs at the ground.George Bailey needs 112 runs to reach 1000 in one-day internationals; Mitchell Johnson is five wickets short of 200.Ravi Bopara’s hundred against Ireland took him past Neil Fairbrother, Mike Gatting and Ian Botham on England’s run-scorers list.Quotes”My plan is to be annoying, just tick along at that door and hope one day someone comes along and opens it – and I get my chance.”
“He talked up his table tennis, and he’s let himself down a little bit there. That’s probably been a bigger issue for him.”

Hyderabad Sunrisers have now won five in five after routing Delhi Daredevils with 37 balls remaining

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran04-May-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Delhi Daredevils’ campaign is dead and buried•BCCIA couple of years ago, the Hyderabad Cricket Association had performed several at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal seeking divine intervention to change the fortunes of the home side which seemed to invariably lose at the venue. Whether it was India, the local Ranji side or the now-defunct Deccan Chargers, the Hyderabad crowd turned up only to see their side defeated.Whether it is due to the or not, the home side’s fortunes have certainly changed at the Uppal stadium. India won two Tests there this season, and the new franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad have now won five in five after routing Delhi Daredevils with 37 balls remaining.The bedrock of Sunrisers’ surprisingly successful season so far has been the bowling. Dale Steyn has bowled with frightening pace, Amit Mishra and Karan Sharma have used their googlies to flummox the batsmen, Thisara Perera has had plenty of success with both bat and ball and Ishant Sharma, usually so profligate in the limited-overs format, has been effective with the new ball. All of that came together perfectly as they hounded out Daredevils for 80, the lowest total of the season.Daredevils’ campaign had been on life support over the past week, with a couple of victories just about keeping them alive in the competition. Their chances are now dead and buried after their faltering batting failed once again. There were only four fours and one six in the entire innings, less than what AB de Villiers managed in a single over against Ashok Dinda earlier this week.Their openers survived a couple of pacy, probing overs from Steyn at the start before Asad Rauf gave a rough lbw decision to Mahela Jayawardene. Virender Sehwag followed soon after as he missed an indipper from Darren Sammy and lost his offstump. That left only David Warner among the big names, and though he was put down on 6, he couldn’t make it to double-digits as he misread a Mishra googly and was stumped by yards.The Sunrisers quicks had a plan on a track that was slow and had some variable bounce – they didn’t bowl anything full, giving nothing that could be driven easily. The surface also offered turn for the spinners, which both Mishra and Karan exploited.Daredevils had lengthened their batting with the inclusion of two overseas allrounders, Johan Botha and Jeevan Mendis, but it was to little avail. Mendis holed out to long-on, Botha top-edged to the keeper, and Irfan Pathan dragged on a Steyn delivery to the stumps. Daredevils went from 70 for 5 to 80 all out.Sunrisers major weakness is their frail batting, and the pitch was not a batting beauty but the target was too small for Daredevils’ bowlers to stand a real chance of defending it. Shikhar Dhawan made it seem like a flat track early on with some sumptuous shots, and though there were a few hiccups, Sunrisers maintained their 100% home record without too much trouble.

West Indies allrounder Marlon Samuels, who returned home from the IPL in the last week of April with a groin injury, is back to full fitness

