SKIPPER SAM SETS A NEW LORD’S RECORD
SAM Northeast eclipsed Graham Gooch’s record individual first-class score at Lord’s with a majestic unbeaten 335 as his Glamorgan side continued to dominate their Vitality County Championship opener against Middlesex.
The new Glamorgan skipper struck 36 fours and six sixes in a marathon knock of almost nine hours, becoming the first player in the county’s history to register a triple century twice and enabling them to post their best total against Middlesex, a commanding 620 for three declared.
Overtaking Gooch’s effort of 333 for England in the 1990 Lord’s Test against India, the 34-year-old shared an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 299 with Colin Ingram, who finished 132 not out.
Mark Stoneman hit a defiant undefeated 62 in response as Middlesex reached stumps on 138 for one, still trailing their opponents by 482.
Needing 14 runs for a double hundred at the start of play, Northeast ticked off that target in the fourth over of the morning after cutting Toby Roland-Jones for two boundaries in quick succession.
While the Glamorgan pair appeared uninterested in the carrot of a fifth batting bonus point, they continued to pile on runs throughout the opening session against an attack that stuck gamely to their task on an unresponsive pitch.
Northeast – who had already overtaken the Welsh county’s previous best individual score against Middlesex, made by current chief executive Dan Cherry almost two decades ago at Southgate – offered a difficult chance on 239.
Substitute fielder Joe Cracknell, diving to his left at point, could not hang onto Northeast’s robust cut off Ryan Higgins and the Glamorgan captain went on to pummel the same bowler for a string of sixes over the short Mound Stand boundary.
Ingram, who looked positively subdued by comparison, advanced to his half-century from 95 balls, turning Josh de Caires for two behind square as Glamorgan passed the 500 mark before lunch.
There was another life for Northeast after the interval, nine short of his triple century, as he danced down the track to the off-spinner and the ball turned past his outside edge, but Jack Davies was unable to complete the stumping.
However, a sweep to the boundary soon afterwards carried Northeast to 300 and he began to accelerate.
He took 18 off a single De Caires over while Ingram’s slashed six off Tom Helm to bring up his own impressive hundred went almost unnoticed.
Indisputably, though, the moment belonged to Northeast and he steered Henry Brookes for a leg-side single to move past Gooch’s record, savouring a well-deserved round of applause from the stands before declaring at the end of the over.
Glamorgan’s hopes of wreaking early damage with the ball were raised when their Pakistan left-armer Mir Hamza got it to swing at the start of Middlesex’s reply, but Stoneman and Sam Robson soon settled down to chip away at the daunting followon target of 471.
Stoneman looked strong outside off stump, cutting James Harris for four to bring up 50 soon after tea, while Robson also found the boundary regularly to accrue 43 in an opening stand of 79.
The right-hander was eventually undone by a beauty from Craig Miles, seaming back down the slope to hit middle and off stump and it was left to Max Holden, who finished unbeaten on 24, to help see Middlesex through to the close.
Stoneman brought up his half-century in style, thrashing Harris to the rope at long-on, but the home side will probably need to occupy the crease for the majority of day three if they are to take anything from this game.