Dexter swings game in Middlesex's favour, as Flower watches on

Neil Dexter of Middllesex hits a six during the LV County Championship division one match between Nottinghamshire and Middlesex at Trent Bridge on April 11, 2013 in Nottingham, England. (Getty Images)

When one considers the riches of Middlesex’s seam bowling attack, Neil Dexter is hardly the first name to jump to mind, yet it was from this unlikely source that Middlesex seized the initiative on the third day of this fiercely contested opening match up. Dexter’s previous best before Nottinghamshire’s second inning was 3 for 23, and in 77 First Class games, he had taken just 49 wickets. Yet he added more than 10 percent to this total, taking 5 wickets in 21 balls for just 13 runs, and destroyed the Nottinghamshire middle order in the process.

The day finished as it began – dark clouds enveloping the ground and preventing play, despite the presence of six floodlights. Yet any spectators who arrived hoping to catch the final hour after work, would have been left with a false impression of the day, which saw a sunny spell in the middle of the afternoon coincide with a brightening of Middlesex hopes, while simultaneously considerably darkening Nottinghamshire’s prospects in this game.

Middlesex began the day on 297/6, 19 runs ahead of Notts’ first innings total, and by the time they lost last man Tim Murtagh in the final over of a reduced morning session, had pushed their lead on to a healthy 75. John Simpson added a further 19 to his overnight total of 77, but was left stranded in the nineties, as Middlesex suffered a mini-collapse, losing their last three wickets for five runs.

The Middlesex stumper, who prior to this innings had not recorded a half century in championship cricket since September 2011, played with a confidence which defied his recent troubles with the bat. Yet he perhaps only had himself to blame for failing to record his third First Class century, taking 53 balls to score his final 16 runs. Nevertheless, he put his side in a position of some strength, with the overcast conditions, and pitch, which has offered seam movement and variable bounce throughout this match, ripe for exploitation by the Middlesex attack.

Keeper, John Simpson, made 97* for Middlesex, in action during the LV County Championship match between Nottinghamshire and Middlesex at Trent Bridge. (Getty Images)

And exploit it they did, albeit with some generous help from the home batting line up. Indeed, most of the Nottinghamshire batsmen would have been relieved to hear that unlike on day two, chairman of selectors Geoff Miller was not in attendance to witness a thoroughly inept batting display. Yet their relief would have turned very quickly to more heightened despair as England coach Andy Flower arrived at the ground to watch the afternoon’s play, and to chat to the present Stuart Broad. For all of Middlesex’s discipline with the new cherry, the home side were once again guilty of giving a number of their wickets away.

James Taylor and Samit Patel will have done themselves no favours in Flower’s mind with their methods of dismissal; Taylor bottom edged a rank long hop from Dexter to keeper Read, while Patel tried to pull a ball far too close to him and only succeeded in skying it straight up in the air to mid-wicket, where substitute Harry Podmore barely had to move an inch. At least Alex Hales made Middlesex work hard for his dismissal; he battled at the start, then played increasingly fluently, caressing his way through the 20s with some pleasant cover drives, before receiving a peach of a delivery from Gareth Berg.

Earlier in the afternoon, Ed Cowan and Michael Lumb had been dispatched in successive overs. Poor Lumb fell in identical manner to the first innings, caught in the crease, leg before to Toby Roland-Jones, for an identical score; the England Twenty 20 opener’s pair confirming a miserable game for him. Flower meanwhile, will have taken a keen interest in the Cowan dismissal – the Australian opener was bowled through the gate by one that nipped back from the excellent Tim Murtagh.

Yet the afternoon belonged to Dexter, whose spell in the spring sunshine caused Nottinghamshire to fall from 52 for 2 to 68 for 7, and then 98 for 8. Ironically, Dexter may not have been bowling in the first place had either James Harris’s strained hamstring not forced him off the field, or Dexter been in possession of the Middlesex captaincy. Dexter regularly under-bowled himself last season while skipper, and the Johannesburg born all-rounder admitted at the end of the day he would probably have taken himself off after taking his third wicket. Interestingly, Dexter also admitted that he was keen to “take up the captaincy again in the near future” but was, for the time being, enjoying the freedom of playing without its added pressure.

The game wasn’t completely plain sailing for Dexter however – he shelled a tough skier from an Andre Adams pull shot when on 28. Yet it was strange bowling from Roland-Jones who had up to that point bowled an almost impeccable line and length, only to suddenly drop short on three consecutive occasions. The first was skied high in the air towards Dexter, while the second two were dispatched over the 80-yard mid-wicket boundary for six. It was sobering stuff for the Middlesex seamer, who lost his head somewhat, and seemed intent on bouncing the Kiwi out. It was as if he was determined to out ‘enforce’ the onlooking Stuart Broad, as he conceded 58 runs in 7 overs (and 54 in 6), having only conceded 16 in his first 7.

It must also have been sobering stuff for the Notts top order too, who while no doubt delighted to see Andre Adams and Luke Fletcher bat Notts back into the game, saw their deficiencies earlier in the afternoon fully exposed. Fletcher, with one leg glance almost, but not quite, reminiscent of Viv Richards, made batting look positively easy! As the evening sun streamed down, the pair lit up Notts’ innings and added 89 runs in 69 minutes, before Fletcher was clean bowled by Tim Murtagh for 47 as the clouds gathered with alarming pace. It was then only a matter of time before play was suspended due to bad light.

With Nottinghamshire’s lead currently standing at 107, and with just one wicket remaining, they will be reliant on Andre Adams, who made his way to an aggressive 34-ball half century before the close, to help them towards some kind of competitive target in the morning. Adams suggested at the close that a target of 120 would be “tricky” for Middlesex, but unless the heavens open, it is hard to see anything other than a win for the London club tomorrow.