ESPNcricinfo staff21-May-2013West Indies allrounder Marlon Samuels, who returned home from the IPL in the last week of April with a groin injury, is back to full fitness. Samuels joined his team-mates at West Indies’ Champions Trophy preparatory camp, which started on Monday in Bridgetown, Barbados.Following the Barbados camp, reported, West Indies will fly to the UK, where they will have a second preparatory camp in Cardiff. In Barbados, West Indies are without some members of their Champions Trophy squad – including new ODI captain Dwayne Bravo, Darren Sammy, Kieron Pollard and Jason Holder – who are competing in the closing stages of the IPL in India. They are also without batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan, who is currently playing for English county Leicestershire. The players at the IPL and Sarwan are expected to join their West Indies team-mates for the camp in Cardiff.West Indies coach Ottis Gibson said getting acclimatised quickly is important. “We will have a week in Barbados where will we put in some hard work as well as look to do team building exercises,” Gibson said. “We will then leave for Cardiff where we will put in some more work and get ready for the tournament. It is a great opportunity for us. We have quite a few players who have played in England and Wales before.”The hardest thing will be to get used to the conditions early. But we have quite an experienced one-day outfit at the moment, so once we get there and get acclimatised early we will be okay.”West Indies also play two warm-up matches in the lead-up to the Champions Trophy, against Australia and Sri Lanka. They are placed in Group B for the tournament, alongside South Africa, India and Pakistan. Their opening game is against Pakistan on June 7.

South Africa’s management has explained the players will wear black armbands in memory of people who were an important part of cricket in the country “especially post-unity”

Firdose Moonda03-Feb-2013South Africa’s management has explained the players will wear black armbands in memory of people who were an important part of cricket in the country “especially post-unity”, according to team manager Mohammed Moosajee.The team did not wear black armbands for former players Neil Adcock and Peter van der Merwe, who died last month, and no on-field tribute was paid because of sensitivities surrounding South Africa’s racially-divided past although there was a moments silence at CSA’s AGM.*”The player policy is that they will consider wearing black armbands if someone who is close to the
 team and management from a family perspective, or someone who has been involved in CSA, especially post-unity, dies,” Moosajee said. “If you open it up further than that, you’ve got to remember the sensitivities on both sides. With sensitivities on both sides, whom do you say yes to?”Before South Africa’s readmission in 1991, only white players represented the country because of the Apartheid policies in place. Adock played between 1953 and 1962, while van der Merwe’s career was between 1963 and 1967. Players of colour formed their own board and held domestic matches but none were eligible for the national team.As a result, Cricket South Africa has tried to restrict commemorations to those involved only after readmission. For that reason, the players’ shirt numbers begin from 1991. The decision to not award Test numbers to players before unity and the absence of armbands has aggrieved some former players.”It’s time to forgive and forget,” Barry Richards said. “We can’t keep up this pretence that there was no cricket before 1992. I was three years old when the National Party came in to power in 1948, but I’ve paid the penalty. They keep talking about disadvantaged people – no-one’s more disadvantaged than Graeme [Pollock] and I. We couldn’t have Test cricket and we’re not recognised now.”It was a sad part of our history, but let’s acknowledge that the guys who were good in that era were good, and when they die we respect them. It would be nice if the team did that. Neil Adcock in his prime would have got into a World XI and you have to acknowledge that. There is a certain respect that should be shown older guys. It just goes on and on and it’s time to bury it all. It smacks of pettiness.”Graeme Pollock agreed. “The lack of black armbands for Adcock and van der Merwe is in line with the thinking that anything that happened pre-1992 doesn’t get any credit or wasn’t part of the system,” Pollock said. “Everybody who has played for South Africa has made a contribution and those 
two gentlemen certainly made a contribution.”Adcock took 104 wickets at an average of 21.10 in his 26 Tests while van der Merwe captained South Africa to their second Test series win in England, in 1965.* 11.55GMT, February 4: This story was amended to add that a minutes silence was observed at the board’s AGM.

Mitchell Starc will fly home from India to have surgery on his ankle and will miss the fourth and final Test in Delhi

