McManus and Sanderson dig in as Northants battle back at Middlesex

After a rain-delayed start, the County had slumped to 113 for seven in testing conditions at Merchant Taylors' School, but McManus and Sanderson put together a battling unbeaten 54-run partnership to take their side to 167 for seven at the close.

McManus ended the day on 26 not out from 42 balls, while Sanderson hit 23 from 38.

Sadler admitted it had not been a great day for his side, but insists Northants are not yet out of the game in Northwood if the lower order can stick around and cobble together a few more precious runs.

"Sando and Lewis were superb at the end," said the head coach.

"They played brilliantly and got us in a respectable position. We are still a few short of what we said in the dressing-room that we wanted.

"It is a tough wicket to bat on. It's slow but with quite a lot of bounce and it has nipped a little bit.

"With the overheads we would have bowled on that pitch as well.

"There were a couple of soft dismissals I suppose as you look through them which is frustrating, but that is the game sometimes.

"If we can bat on and get a little partnership which gets us to 210,220,230 then we are in the game."

Emilio Gay top-scored for the County with 42 from 77 balls, while Prithvi Shaw (24) and Rob Keogh (25) both made starts before being dismissed. There were ducks for skipper Luke Procter and Justin Broad.

For Middlesex, skipper Toby Roland-Jones claimed three for 34 while Tom Helm took two for 41, and he admitted he feels Northants are approaching a par score on an unpredictable surface.

"It's a good question how we feel about 167 for seven," he said. "The wicket isn't a 150 one for sure, but I think we'll be disappointed if they get more than 200.

"We weren't at our best, but we didn't bowl our worst either, so it will be interesting to see how the next three days pan out."

Play is due to resume at 11am.

Quotes courtesy of Jon Batham