Shah's soft wicket makes Middlesex's task much harder

Sussex 239 and 204 Middlesex 116 and 136

It takes only one ball to change a game of cricket, something the players of Sussex and Middlesex will not need telling following the dismissal of Owais Shah to the last ball of the day yesterday at Lord's. Before rain brought a premature end to the third day's play of this keenly fought First Division match the scoreboard was reading 136 for 1. Andrew Strauss and Shah, Middlesex's captain and vice-captain, were leading from the front and making light work of the testing conditions which have allowed the fast bowlers to dominate the first two days of this match.

The partnership between these two talented batsmen had reached 117 and was growing in stature. The swing and seam movement which had made batting a perilous occupation had gone and the fields set by Chris Adams, the Sussex captain, had a defensive look to them.

Strauss and Shah were playing with confidence and appeared in total control of the game. Indeed, the pair looked capable of taking Middlesex close to the daunting total of 328 they had been set by their South Coast visitors on their own. After being outplayed for the majority of this match this was a position the Londoners can only have dreamt of when they arrived at the ground yesterday morning.

Then disaster struck for Middlesex when Shah, who, for a reason only he will know, decided to walk down the wicket and clip a ball from Kevin Innes through midwicket. This was only the second delivery the medium pacer had bowled this season and Shah missed it. The fielders went up and the umpire Vanburn Holder rightly gave the batsman out.

For a player as gifted as Shah it was a soft dismissal and one could not imagine an Australian batsman losing his wicket in a similar manner. Up until this rush of blood the 24-year-old had batted with maturity and was beginning to show the small crowd his vast array of strokes. Whenever Mushtaq Ahmed dropped a fraction short he cut home but the most memorable shot was a glorious straight drive for six.

The celebrations by the Sussex players which followed Holder raising his finger highlighted the importance of the wicket and was a stark contrast to Shah's distraught exit from the arena. Before David Nash had had time to take guard the the rain had arrived and the players left the field with Middlesex still requiring 192 runs to win with eight wickets in hand.

After their good start such a target is well within the capabilities of this long Middlesex batting line-up but Sussex still remain favourites. For Middlesex to win much will depend on Strauss, who looked in excellent touch throughout. Leaving the ball well outside the off-stump the left-hander waited for the bowlers to bowl straight before working them through the leg-side. Although his fifty took 39 balls more than Shah's, it was the more convincing of the two.

The manner in which he dealt with the leg-spin of Mushtaq showed that he has benefited from a week's coaching in India during pre-season and it could well be down to how well he and his colleagues play the former Pakistan Test player that decides the outcome of this fascinating match.