Brydon Coverdale19-Mar-2013Mitchell Starc will fly home from India to have surgery on his ankle and will miss the fourth and final Test in Delhi.Starc has been affected by bone spurs in his right ankle for some time and the problem was a key factor in him being rested for the Boxing Day Test against Sri Lanka, and while he was able to continue through the rest of the Australian summer and the Indian tour, the Australians are hoping an early operation will ensure he is fully fit for the Ashes.Starc was one of Australia’s strongest performers in the loss in Mohali, where he scored 99 and 35, and collected two wickets during a spell of impressive swing bowling with the second new ball in India’s second innings. However, with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy now in India’s hands, the Australian team management decided that Starc’s injury was best dealt with immediately to give him the best chance of being available for the tour of England.”Mitch has been experiencing ankle pain related to bone spurs during the India Test series and whilst manageable, this represents an appropriate time for Mitch to have the surgery with a view to having him fully fit for the Ashes in late June,” the team doctor Peter Brukner said. “Mitch will have surgery later this week and we’ll assess his recovery as he returns to bowling.”Australia’s coach Mickey Arthur said Starc could have continued playing but that could have been more of a risk than booking him in for the operation now.”I think the dilemma with Mitchell Starc, as it has been throughout the whole summer, is he has these bone spurs,” Arthur said. “They are going to snap at some stage – we just had to look for what we thought was the best possible window to get them done, or not get them done and just take the risk.”We looked at it now and just thought ‘this is a proper gap for us to be able to get it done, clean it out’ so that he can come back with no gamble and no I guess injury cloud at all. It gives us a good window now to get it done properly. In terms of risk this was the best time. He’ll be ready we’re hoping by the Champions Trophy, if not he’ll be 100% ready to go for the Ashes. We just thought it was the best time.”Starc’s absence for the Delhi Test could bring Mitchell Johnson into contention to play his first Test of the tour. Johnson and James Pattinson will again be available for selection after being left out due to their failure to complete a team task in Mohali and while Pattinson is a certainty to play, the make-up of the rest of the attack is less clear. The pitch in Delhi is expected to offer significant turn.

Ravi Bopara’s return to England’s Test team will be confirmed on Sunday when he is slotted in for the No. 6 role against South Africa

Andrew McGlashan14-Jul-2012Ravi Bopara’s return to England’s Test team will be confirmed on Sunday when he is slotted in for the No. 6 role against South Africa. He will be the one significant change from the team which took on West Indies earlier this season by replacing Jonny Bairstow in the middle order.Bopara’s form in the ODI series against Australia, where he scored 182 runs and claimed four useful wickets, confirmed he is primed for a return to the Test side after a frustrating period where injuries have curtailed his opportunities. He was set to make a comeback in Sri Lanka after Eoin Morgan was dropped but picked up a side strain which prevented him from bowling and so Samit Patel was preferred over him. Then, at the start of this season, he injured his thigh which ruled him out of the series against West Indies.That opened the door for Yorkshire’s Bairstow, but he struggled in the three Tests and made just 38 runs and has not had a huge amount of batting since. He returned to Championship action this week and collected a first-ball duck against Hampshire.The other area of debate for the selectors will be who takes the role of third fast bowler behind James Anderson and Stuart Broad. England’s new-ball pair missed the last Test against West Indies when they were both rested but will return to spearhead the attack for the main event of the season.In the first two Tests against West Indies they were accompanied by Tim Bresnan who was Man of the Match at Trent Bridge after a destructive spell of reverse swing on the third evening sealed the series for England. He currently has a Test bowling average of 26.09 (alongside his batting figure of 40.22) and will be tough to dislodge, but Steven Finn’s performances in the recent one-day matches have made a very strong case.In the four completed matches against Australia, Finn took eight wickets at 19.37 including 4 for 37 at Chester-le-Street. He played the final Test against West Indies when Broad and Anderson were rested but was out-bowled on that occasion by Graham Onions who is the other fast bowler in contention. However, it may be that Onions does not even find a place in this squad such are England’s resources.There are a couple of lingering injury concerns with Bresnan and Graeme Swann having both recently been rested due to elbow problems. Swann missed the last two ODIs against Australia, and did not play for Nottinghamshire against Middlesex, while Bresnan has not played since the fourth ODI at Chester-le-Street.Earlier this week Andy Flower said: “Swann and Bresnan have ongoing elbow problems. Our medical staff believe they will be fit and available for selection for the first Test but it’s a strenuous exercise being a bowler playing international cricket.”They play all three forms of the game so that’s why Swann missed a big part of the one-day series and why we rested Bresnan for the last match at Old Trafford.”The impact of an injury to Swann is one area where this England side have yet to be tested. His absence would leave a vast hole to fill as he provides both attacking and defensive skills, which have been key to England being able to employ a four-man attack with such success.Should cover – or even a replacement – be needed at any stage it would probably come from either Monty Panesar or James Tredwell instead of any of the young spinners in county cricket such as Danny Briggs, Scott Borthwick or Simon Kerrigan who are still some way short of Test quality.Panesar made a successful return against Pakistan in the UAE earlier this year, but did himself no favours with a poor fielding display at Galle and Tredwell, who took 2 for 23 in the last ODI against Australia, may well be the preferred option. This, though, is not the series where England want to test that theory.Probable squad Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Matt Prior, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Steven Finn

