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COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION TWO, Lord's:
CLOSE OF PLAY, FINAL DAY: Middlesex 342 & 273-7 dec beat Gloucestershire 210 & 225 by 180 runs (Middlesex 20pts, Glos 4pts)
27-30 August 2009
Capetown-born Berg only made his English county cricket debut last year
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Gareth Berg's career-best 5-55 helped Middlesex climb off the bottom of Division Two with a 180-run victory over Gloucestershire at Lord's. Resuming on 55-3, the visitors were dismissed for 225, despite James Franklin's unbeaten 80 and 48 from Kadeer Ali, Berg's first victim. After removing Kadeer and Steve Adshead in successive deliveries, Berg came back to strike three times in 10 balls. Franklin's 78-run seventh-wicket stand with Richard Dawson delayed the end. But improving Middlesex, who failed to record a single success in their first 10 outings, wrapped up their second win in three games to lift themselves off the foot of the table. And this fifth reverse in seven championship matches puts a dent in Gloucestershire's hopes of clinching one of the two promotion spots. It also avenged a nine-wicket defeat by then leaders Gloucestershire at Bristol in mid-June. Gloucestershire started the day requiring an unlikely 351 more runs for victory but with only seven second-innings wickets intact after Tim Murtagh had claimed two victims late on day three. Steven Finn struck first when he had Chris Taylor caught behind in the day's sixth over. But then, in Berg's third over, the South African Kolpak player had Kadeer caught in the gully. And, with his next ball, he knocked back Adshead's middle stump. At lunch, the visitors were 151-6 but with Franklin already showing determination on 36 not out. He never looked in any trouble, batting for two hours and 40 minutes and striking 11 boundaries that included a six from the 112 deliveries he faced, but few of his colleagues could match his resolution. Dawson did temporarily frustrate Middlesex's victory march until Berg inflicted further rapid damage with a trio of victims. Dawson, on 35, fell to a magnificent catch by Dawid Malan at third slip with the score on 196 and, three balls later and without addition, Ian Saxelby touched a sharply lifting delivery into the gloves of Ben Scott. In his next over, Berg had Jon Lewis caught behind for four. And Franklin then posted one last hurrah, striking Murtagh for four and six off successive deliveries. But it was Murtagh that wrapped up proceedings when Steve Kirby, a first innings hero when he helped Lewis save the follow-on, steered the final shot of the match into the slips.
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