Middlesex v Essex
Owais Shah hit his fourth half-century in six innings as Middlesex beat Essex by 31 runs in the Twenty20 Cup at Southgate.
Shah made 79 in the hosts' total of 185 for six, bludgeoning seven sixes and four fours - from 42 balls - to put Middlesex in control.
Essex lost wickets steadily and were always behind the run rate as they finished on 154 for seven.
Jame Foster provided some resistance hitting 62 not out, reaching his 50 from 31 balls with four sixes, and combining in a stand of 63 for the seventh wicket with Andre Adams.
But Shah's runs and Irfan Pathan's bowling were enough for the Middlesex win.
Pathan recorded the best figures by a Middlesex bowler in the competition, finishing with four for 27 from four overs.
With the two captains apparently keen to get on with it, the game started in pouring rain and Shah and Ed Smith put on exactly 100 for Middlesex's first wicket before Smith was caught in the deep off James Middlebrook for 37.
Smith had batted in the shadow of the free-scoring Shah before trying to open his shoulders and holing out.
Shah seemed to be trying to hit every ball over ball over the ropes and perished when he top-edged Middlebrook to Ronnie Irani at backward square leg.
Middlesex should have been looking at a total in excess of 200 but their lower and middle order let them down again.
Scott Styris (14) and Jamie Dalrymple (18) both got starts without going on and it was left to Pathan who provided some muscular hitting at the end of the innings to get Middlesex up to 185.
He made 21 not out from eight balls with two sixes.
Danish Kaneria bowled economically, before being hit for two sixes in his final over by Pathan, taking one for 26 from four - whilst Middlebrook snapped up three for 25.
The Essex reply got off to a bad start when Alastair Cook was out cheaply but Ravinder Bopara hit four fours in his 23 before Pathan trapped him leg before and when skipper Irani fell to the Indian paceman the game was up.
A succession of wickets meant that even the late flourish of Foster and Adams was always going to be in vain.
Twenty20 Cup, 2005, South Division
Middlesex v Essex
John Walker's Ground, Southgate
1 July 2005 (20-over match)
Result: Middlesex won by 31 runs
Points: Middlesex 2, Essex 0
Toss: Middlesex
Umpires: RJ Bailey and JF Steele
Middlesex innings R M B 4 6
OA Shah c Irani b Middlebrook 79 51 42 4 7
ET Smith c GW Flower b Middlebrook 37 42 36 4 0
SB Styris c Danish Kaneria b GW Flower 14 10 8 1 1
JWM Dalrymple st Foster b Danish Kaneria 18 15 14 1 1
*BL Hutton c Middlebrook b GW Flower 3 5 7 0 0
NRD Compton c Irani b Middlebrook 5 4 4 1 0
IK Pathan not out 21 7 8 0 2
+BJM Scott not out 1 5 2 0 0
Extras (b 1, lb 2, w 2, nb 2) 7
Total (6 wickets, 20 overs) 185
DNB: PN Weekes, CT Peploe, MM Betts.
FoW: 1-100 (Smith), 2-133 (Shah), 3-134 (Styris), 4-140 (Hutton),
5-160 (Compton), 6-162 (Dalrymple).
Bowling O M R W
Adams 2 0 31 0 (1nb, 1w)
Palladino 4 0 25 0 (1w)
Bopara 2 0 31 0
Danish Kaneria 4 0 26 1
GW Flower 4 0 44 2
Middlebrook 4 0 25 3
Essex innings (target: 186 runs) R M B 4 6
AN Cook c Styris b Pathan 2 2 3 0 0
*RC Irani b Pathan 5 13 9 0 0
RS Bopara lbw b Pathan 21 17 15 4 0
A Flower c Scott b Styris 6 11 6 1 0
ML Pettini b Styris 5 8 7 0 0
JD Middlebrook st Scott b Dalrymple 11 18 17 0 0
+JS Foster not out 62 39 40 2 4
AR Adams c Hutton b Pathan 25 19 20 1 1
GW Flower not out 3 3 3 0 0
Extras (lb 4, w 10) 14
Total (7 wickets, 20 overs) 154
DNB: AP Palladino, Danish Kaneria.
FoW: 1-4 (Cook), 2-17 (Irani), 3-36 (Bopara), 4-42 (A Flower),
5-45 (Pettini), 6-83 (Middlebrook), 7-146 (Adams).
Bowling O M R W
Pathan 4 0 27 4 (4w)
Betts 4 0 36 0 (2w)
Styris 4 0 20 2
Peploe 3 0 22 0 (1w)
Weekes 3 0 23 0 (1w)
Dalrymple 2 0 22 1 (1w)
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