Somerset’s twins Craig and Jamie Overton both have hopes of a championship debut against Lancashire at Taunton on Thursday – but only one of them is likely to be celebrating.

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Apr-2012Somerset’s twins Craig and Jamie Overton both have hopes of a championship debut against Lancashire at Taunton on Thursday – but only one of them is likely to be celebrating.The Overton twins, who have recently returned from an England U19 one-day tour of Australia, are likely to be vying for only one place, which will bring mixed family emotions when Somerset’s final X1 is announced shortly before the start of play.Brian Rose, Somerset’s director of cricket, has given no clues as to whether it will be Craig or Jamie who is preferred. Both have been named in a 12-man squad and a final decision on the team will be made on the morning of the match.”We have had good reports about them from the England U19s’ recent trip and they are in contention,” Rose said. “We will make a decision on which of the twins plays shortly before the game when we have assessed conditions.”Jamie, a fast bowler, looks the probable starter with Craig, an allrounder, as 12th man.The twins play for North Devon CC which is best known as the Instow base of David Shepherd, a former Gloucestershire cricketer and international umpire, and arguably Devon’s most famous cricketing son.Both Overton twins helped North Devon win the Devon Cricket League last summer and they played in the Devon team who became minor counties champions. They made their senior North Devon league debut at 13.If they progress into the Somerset side, they will follow the twins Keith and Kevin Parsons, who represented the county together in the mid-1990s.North Devon flourished during the 2011 season, though they were hit by the death of former player and umpire Bill Shepherd. He was the elder brother of David, who died in 2009 as the club’s most renowned member.

Shane Shillingford finished day one with four wickets and put West Indies in a strong position as the Australian batsmen struggled to handle his bounce and turn

The Report by Brydon Coverdale23-Apr-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAustralia struggled to handle Shane Shillingford’s bounce•AFPGet the sign-writer ready. If Shane Shillingford’s first day of Test cricket in his home nation was an audition to have a stand named after him at Windsor Park, it couldn’t have gone much better. Shillingford finished the day with four wickets and put West Indies in a strong position as the Australian batsmen struggled to handle his bounce and turn, and at the close of play West Indies had given themselves a chance of the victory they needed to draw the series.Of course, with four days still to play, there was plenty of time for the Australians to fight back. But 212 for 7 was far from the score the captain Michael Clarke was anticipating when he won the toss and chose to bat. David Warner made 50 and Shane Watson scored 41 but neither they nor their colleagues looked truly comfortable, initially against the swing of Ravi Rampaul and then against Shillingford’s spin.At stumps, Matthew Wade was on 22 and had fought hard to survive 72 balls, while the recalled Mitchell Starc was on 24, having struck a six late in the day. But West Indies had taken the second new ball and it was curving in the air enough to challenge the two left-handers, and the morning session on the second day promised to be a tough one for Australia’s lower order. Not that it was pace that caused the most problems on day one.Shillingford, playing in his home country of Dominica, used his height to great effect, troubling the batsmen with bounce and bite off the pitch. He ended the day with 4 for 77 but created far more chances besides those that brought wickets. Ricky Ponting and Clarke had both been especially hampered by Shillingford and he eventually had the reward of removing them both.Shortly after he passed Rahul Dravid to become the second-highest run scorer in Test cricket, Ponting departed for 23 when he gloved a ball that turned and bounced more than he expected, and Darren Sammy ran around from leg slip to take the catch square of the wicket. A few overs later, Clarke (24) was also done by the bounce and gloved the ball to short leg.Shillingford’s fourth arrived when Michael Hussey, on 10, edged another fine delivery and was brilliantly taken at slip by Sammy, whose reflexes were quick enough that he could run to his left and grab the ball with his arm outstretched. It was a just reward for Shillingford, who had been a threat all day, initially without luck.Smart stats

