Visitors began in relegation zone but never looked back after bundling Warwickshire out for 60 on day one

ECB Reporters Network 27-Jul-2023Middlesex took a big stride towards securing their LV=Insurance County Championship Division One status by demolishing Warwickshire by eight wickets inside two-and-a-half days at Edgbaston.Toby Roland-Jones’ side began this match in the relegation zone but never looked back after bowling out the home side for 60 on the first morning.Their seamers were again too good for Warwickshire on the third morning when they wrecked the intended rearguard action by taking the last six wickets for 35 runs in 67 balls to bowl them out for 232. Ethan Bamber took 4 for 71, giving him 9 for 91 in the match, while Tom Helm took 3 for 58 and Ryan Higgins added another two wickets to his excellent all-round performance throughout.They left Middlesex a target of 94 in 178 overs and they reached 97 for 2 with Mark Stoneman 52 not out from 88 balls in 25.1.The victory, and the intense, ruthless and highly-skilled cricket that delivered it, is a colossal boost for Middlesex who will face three of their last four games away from home when the Championship resumes in September. For Warwickshire, the thrashing offers another twist to their highly fluctuating season which has brought cricket of both extremes. They will be very keen to welcome back leading wicket-taker Chris Rushworth after his hamstring injury for their last four games.Just as the first morning had exceeded Middlesex’s wildest expectations, so did the third. When Warwickshire resumed on 189 for 4, 7.3 overs remained before the new ball was available. To their undisguised delight, Middlesex removed both overnight batters in those 45 balls.The big wicket arrived first when Sam Hain (69 off 196 balls) inside-edged Josh De Caires to wicketkeeper John Simpson. Nine balls later, Higgins knocked out Jake Bethell’s off stump which meant that the new ball was aimed at two new batters.Neither lasted long. Michael Burgess cut Bamber for successive fours but the next ball knocked out two stumps. When Ed Barnard left a Higgins delivery which removed off-stump, he became the eighth Warwickshire batter in the match to be bowled.Olly Hannon-Dalby soon became the ninth when Bamber uprooted out his off peg and Mir Hamza the tenth when Tom Helm rearranged his furniture.Only something spectacular could save Warwickshire but instead Middlesex eased home as Stoneman reached his 71st first-class half-century with a four over long on off Rob Yates. Jack Davies pulled the winning boundary at 2.36pm to resounding cheers from the visitors’ balcony and the intense disappointment of the home fans who, without any red-ball cricket to watch at Edgbaston in August, will now have none tomorrow either.