By D J Rutnagur at Lord's
First day of four: Glamorgan 293-5 v Middlesex
IF Mark Ramprakash did anybody a favour by electing to bowl first, it was Steve James, if not quite the front-runner among candidates to open England's innings with Mike Atherton at Edgbaston next week then certainly a prominent contender.
James, who strengthened his case with a double-century against Devon Malcolm and Franklyn Rose in Glamorgan's last match, was able to parade his talent before two selectors, Mike Gatting viewing from first slip, and Graham Gooch perched in the pavilion.
They saw James dominate the early stages of Glamorgan's innings. He had scored 79 of the 137 on the board when he played his first loose shot in 168 minutes, an uppish drive at Jamie Hewitt, and was caught at cover.
James's partnership of 107 for the second wicket with Adrian Dale laid the perfect platform for Matthew Maynard to mount an offensive against an attack who posed little threat, but he was playing his first innings since injuring himself almost four weeks ago and looked rusty.
Glamorgan were hard put to gain momentum, but they continued to prosper thanks to a patient 73 not out by Tony Cottey - the common factor in substantial partnerships with Mike Powell and Robert Croft.
Ramprakash's decision seemed based on the evidence of the behaviour of the same pitch used on the two previous days, with no concern about the prospect of batting on it when it is six days old.
Day 2: Problems mount for struggling Middlesex
By Paul Weaver at Lord's
WHILE Surrey go from strength to stranglehold, life appears more difficult north of the Thames. Middlesex are fourth from bottom in the championship and will do well to avoid defeat against Glamorgan, who for a time had healthy hopes of making them follow on here yesterday.
If the batting looked frail as Middlesex slumped to 127 for six in reply to Glamorgan's 308, this merely disguised a potentially more serious malaise: the Middlesex bowling.
Angus Fraser will be chosen today to play for England - unless there is an outbreak of collective amnesia among the selectors - and Middlesex's second most experienced seamer, Richard Johnson, could miss most of June after undergoing keyhole knee surgery yesterday.
That is not all. Tim Bloomfield is injured and - this is a little known fact - Richard Fay left the staff at the start of the season. The back-up bowling is thin and this season there is no contribution from Jacques Kallis, although Justin Langer is getting all the South African's runs and more besides.
Mark Ramprakash chose to bowl when he won the toss on Friday and for a while yesterday morning the decision looked a shrewd one. Glamorgan, who resumed on 293 for five, lost their last five wickets for 15 runs in 37 deliveries. James Hewitt took three more wickets to finish with five for 69 and there were two more for Fraser, who finished with three for 66. Tony Cottey (81) was the top scorer in the Glamorgan total of 308.
Middlesex made a miserable response, despite a three-over burst from Waqar Younis that cost 29 runs. Waqar later left the field to have treatment for a sore elbow.
Glamorgan hardly needed him. Langer scored 35 from 30 deliveries, with seven fours, before he was lbw to Steve Watkin with the score on 40.
Watkin had Ramprakash caught at third slip and Middlesex were 63 for three when Richard Kettleborough gloved a lifter from the same bowler, who had taken three wickets for 10 runs in nine overs.
Mike Gatting was bowled by the first ball he received after lunch and Owais Shah and Keith Brown followed quickly before Hewitt and David Nash saved the follow-on.
Day 3: Powell keeps his head
By D J Rutnagur at Lord's
Third day of four: Middlesex (256 & 6-0) need 307 runs to beat Glamorgan (308 & 260)
IN 21 overs either side of lunch yesterday, the scales tipped wildly in Middlesex's favour, Glamorgan sliding from 96 without loss to 144 for six in their second innings.
However, Mike Powell, playing in only his seventh championship match, revived them with a mature innings of 79 not out and Middlesex, who were left six overs to face at the end, were required to make 313, the biggest total of the match, to beat the Welshmen for the sixth time in consecutive meetings.
The last time Middlesex achieved a target in excess of 300 was against Surrey at the Oval four years ago. Their task on this occasion would have been more demanding if Glamorgan's attack was not depleted by Waqar Younis developing an elbow injury.
This has been a curious match. On a desperately slow pitch, totals have been of moderate size. There have been times when the fall of a wicket looked a distant prospect and others when wickets have fallen in clusters. On Saturday, Middlesex lost six wickets while progressing from 40 to 127 before David Nash revived them with a steadfast 76. Then there was Glamorgan's bizarre collapse yesterday afternoon.
Steve Watkin was swift in taking the one remaining Middlesex wicket to complete a bag of five and Glamorgan were batting again within 20 minutes of the day's start.
They needed to gain time to take advantage of their first-innings lead of 52 and Adrian Shaw devoted himself to this end by scoring 51 off 65 balls. There were seven fours and a six, the result of a charge down the pitch at Phil Tufnell.
Shaw needed a bit of luck, however, and his early fours came off the edge. But his partner, Steve James, again batted fluently for his 45. They put on 96 from 20 overs and then three wickets fell in the last half hour to lunch.
Shaw's daring ended when he was stumped off Tufnell. Adrian Dale was brilliantly caught at second slip by Justin Langer off Ian Blanchett, who bowls admirably straight, and James was caught behind cutting at Mark Ramprakash.
After lunch, Maynard was lbw missing a paddled sweep at Tufnell. Angus Fraser, luckless in the morning and now bowling his best spell of the innings, induced snicks from Tony Cottey and Robert Croft. But then Powell found a staunch partner in Darren Thomas.
Day 4: Middlesex dig deep to secure victory
By D J Rutnagur at Lord's
Middx (256 & 314-1) bt Glamorgan (308 & 260) by 9 wkts
SCORING in excess of 300 to win a match is always a notable achievement, and for Middlesex to meet that target with only one wicket lost, and that against the champion county on a pitch six days old - it was the same one on which Middlesex played their Benson and Hedges quarter-final - must be classed as a rare feat.
This remarkable win, Middlesex's sixth in conscutive meetings with Glamorgan, was completed by Justin Langer and Mark Ramprakash with an unfinished partnership of 276, a record for ther county's second wicket against Glamorgan. The previous best, of 194 between Henry Lee and Jack Hearne, had stood for 66 years.
Langer, the left-handed Western Australian, made 154 off 265 balls, with 20 fours, and Ramprakash rehearsed for Thursday's Test with 128, off 212 balls, including 21 fours struck with shots made with a lordly flourish and so often threaded through tiny gaps.
Ramprakash's 43rd century gained him admission to the small club of batsmen who have scored one against every other county in the championship.
The manner in which Glamorgan captured their only wicket of the day did not bode well for Middlesex. Richard Kettleborough, who has not scored above 31 in nine innings for his new county, but who looked competent during the 16 overs he batted, was caught off the glove from a lifting delivery by Steve Watkin.
Middlesex had reached 50 when Watkin took his sweater and from then on, Ramprakash and Langer batted with increasing authority, although there was a brief spell when Langer was hard put to time his drives against the medium-pace of Adrian Dale, who also passed Ramprakash's bat a couple of times.
Ramprakash's one false shot was an uppish back-foot force which dropped just short of extra-cover, just before lunch. There were a couple of occasions, however, when a run-out could have separated the unvanquished pair.