Ricky Ponting went past Rahul Dravid to go second on the list of leading run-getters in Tests. However, his bad form against West Indies continued. In his last nine innings, he has scored 180 runs at 22.50.

David Warner scored 50 off 136 balls at a strike rate of 36.76. It is the fifth-lowest for an Australian opener since 2000 (half-centuries only).

Australia scored 212 off the 90 overs at a run-rate of just 2.35. it is their second-lowest run-rate in an innings in this series. The overall run-rate in the three Tests (2.67) is the lowest for Australia against West Indies since 1990 (min three Tests).

Shane Shillingford’s 4 for 77 is his best bowling performance in Tests surpassing his 4 for 123 against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2010.

There have been only six half-centuries scored in this series for Australia. It is the joint-lowest number of fifty-plus scores for Australia in a three-Test series since 1990.

Kemar Roach chipped in later in the day with a well-directed bouncer that caught the glove of Ryan Harris on the way through to the wicketkeeper, before Wade and Starc came together. Their partnership had grown to 43 by stumps and the close perhaps came at the right time for the hosts, who can start afresh on Tuesday.They had started about as well as they could have hoped on Monday. Rampaul, included for his first match of the series after Fidel Edwards was ruled out due to injury, curved his second ball in beautifully and surprised Ed Cowan, who offered no shot and was lbw. The only aspect of the dismissal that did not represent a misjudgement by Cowan was his decision not to ask for a review.Rampaul was impressive with the new ball, swinging it and troubling the batsmen, and he didn’t concede a run until his 17th delivery. He should have had a second wicket when Warner, on 5, edged to third slip but the captain Sammy spilled a simple chance and to add to the frustration for West Indies, Sammy introduced himself in the next over and was duly driven for four by Warner.Warner and Watson steadied Australia and both men were able to survive, despite looking scratchy early. On the rare occasions that the bowlers overpitched or dropped short, they drove or pulled well, but never did they appear truly settled. Their 83-run stand came to a close when Watson, on 41 from 120 balls, top-edged an attempted pull off Sammy and was caught at deep square leg.Soon afterwards, Warner, on 50, cut uppishly and was caught at cover point, delivering Shillingford his first wicket, and the Roseau crowd their first moment of home-town pride for the day. There were plenty more to come.

The ICC has approved a six-match Twenty20 series between Pakistan and Australia, which if it goes ahead will be the longest bilateral T20 series ever staged by international sides

