Middlesex 365 (Andersson 100, Higgins 88) beat Nottinghamshire 231 (Loten 44, Bamber 3-32, Higgins 3-40) by 134 runs
Asked to bat first, Middlesex skipper Mark Stoneman set off at a brisk pace, driving Brett Hutton over the top for six and finding the boundary regularly as he dominated an opening stand of 40 with Joe Cracknell, reaching 35 from 27. However, Hutton had the last word, breaching Stoneman’s defences with a straight one and the Outlaws seamer also picked up the wicket of Sam Robson, who dragged a ball back onto his off stump.
Cracknell targeted left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White immediately with two successful sweeps to the fence, but a third attempt proved his undoing as Dane Schadendorf took a tumbling bat-pad catch behind the stumps.
When Jack Davies was caught at cover, the home side had slumped to 136 for 4 – but the decision to move Andersson up the order paid off as he and Higgins shared a partnership of 129 from 78.
Higgins was productive against seam and spin alike, looking well set for a maiden 50-over hundred until he skied Lyndon James to mid-off, but Andersson took full advantage of being dropped when he sliced to deep third on 18.
He progressed to his half-century with a boundary, punching Patterson-White off the back foot through cover and, aided by Luke Hollman (35 from 34) steered Middlesex beyond the 300 mark. On 90 at the start of the final over, Andersson carved James for successive fours and then scrambled two to reach his milestone before being caught on the fence next delivery as the Seaxes posted 365.
In reply, Notts lost three wickets during the powerplay overs, with both openers falling to Bamber – yet the most eye-catching dismissal was Stoneman’s stunning one-handed catch at midwicket to intercept James’ full-blooded pull off Ishaan Kaushal.
Outlaws captain Haseeb Hameed, who dispatched his first ball from Kaushal to the cover boundary, had begun to repair the damage when Bamber uprooted his middle stump to leave the visitors reeling at 60 for 4.
Andersson was unlucky not to add his name to the list of wicket-takers when Patterson-White’s edge narrowly eluded John Simpson and, when Montgomery cut him to gully later in the same over, Higgins spilled the catch.
Higgins made amends as he whizzed through the middle order with three quick wickets, including the scalp of Montgomery, who was caught at backward point for 40 – but Notts’ eighth-wicket pair thwarted any hopes of a swift finish. Loten struck a career-best 44 before Robson had him caught behind and the legspinner finished proceedings when Harrison, chasing a maiden half-century, was taken at long-off for 41.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo