Patel Hits Second Successive Fifty But Middlesex Control Day
Mon 30 Jun 2025
By Jon Culley, ECB Reporters' Network, supported by Rothesay
Rishi Patel scored his second successive half-century but the day belonged to the visitors as Ben Geddes’ first century for Middlesex and teenage seamer Naavya Sharma left Leicestershire facing a battle to avoid a first defeat of the season.
23-year-old former Surrey man Geddes was out for a career-best 137 as the visitors amassed a challenging total of 534 at Uptonsteel County Ground, with the Foxes closing on 103 for eight in reply.
England Under-19 right-arm quick Sharma - playing in only his third first-class match at 19 years old “ snared four wickets in 11 balls as the promotion favourites found themselves in unfamiliar territory, despite a half-century from opener Patel.
Geddes supplemented Sam Robson’s 133 on day one as next-to-bottom Middlesex posted their biggest total of the summer before Sharma, who has four for 24 from eight overs, showed the way to bowl with the much-criticised Kookaburra ball, finding movement that had eluded others, Tom Helm chipping in with two of his own as Leicestershire fell from 39 for one to 99 for eight.
Earlier, Middlesex added a further 102 before lunch to their 336 for five overnight for the loss only of nightwatchman Sharma. The 19-year-old hammered left-arm spinner Liam Trevaskis down the ground for six but lobbed the next ball straight to mid-off.
Leicestershire could not make more inroads until the eighth over after lunch when Cracknell (38) nicked Green to first slip, the seventh-wicket pair having added 92. Moments earlier, Geddes, who moved from the Kia Oval to Lord’s over the winter, had pulled Sam Wood for his ninth four to complete his hundred from 167 balls.
Zafar Gohar was caught off bat and pad, before Geddes, having overtaken his previous best (124 for Surrey v Kent in 2022), was bowled by Patel, whose off-spin had not been seen in competitive professional cricket before last week but now has two wickets to his name.
Noah Cornwell, the 20-year-old left-arm seamer, was leg before without scoring but Middlesex would have been delighted with their work, even though it was worth only three bonus points.
They were happier still to have Leicestershire 39 for two inside nine overs in reply. Sol Budinger perished for 10 from eight balls, leg before to Cornwell past the inside edge. Trevaskis, promoted to number three in the absence of the injured Rehan Ahmed, fell for three, edging Ryan Higgins to first slip, asking for confirmation that the catch had carried before he left the field.
Patel and Lewis Hill battled to rebuild but after the third wicket pair had added 43 in 16 overs, the Middlesex tactic of bowling short to Hill paid off as the former Leicestershire captain was caught behind off the glove, pulling.
What looked initially like a well-worked breakthrough on a pitch that had hardly been helpful until then turned out to be the start of a devastating spell by Sharma that yielded four wickets in 11 balls without a run conceded.
The right-arm quick followed the dismissal of Hill by nipping one away to have Australian Test batter Peter Handscomb nicking behind, before taking two in three balls as Green fended to short leg and Ben Cox was beaten past the inside edge to be leg before, leaving Leicestershire in deep trouble at 88 for six.
That became 99 for eight as Tom Helm bowled Patel and had Logan van Beek caught behind from consecutive deliveries before Chris Wright survived the hat-trick ball.