Brydon Coverdale25-Jun-2012The ICC has approved a six-match Twenty20 series between Pakistan and Australia, which, if it goes ahead will be the longest bilateral T20 series ever staged by international sides. The decision has improved chances of the series being staged, most likely in the period between August 22 and September 10.The PCB had deployed a four-man team, including officials from its finance and legal departments, to examine the possibility of staging a series in the UAE. It was originally keen to lock in a series of three T20s and three ODIs in August, but the extreme heat at that time of year raised serious concerns from Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association.The ICC has a rule limiting the number of matches in a bilateral T20 series to three, but countries can ask for special dispensation to hold a longer series in exceptional circumstances. The PCB’s struggle to find a suitable venue for an ODI series in August prompted the proposal for a six-match T20 series.”The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) requested support for the flexibility to stage a six-match Twenty20 International series against Australia potentially in the United Arab Emirates in August,” the ICC said in a statement. “This request required a special dispensation from the CEC and then the ICC Board as the current regulation permits only three T20I in a series.”Because of the extreme daytime heat in the UAE at that time of the year, the CEC raised no objections to the principle of a six-match T20I series replacing the scheduled series of three ODIs and three T20Is should the PCB elect to make that switch.”A PCB official told ESPNcricinfo: “The ICC’s approval has made things easier for us. There were many issues apart from the weather but now we can move in one direction and will announce our decision shortly.”A Cricket Australia spokesman said on Monday afternoon CA was still waiting for further details of the series from the PCB. Paul Marsh, the chief executive of the Australian Cricketers’ Association, said the ICC’s decision was sensible given the extreme heat that players would be forced to play in if 50-over games were scheduled, while T20s could start in relatively cooler conditions later at night.”It’s a good commonsense decision given the circumstances,” Marsh told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s not a perfect situation playing in the UAE at that time of year but we understand the limitations of not being able to play in Pakistan, so it’s a good compromise given the circumstances.”A number of three-match T20 series have been held between international sides in the past, but never have four or more games been approved by the ICC.The six games will provide an excellent opportunity for both sides to finalise their preparations for the ICC World T20, which takes place in Sri Lanka in September.

Middlesex took a massive step closer to promotion by claiming maximum batting bonus points against Leicestershire at Grace Road

13-Sep-2011
Scorecard
Middlesex took a massive step closer to promotion by claiming maximum batting bonus points on the second day of their County Championship Division Two game against Leicestershire at Grace Road. Top-of-the-table Middlesex reached stumps on 401 for 8 and now needed just to avoid defeat to book their place in Division One next season.A fine knock of 97 from Dawid Malan and half-centuries for John Simpson and Gareth Berg were the bedrock of the total that put Middlesex on the brink of promotion with Northamptonshire managing only three batting points against Gloucestershire.There were times, however, when the nerves kicked in for Middlesex and at 320 for 8 in the 85th over they were by no means certain of reaching the 350 total required to collect a fourth batting point. But Berg, joined by Tim Murtagh, safely saw them pass that mark and then the pair cut loose, adding another 50 runs in the next five overs to leave Middlesex in a powerful position with a lead of 82 at the close of play.Berg finished on 70 not out from 81 balls having hit three sixes and five fours as the Leicestershire attack toiled in the evening session. Only off-spinner Jigar Naik, who picked up three wickets, really troubled the Middlesex batsmen who were in control for much of the day.Andrew Strauss and Sam Robson gave them a solid start with an opening stand of 75. Strauss, who survived a confident lbw appeal from Nathan Buck before he had scored, looked in good touch and the partnership produced 50 in nine overs. A 30-minute rain interruption stopped the flow of runs and Strauss was out on the resumption, caught behind by Ned Eckersley for 32 off the bowling of Alex Wyatt.Robson then edged the same bowler to wicketkeeper Eckersley for 46 but Chris Rogers and Malan shared a third-wicket stand of 71 in 22 overs to give Middlesex command again. But, when Rogers and Jamie Dalrymple were both dismissed by successive deliveries from Naik, Middlesex looked in some trouble again.Malan, however, continued to play some fine shots against some loose bowling from the Leicestershire seamers, reaching his 50 off just 59 balls. The 200 total came up via the 31st boundary of the innings with Malan clipping Rob Taylor away to the ropes.But, with a century looking certain Malan was out for 97 off 142 balls, caught behind as he chased a wide delivery from Wayne White. Simpson steadied things again, scoring a half-century off 86 balls before top-edging a catch off Taylor and, when Ollie Rayner and Steven Crook both fell cheaply, Middlesex looked to be stumbling in their bid for the prize.But Berg and Murtagh regained the initiative and by the close the visitors were in a commanding position with every chance of achieving the double over the bottom-of-the-table hosts.