- Published
Metro Bank Men's One-Day Cup final, Trent Bridge
Middlesex 231 (49.5 overs): Higgins 100, Duke 55; Holland 5-36
Leicestershire 200 (44.2 overs): Kelly 103; Roland-Jones 3-27, Helm 3-32
Middlesex win by 31 runs
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Middlesex → publish → runs
Middlesex claimed their first silverware in a decade as they fought back from a tricky start to beat Leicestershire in a thrilling One-Day Cup final at Trent Bridge.
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they → claim → Bridge
Having been put into bat by Leicestershire captain Stephen Eskinazi, Ryan Higgins' magnificent hundred dug Middlesex out of a hole and helped them reach 231 before being bowled out in the final over of their innings.
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them → put → innings
Higgins, 31, struck nine fours in his 115-ball knock after his team had slumped to 71-5 in the 22nd over, putting on 135 with on-loan Yorkshire wicketkeeper Harry Duke (55) for the sixth wicket.
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team → strike → wicket
Ian Holland returned his second-best List-A figures of 5-36 for the Foxes, while England all-rounder Rehan Ahmed took 3-55.
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Ahmed → return → 3
In reply, Leicestershire too lost early wickets as former England seamer Toby Roland-Jones bowled 10 overs straight through in a fine opening spell of 3-27.
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Jones → lose → 3
Leicestershire were indebted to the efforts of New Zealand international Nick Kelly, who reached a glorious century of his own off 103 deliveries and appeared to be taking his side to victory.
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who → reach → victory
However, the game swung again in the over after Kelly reached his hundred as the left-hander heaved Tom Helm to Higgins on the mid-wicket fence to leave Leicestershire eight down.
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hander → swing → Leicestershire
And that proved the decisive moment as Helm dismissed Ajaz Patel and Tom Scriven skied Naavya Sharma straight up, with captain Ben Geddes taking the winning catch.
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Geddes → prove → catch
Middlesex's most recent success was the County Championship in 2016, and they had not won a white-ball trophy since lifting the T20 Blast in 2008.
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they → win → 2008
Higgins & Roland-Jones star as Middlesex end drought
Middlesex had to overcome adversity more than once in Nottingham as they ended their long wait for a trophy.
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they → star → trophy
They faced the most difficult batting conditions of the day in the opening hour and many teams would have crumbled at 71-5.
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teams → face → 71
The sixth-wicket partnership between Higgins and Duke was a game-defining one as they fought back and gave their bowlers something to work with.
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they → define → something
It was Higgins' first List-A hundred and it will live long in the memory for Middlesex supporters fortunate enough to watch it as he displayed character, graft and no shortage of skill.
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he → live → skill
Roland-Jones is a legendary figure at the club and he showed exactly why with a near-immaculate spell, taking the key scalps of Rishi Patel and Ahmed.
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he → show → Patel
Sharma is Middlesex's leading wicket-taker in this competition and the 21-year-old too impressed with the ball, making the breakthrough as he found Eskinazi's outside edge, pinning Hamza Shaikh lbw and then returning to take the final wicket.
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he → lead → wicket
With Kelly in full flow, heads never went down and they showed all the composure of a team that have only lost once in this format all season.
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that → go → format
Foxes fall short despite Kelly heroics
Off the back of their 27-point deduction in the County Championship, Leicestershire's team talk is more than likely to have been straightforward.
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talk → fall → Championship
And they started like a team with a point to prove after Eskinazi won the toss, backed by a vocal travelling support.
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Eskinazi → start → support
Holland set the tone with the new ball, nicking off Nathan Fernandes and Max Holden cheaply before Tom Scriven took two wickets of his own, including a fine catch by wicketkeeper Ben Cox to remove Josh De Caires (26).
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Scriven → set → Caires
Incredibly Cox caught the first five wickets to fall.
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Cox → catch → wickets
Middlesex fought back through Higgins and Duke, and the Foxes will perhaps look back on that partnership as an opportunity that slipped away.
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that → fight → opportunity
Rishi Patel and Eskinazi got the chase off to a bright start, but three wickets for just three runs stalled their momentum and similarly to Middlesex's innings, Leicestershire found themselves five wickets down in the 70s.
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themselves → get → 70s
Ahmed will regret his decision not to review after being given out lbw off Roland-Jones, with replays showing it would have missed leg stump.
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it → regret → stump
Much as Higgins revived Middlesex, Kelly breathed new life into the Leicestershire chase with his defiant knock, which featured 10 fours and three sixes.
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which → revive → fours
The Kiwi left-hander was being serenaded from the stands as the runs required ticked away, but he had to drag himself from the middle with 44 runs still needed.
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he → serenade → runs
Those fans continued to sing until the end, but were left disappointed as their team fell short.
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team → continue → end
The Aporia
