Northants left 'subdued' as they fail to win crunch relegation clash at Middlesex

In a match Northants needed to win, they set the home side a target of 323 in 92 overs, and for much of the day were the side chasing the victory, especially after reducing Middlesex to 21 for two early on, with Stevie Eskinazi also retired hurt due to a finger injury.

But a superb 126 not out from Sam Robson, along with 75 from John Simpson and a quickfire 34 from 18 balls from skipper Toby Roland-Jones, took Middlesex to the brink of what Sadler admitted would have been a 'deserved' victory.

The home side needed 13 to win from the final 12 balls, and then 10 from the final over, which was bowled by Tom Taylor, and three from the final ball, but Robson could only scramble a two and the scores finished level after four enthralling days of cricket in Northwood.

It is only the third time this season that Northants have avoided defeat, but means they stay rooted to the bottom of the LV= Insurance County Championship table, now 16 points adrift of Middlesex and 27 shy of third from bottom and safety with just six matches remaining.

“It was incredible, what a game of cricket, the last ball of the last over of the last day and it could have gone either way," said Sadler.

"Credit to Middlesex for that chase, they played it magnificently and probably deserved to win in the end.

“There’s a bit of a subdued feeling in the dressing room.

"It was a great game to be part of but at the start of the day we felt like we could win it and then with an hour to go we had to drag our way back into it."

Northants had resumed on 372 for seven, but were quickly rolled over for 380 in the opening 15 minutes of the day, and the head coach admitted: “We had a bit of a ‘mare this morning, if I’m honest.

"Plan A was to get another 20-30 runs without taking too much time out of the game, but we kind of messed up and in the blink of an eye we were back out there.

“But we then bowled beautifully, I felt.

"We were so close to breaking through that top order and putting them under serious pressure but I thought Sam Robson and Simmo (John Simpson) played superbly.

“It all happened in a bit of whirlwind – we were in control of the game and then we felt like we’d lost the game. But those two (Ben Sanderson and Tom Taylor), under pressure at the end, held their nerve."

Middlesex skipper Roland-Jones said: "I think both teams will have frustrations and feel like maybe they’ve missed a chance to win, but it was a great game of cricket all round.

“It’s ended up producing a chase that’s ebbed and flowed, with probably both teams feeling at different points like they were favourites and had a really good chance of winning, but ended up at that halfway point.

“It’s never easy chasing in this four-day format, where the stipulations of extras and things like that are slightly different and it can be harder to know where your boundary options are.

“It was a new-ball wicket, they bowled particularly well and credit to them, but Robbo managed to ride through that passage and found a tempo to anchor the innings and let the guys bat around him.

“You always end up thinking ‘what if, what if, what if’ when you’re batting in a chase and I’m just gutted for the guys we didn’t finish it off, but really proud of the efforts.”

The Northants players wore black arm bands as a mark of respect following the death on Wednesday of former first-team scorer and club stalwart Tony Kingston.

“What a true gentleman, what a great man," said Sadler in tribute.

"Everybody connected with Northamptonshire knows what he was and what he stood for, the respect for him has been immense.

“We said this morning we wanted to put in a performance and try to send him off with a win. Sadly that wasn’t to be but it was certainly a game he’d have loved.”

Quotes courtesy of Ben Kosky