Middlesex spoil Gillespies party
AFP
AFP, LONDON: Toby Roland-Jones finished with a hat-trick as Middlesex won the County Championship with a 61-run victory at Lords that denied Australias Jason Gillespie a fairytale finish as Yorkshire coach.
Yorkshire were bowled out for 178 in pursuit of a target of 240 in 40 overs.
Roland-Jones finished with 10 wickets in the match, and ended the contest when he bowled last man Ryan Sidebottom round the former England pacemans legs.
Were obviously disappointed to lose a game of cricket and not have that opportunity to win the Championship, Gillespie told Sky Sports, before reflecting on the negotiations between Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale and Middlesex counterpart James Franklin that set up the run-chase.
But it was really the only opportunity to chase a target so Gayley and James Franklin got together and set that up and it was just a case of we needed to go out there and score the runs.
We needed someone to get a significant score probably an 80 plus and some other contributions if we were going to be anywhere near.
But while there was sadness for one Antipodean at Lords in Gillespie, there was joy for another as Franklin, a former New Zealand international, lifted the Championship trophy.
Coming into the gates this morning, this was as far away as I thought possible, said Franklin. I had a look at the cup after warm ups and thought there was a slim chance but to be holding it is unbelievable.
Weve remained unbeaten and that was something we were very proud of going into this game.
Meanwhile match-winner Roland-Jones said: For it to finish like that is an unbelievable feeling.
