Date-stamped : 11 May97 - 02:16 Ramprakash digs in for Middlesex By Charles Randall at Lord`s First day of four: Middx (337-5) v Sussex MIDDLESEX have entered the season in a transitional phase, rather like the Lord`s ground itself, and they needed Mark Ramprakash, a permanent fixture, to ease some anxiety with a fluent 145 yesterday. Put in by Peter Moores in the hope of exploiting any moisture in the pitch, Middlesex might easily have fared worse than they did, the seam-bowlers finding occasionally disconcerting movement on a slowish pitch. Three wickets were lost before lunch, and even Ramprakash found timing difficult at first, dwelling over an hour for his first boundary. Before the end of the day, briefly interrupted by rain, he had hit 18 fours and a six, passing his second first-class century in two matches this season. The site of the demolished grandstand, now a single bank of seats awaiting a top layer, received a pounding at the short boundary from Ramprakash and the admirable Keith Brown. Moores tried just about everything except the orange construction crane at the Nursery End to dislodge Ramprakash, using everyone except Neil Taylor to bowl. That seemed to say a great deal or very little about the attack at his disposal. However, it was indeed bowler No 9 who did the trick when Rajesh Rao`s all-sorts induced a leg-side snick. Ramprakash had welcomed Keith Greenfield`s off-spin with a pulled six first ball on his way to a flawless hundred in just under 3.5 hours, and Brown`s 81-ball fifty was as neat as you like. Earlier Paul Weekes was dropped by Bill Athey at slip in the second over, and Vasbert Drakes compounded his anguish by ricking a muscle during a stolen single. Nicky Phillips, Drakes`s substitute, held Kallis in the covers, and a third wicket fell when Mike Gatting was bowled chopping on against Amer Khan. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Alarm bells for Sussex as Brown turns up the heat By Charles Randall at Lord`s Second day of four: Sussex (44-3) trail Middx (490-9) by 446 runs FOUR fire engines pulled up behind the Warner Stand to deal with what proved to be a minor restaurant fire while Middlesex`s tail-enders were helping Keith Brown demolish the Sussex bowling at Lord`s yesterday. Brown had reached 144 not out when the declaration arrived and the last of the firemen had departed. But, from Sussex`s point of view, the emergency had not passed. Three wickets fell to James Hewitt in the evening, and the prospect of a trouncing loomed on a pitch that unsettled batsmen whenever the seam bowlers found the right length. During the fire incident spectators had to leave the Warner Stand - reluctantly, because they could have done with more warmth - and, in theory, the evacuation should have included the press box and scorers, though presumably the match could not have continued without the notchers and their computers. Sussex had made a refreshing drawn start to their championship season against Northamptonshire two weeks previously. This time the boot was very much on the other foot. Brown, 72 overnight, jogged his score along unfussily with an assortment of partners and took 1.75 hours in the morning to reach his first hundred for two seasons. Sussex`s attack became further depleted when Keith Newell suffered a hamstring strain and joined the injured Vasbert Drakes as a non-bowler. That did make a small dent in Sussex`s nine-man attack. Amer Khan, a leg-spinner released by Middlesex last year, wheeled away for 20 consecutive overs, even sharing the new ball with Paul Jarvis, and eventually he was rewarded. Peter Wellings drilled a catch to mid-off, Richard Johnson heaved a skier to the same area and Hewitt was held at silly mid-off off bat-pad. All this time Brown was just rollin` along. There was just a chance Brown would run out of partners before his hundred arrived, having failed to roll along quite fast enough, but Angus Fraser looked assured at No 10. When Brown had been helped to his hundred, Fraser produced some booming drives and swung Khan for six over midwicket. He was bowled aiming another mighty blow to give Khan a deserved five-wicket haul. Fraser made 35 in 39 balls in a stand of 78 in 12 overs which smashed all Sussex`s remaining aspirations. It was easy to feel sorry for them on a dank day that lost 39 overs to the weather. Sussex needed a good start with the bat and, as could be predicted, they did not get one, with Keith Greenfield deceived off the pitch and Neil Taylor looking slow to avoid a lifter. Hewitt, who last year joined the list of bowlers to have taken a wicket with his first ball in first-class cricket, inflicted further damage when the left-handed Toby Peirce, quite assured, cut him straight to cover point where Phil Tufnell hung on to the catch. This was a slice of luck that Hewitt deserved, because he maintained a good length with a nice high action and always looked the most likely wicket-taker. Rajesh Rao might have been run out second ball if Paul Weekes`s throw from the covers had hit the stumps. That would have capped Sussex`s miserable day. