Ben Smith's second score in the nineties in successive innings helped Worcestershire to build a first-innings lead, one which reached frustrating proportions for Middlesex thanks to the haemorrhaging of 50 extras and tailend resistance.

Despite having to contend with the second new ball, the ninth wicket pair of Gareth Andrew and Matt Mason put on 50 to secure an unlikely fourth batting point.

This was Smith's fifth fifty of the campaign, and frustratingly for him, none have been converted into hundreds. He got close with 99 last week against Glamorgan, and was only seven runs short yesterday when Murali Kartik had him caught at silly point. Middlesex can take encouragement from the spinners turning a number of balls sharply, but they will reflect that they gave Smith far too much opportunity to showcase his devastating cutting. The shot brought him the bulk of his 14 fours.

Middlesex bowled well in the first half of the day to reduce their opponents to 189 for five. Danny Evans produced a snorter that lifted to have Vikram Solanki caught behind and Tim Murtagh had Graeme Hick caught at backward point off a leading edge.

Steve Finn ran out Gareth Batty from backward square leg after a mix-up with Smith, but by then, the pair had added an important 71 in 23 overs for the sixth wicket. When Kabir Ali was eighth out at 299, something close to first innings parity appeared likely, but Middlesex wasted the new ball, Evans bowling two sets of four wides in one over.

Despite the newness of the ball, Kartik and Shaun Udal, the two spinners, had to be recalled, and it was the Indian who eventually had Mason leg before. That he turned a number of balls quite sharply on the second day will be of encouragement to Middlesex, but before they can entertain hopes of victory, they must bat well enough in their second innings to set a defendable total.

The members' forum on Tuesday evening, which had originally been scheduled as an SGM before a petition expressing no confidence in the Middlesex committee was drawn, passed off peacibly. Profesor David Silverman, Tthe ringleader of the disenting members, was allowed fifteen minutes at the start to set out his main gripes. Over 300 members attended the two-hour meeting which was at no stage heated, and even described as “turgid” by one.

Middlesex: First Innings 300 (S D Udal 91; K Ali 5 for 58)

Worcestershire: First Innings (overnight 9-0)
D K H Mitchell lbw b Murtagh 31
S C Moore c Joyce b Evans 21
*V S Solanki c Scott b Evans 13
B F Smith c Joyce b Kartik 93
G A Hick c Morgan b Murtagh 15
S M Davies c Joyce b Udal 22
G J Batty run out 39
K Ali c Finn b Evans 9
G M Andrew not out 32
M S Mason lbw b Kartik 25
Imran Arif not out 0
Extras (b 12, lb 6, w 12, nb 20) 50

Total (9 wkts, 101 overs) 350

Fall of wickets: 1-50, 2-74, 3-76, 4-137, 5-189, 6-260, 7-267, 8-299, 9-349.

Bowling: Murtagh 19-1-83-2; Finn 18-5-64-0; Evans 16-1-77-3; Kartik 29-14-47-2; Udal 19-2-61-1.

Umpires: R J Bailey and R K Illingworth.

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