All Hales for better times ahead?

On another miserable day, Notts made excellent progress until light rain at 1420 delayed proceedings with Notts 132 for one off 42 overs. Unfortunately play never recommenced as light rain was replaced by heavy rain at 1700.

With Taylor and Patel on Lions duty, Mullaney and Wessels were recalled. Ben Phillips (stiff back) was replaced by Harry Gurney. Middlesex had both Finn and Lord Brockett in their line up.

Hales played out the first over from Murtagh. Finn then induced Edwards to play on, the Cornish journeyman out for a golden duck. Lumb survived a leg before shout from Finn, but in company with Hales they added an unbroken partnership of 132. Lumb look very solid, meanwhile Hales although edging a couple through the slip cordon reached his 50 off 70 balls. Finn and Murtagh bowled well on a wicket with little life pitched on the Bridgford Road side of the square. The support bowling of Berg, Dexter and Rayner seemed rather mediocre.

Notts lunched on 109 for one. With the light failing the floodlights came on and the scoring rate decreased somewhat as Finn and Murtagh returned. When Grim Tim and the Clipstone Clipper took the players off, Hales stood on 71 and Lumb on 51 with power to add! Let’s hope that the hugely talented Hales is now over his early season blues and today’s innings is a sign of much better times ahead.

The forecast for the rest of the game is promising and temperatures as high as 17 degrees are predicted for tomorrow.

NEWFLASH........................................

The big news of the day was The Dot Ball being snapped up by Hampshire, Shafayat having already played for Shropshire earlier this season.