Buck believes County can finish the job on final day

Nathan Buck insists Northants can still beat Middlesex after the hosts endured a difficult Sunday at the County Ground.
Nathan Buck was in the wicketsNathan Buck was in the wickets
Nathan Buck was in the wickets

The County had taken control on Saturday, but Middlesex went from 130 for seven to 271 all out on Sunday as James Harris hit an unbeaten 61.

The troubles continued after Northants enforced the follow-on as Middlesex overcame the loss of two early wickets to close on 109 for two, 65 runs behind David Ripley's men.

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But Buck, who has claimed seven wickets so far in the Specsavers County Championship Division Two clash, is confident his side can still get the job done on the final day.

"We found it tough to get the breakthrough this morning but there’s still enough in the pitch for us to win the game," Buck said.

"They played well this morning and scored fairly quickly as well to put the ball back in our court.

“I didn’t take a five-for last season so it's nice to get one straight away here.

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“It’ll be tough again tomorrow but we’ve got enough to win from here.”

Sam Robson will resume on 40 not out and Dawid Malan is currently unbeaten on 55.

And Middlesex bowler Harris said: "We needed a good start to the day and the plan was to just bat some time, build the score and just about doubling it was just what we needed.

“I’ve been playing nicely for a while, went well over the winter and I like showing I can bat, and it’s nice to do it when it’s really required.

“We were in a very tough spot following-on but Sam and Dawid played lovely and the scoreboard is probably as good as we could have hoped for now."