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Athey fights on his own for Sussex By Charles Randall at Lord`s Third day of four: Sussex (187 & 6-0) trail Middlesex (490-9) by 297 runs BILL ATHEY, fast reaching the gnarled veteran stage of his career, has had extra responsibility thrust upon him by Sussex`s close-season exodus of players, a fact acknowledged by his appointment as vice-captain. The Yorkshireman will be 40 in September. If he thought he could see out his remaining seasons at Hove in semi- retirement, he had another think coming. Sussex needed his obduracy at Lord`s yesterday, a quality that could be tiresome or counter-productive at other times. His innings was Boycottian, minus the strokes, and his team would have been in a pickle without him. Middlesex set themselves up for an innings victory today by forcing Sussex to follow on not long after lunch, though rain gobbled up the rest of the day. Athey, however, they could not shift, and he was not out after 3.25 hours, on 60, when Mark Robinson, his last partner, had his bails trimmed. The bespectacled Athey had shown fallibility in the field, dropping a slip catch and fumbling in the outfield once or twice, but he looked assured at the crease, even after an accidental beamer from Richard Johnson had struck him on the glove and had him hopping with pain. Five wickets tumbled in the morning on a seaming strip. Rajesh Rao, whose middle stump was dynamited by a full toss, was one batsman who could hardly blame the conditions as the middle order struggled against Middlesex`s four military- medium similar-action seamers. Breezy tail-end knocks by Paul Jarvis - a more dangerous batsman than he is sometimes given credit for - and Amer Khan brightened the Sussex picture slightly. Nevertheless, if Jarvis had not survived a chance at long-leg before he had scored, Sussex could have been batting again before lunch. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Moores sees less to smile about By Charles Randall at Lord`s Final day: Middlesex (490) drew with Sussex (187 & 119) PETER MOORES said early in the season that he wanted his Sussex team to get away from "the fear of failure" and to enjoy themselves. It must have been hard to crack a smile at Lord`s yesterday. Sussex played very poorly against Middlesex - or rather fell well short of "over-achieving", as Moores would like. Rain, in her drab unfashionable clothing, was their most active supporter. One consolation for Moores was that his wicketkeeping in this game had been outstanding, dispelling one or two doubts in this area, but that was about all. Perhaps Middlesex will waltz away with the title, putting Sussex`s uninspired display into perspective. That is unlikely, even if Mike Gatting had several positive factors to assess as captain, such as James Hewitt`s seam bowling. Hewitt, 21, swung the ball either way during the match, securing four wickets in the first innings, his best figures to date, and yesterday morning he embarrassed a tentative Keith Greenfield in his first over with an inswinger that clipped the side of the off-stump. This success was a good start for Middlesex, needing 10 wickets for an innings victory, and Neil Taylor was next to go, falling to Phil Tufnell`s seventh championship ball of the summer. Taylor, a hundred-maker against Northamptonshire, completed an inauspicious match, as two balls earlier he had almost run out Toby Peirce, thankful that Peter Wellings` throw from midwicket missed the stumps. Taylor somehow squirted an attempted leg-side pick-up to silly mid-off, where Wellings held the catch. Peirce edged an attempted sweep to the wicketkeeper, and Tufnell`s figures at tea were two wickets for five off 12 overs. It was a frustrating day for Middlesex, made worse by the failure of Mick Hunt`s groundstaff to begin water- mopping operations immediately the rain stopped. Only after the umpires had completed a lengthy inspection in the sunshine did any activity start. Incredible. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)