Chris Rogers: Somerset captain reflects on retirement and title race

Somerset now sit top of the championship table with 226 points after beating Nottinghamshire in three days but the title will only be declared as theirs should Middlesex and Yorkshire’s match end as a draw.

YORKSHIRE were held up in their pursuit of a third successive County Championship title as Middlesex’s batsmen held firm at Lord’s.

Angus Fraser, Middlesex’s managing director of cricket, and a player for the county when they last won the title in 1993, added: “This group of players will be around for a long time, and we can get better still over the next three or four years”.

Needing to pick up ten wickets from 40 overs, Middlesex got an early breakthrough with Roland-Jones sending Adam Lyth back to the pavilion for 13.

Roland-Jones, who was called-up by England earlier this year, was the man to seal Middlesex’ glory in dramatic fashion, as he claimed a hat-trick to wrap-up the match, with Azeem Rafiq, Andrew Hodd and Ryan Sidebottom being the men to fall. But with Roland-Jones, who had returned 4 for 73 in the first innings, doing well again, Yorkshire didn’t have a chance.

They were then forced to watch nervously as day four of Middlesex and Yorkshire’s title decider played out at Lord’s.

The removal of Yorkshire’s talisman was critical and Middlesex were given renewed hope when Gale swung and missed at Roland-Jones as his wicket fell for 22.

The right-arm seamer also claimed a wicket with the last ball of his previous over.

The odds were stacked against Yorkshire and once Finn bowled Steven Patterson, the stage was set for Roland-Jones to secure his place in County Championship folklore.

Somerset thrashed a woeful Notts by 325 runs to go top of the table on Thursday and would have been crowned champions if the Lord’s match between Yorkshire and Middlesex ended in a draw.