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Robbie White's maiden hundred props up Middlesex after disastrous start

Robbie White dug in for a gritty, unbeaten half-century Alex Davidson/Getty Images

Middlesex 218 for 5 (White 101*, Andersson 53) vs Derbyshire

Robbie White struck his maiden first-class century to rescue Middlesex from a disastrous start against Derbyshire on the opening day of their LV= Insurance County Championship clash.

The Seaxes stumbled to 14 for 3 - all lbw - after opting to bat at Lord's as Derbyshire seamers Sam Conners and Luis Reece made the most of the early movement in overcast conditions. But White, who had previously passed 50 six times without registering a ton - including 99 against Kent last year - finally achieved that landmark as he led Middlesex's fightback, hitting an unbeaten 101 to lift them to 218 for 5.

The 25-year-old shared a century stand with Martin Andersson, whose 53 was his highest score of the season, while John Simpson was undefeated on 29 when bad light brought play to a premature close.

Middlesex's decision to bat looked questionable when Mark Stoneman, making his debut after moving across the river from Surrey, lasted only three balls before Conners' inswinger trapped him in front for a duck. Sam Robson followed later in the same over, the victim of one that stayed low, while Stephen Eskinazi had little chance against a Reece delivery that swung viciously to leave Middlesex reeling.

Despite a couple of edges that flew through the slips, White soon settled down to oversee a rebuilding job and weathered the onslaught alongside Max Holden in a partnership of 38.

Reece collected his second lbw scalp before lunch, with Holden unlucky to be given out to a ball that looked too high, but Andersson announced his arrival at the crease with a series of sweetly-struck cover boundaries.

The fifth-wicket pair made good progress during the afternoon session, with White leg-glancing Reece for four to bring up his half-century and Andersson quickly followed suit, reaching that milestone from 93 balls.

With Derbyshire deploying both spinners in tandem, it was Alex Thomson who achieved the breakthrough with his maiden first-class wicket for the county, tempting Andersson forward to nudge to slip. However, Simpson maintained Middlesex's momentum while White advanced steadily to his hundred, carving Conners over point for four and then taking advantage of a wide ball to punch another off-side boundary that brought him to three figures.

That proved timely for White as, with the light deteriorating, umpires Muhammad Syed and Peter Hartley took the teams off just two overs later.

Derbyshire 4th innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st0BA GodlemanLM Reece
2nd42BA GodlemanTA Wood
3rd18BA GodlemanJL du Plooy
4th80BA GodlemanMJJ Critchley
5th7AL HughesMJJ Critchley
6th0MJJ CritchleyBD Guest
7th38AK DalMJJ Critchley
8th0AT ThomsonMJJ Critchley
9th13AT ThomsonS Conners
10th23AT ThomsonBW Aitchison

County Championship

Division 1
TeamMWLDPT
NOTTS431068
LANCS421157
WARKS421156
HANTS421153
YORKS412140
SOM404014
Division 2
TeamMWLDPT
ESSEX430177
GLOUC431064
DURH311140
NHNTS412138
SUR301227
GLAM403123
Division 3
TeamMWLDPT
KENT440083
MIDDX431067
WORCS422049
LEICS412143
DERBS412142
SUSS404018
Group 1
TeamMWLDPT
NOTTS10424151
WARKS10415145
DURH10325132
ESSEX10325129
WORCS10136109
DERBS1005572
Group 2
TeamMWLDPT
SOM10415148
HANTS10424145
GLOUC10532131
SUR10226123
LEICS10244111
MIDDX1027184
Group 3
TeamMWLDPT
LANCS10415150
YORKS10514149
GLAM10226127
NHNTS10334123
KENT1003797
SUSS1015494