Matt Roller from Lord’s

Day One:

Surrey (won toss): 384/8 (96 overs) vs Middlesex

Nick Compton enjoyed a low-key return to professional cricket after a month away from the game on an even first day at Lord’s that was brought to life by a sublime Jason Roy hundred.

Compton, who endured a terrible run of form for England in the Sri Lanka series earlier in the summer, spent all day in the field and took a simple catch as relegation-threatened Surrey recovered from a poor start to reach by close.

Indeed, it was England’s limited-overs opener Roy who stole the show with a punchy 110. It was the 26-year-old’s first first-class hundred in 430 days and only the third time he had passed fifty in the County Championship this season.

Roy has publicly made clear that it is an ambition of his to play Test cricket, and if this innings is anything to go by, then the Durban-born right-hander could be the man to come into the England middle-order after James Vince and Gary Ballance’s recent struggles.

Speaking exclusively to LastWordOnSports this evening, when asked if he could be in contention for England’s winter tours of Bangladesh and India, Roy responded “the calibre of player in that middle order is pretty outstanding so I wouldn’t say they’re fragile at all, but I’d like to think that I can step up.”

Of course, consistency will be crucial for him. Even after today’s knock, his Championship average remains as low as 31.42 in 2016.

However, today’s evidence suggested that he may have finally adjusted to the tougher challenges of Division One cricket. Each of Middlesex’s bowlers came in for similar treatment, as Roy scored sixteen fours in his 142-ball effort. But the fact that an attack with over one hundred Championship wickets between them this season was made to look ordinary speaks volumes about Roy’s positive intent and nonchalant style.

Roy is in a purple patch at the moment, with 323 runs in all formats in the past week after his scores of 120* and 93* in white-ball games at the Oval. It was his first score above 52 at the Home of Cricket, and the right-hander described it as “an incredible feeling…to push on and get a hundred.”

Surrey’s Position

Surrey will consider this to be a reasonable first-innings effort after winning the toss. They have often struggled to make big runs this season, with only two totals of over 300 in first-class cricket since 8th May, and the green tinge to the pitch would have left Gareth Batty tempted to take the option to bowl this morning.

Indeed, reduced to 23-2 within the first half hour after Dominic Sibley and Zafar Ansari were trapped lbw by the ever-reliable, at one stage it looked as though the visitors would struggle to reach any kind of a respectable total.

But Surrey fought back well in a back-and-forth morning session. Toby Roland-Jones and James Harris both bore the brunt of a counter-attacking 37 from Aaron Finch, from only 32 deliveries; the Australian, appearing in the final game of his stint as overseas player, looked in good touch, crunching a six over long-off and flaying six boundaries in his innings.

Just as Finch was getting going, home captain James Franklin hit the right-hander on the pad and he too was adjudged lbw to leave the visitors in a spot of bother at 70-3.

Re-building

Roy and Rory Burns began the re-building job, adding 55 before lunch. Burns brought up his fifty with a clipped four off his pads, his ninth boundary, after timing the ball well all morning.

Middlesex bowled poorly in the afternoon session. The short ball was hardly seen other than a filthy, wide bouncer from James Harris which Burns somehow carved straight to George Bailey on the point boundary, and yet skipper Franklin persevered with a pair of boundary riders behind square on the leg side.

Roy brought up his hundred off 133 deliveries, but was given a life on 95 as Dawid Malan dropped a sharp chance at short mid-wicket. It was the one main lapse of concentration in his innings as he chipped a relatively tough chance to the Middlesex batsman, but Roy was visibly relieved when the catch was spilled.

Steven Davies played an innings that defined his career. He looks comfortable and was almost-chanceless in his fluent knock of 38, but threw away his hard work with a poor shot on the stroke of tea and was out lbw to Ollie Rayner. There were murmurs in the Media Centre of a move away from the Oval at the end of the season, and on the basis of this knock, he might not prove too hard to replace.

As the shadows began to lengthen, Ben Foakes compiled an easy-on-the-eye half-century, and shared partnerships of 32 and 54 with Sam and Tom Curran respectively.

Roy suggested that “400 could be a good first-innings score with that pitch”, and a couple of balls did keep noticeably low; the visitors will hope that the wicket deteriorates and takes some turn in the fourth innings.

Middlesex Bowling Woes

As for Middlesex’s bowlers, it was an underwhelming performance. Tim Murtagh failed to manage another wicket after a nagging opening spell, and James Harris was wayward and expensive. Ollie Rayner did his usual job of increasing the over-rate and bowling economically without ever really threatening to bowl a ripper, and James Franklin was arguably the pick of the bowlers with his wily medium-pacers.

The particular disappointment was Toby Roland-Jones’ effort. In his first first-class appearance since being named in the England Test squad at the beginning of July, the 28-year-old’s sole wicket came through a batting error by Roy. He will hope to put this performance behind him very quickly.