Northants head coach Lehmann defends decision to bat first in crunch clash at Lord's
"You have to play conditions, and the wicket said bat, and we didn't bat well at all..."
Darren Lehmann defended Northants' decision to bat first in their final Rothesay County Championship match of the season against Middlesex at Lord's on Thursday.
Chasing promotion, the County have to win at Lord's to keep the pressure on rivals Kent, who went into the final round with a four-point advantage.
Skipper Luke Procter won the toss and opted to bat despite the 10.30am late September start.
The wicket looked a good one under clear blues skies and with the sun shining, but Northants were soon in dire straits at 46 for five.
And despite James Sales' excellent 43, they were rolled over for 103 in 37 overs, before Northants then dismissed the home side for 255 - a total of 20 wickets falling in one day.
There was some swing and some seam movement, but nothing extravagant, and Lehmann pointed the finger at his batting line-up and their inability to adapt to the conditions.
"It didn't do a lot at all, and it wasn't a bad wicket," the Australian told BBC Northampton.
"We probably got the ball to do more when we bowled, and it is definitely a new ball wicket and you have to find a way to get through the new ball.
"But it is certainly not a put them in wicket, and certainly not a 103 wicket. It is more of a 300 wicket.
"You have to play conditions, and the wicket said bat, and we didn't bat well at all."
Northants will have an immediate chance to put things right as they will start their second innings at 10.30am on Friday, and Lehmann believes, despite being 152 in arrears, his side can still fight back to get the win they need to keep their promotion hopes alive.
"Middlesex are of course in front of the game, but they have probably given us a bit of a sniff if we bat well," said the head coach.
"I think the batters will rectify it and they will bat better than they did on day one, and if they don't well that's the way the cookie crumbles.
"Fingers crossed someone in the top order gets a 100, we put some pressure back on Middlesex, and then come day three we are still batting with a few wickets in hand."