Middlesex County Cricket Club in 2005 played their cricket in Division One of the County Championship and Division Two of the totesport League. They started the season at 9–1 to win the County Championship title.
In their first fixture of 2005 they beat Nottinghamshire comfortably in a rain-affected Sunday League game, and followed it up with a rain-affected draw in the County Championship against the same team. The second Sunday League game saw a thumping win against Lancashire at Lord's. They were then defeated in the Championship by Warwickshire County Cricket Club, before defeating Worcestershire in the Sunday League on 1 May to maintain their 100% record in the Sunday League. Then on 4 May they beat Northumberland to progress to the Second Round of the C&G Trophy.
A defeat by Hampshire and a win against Gloucestershire then followed in the County Championship, before their unbeaten run in the National League was ended by hungry Hampshire Hawks. On 17 May they were eliminated from the C&G Trophy at the Second Round stage by Northamptonshire, and yet another one-day game without a win came at Gloucestershire, where rain ended the game prematurely. They then played a Championship game against Sussex, who just held on for a draw, leaving Middlesex seventh in Division One at the end of May.
Middlesex then lost a friendly match against the students of Cambridge UCCE, and also lost their table lead in the National League with a loss to Essex. The next Championship game was a high-scoring draw with Surrey, before keeping up their one-day title challenge with a win over Northamptonshire, taking revenge for their loss in the C&G Trophy. In a high-scoring match at Southgate, they beat Glamorgan despite losing more wickets, and on the same pitch the following day they amassed 314 to beat Nottinghamshire in the National League.
Middlesex also got good results in the Twenty20 Cup group stage, as they avoided the rain, but they lost twice to Surrey. They did have the fortune of meeting a dejected Kent side twice, beating them both times, and also beat Hampshire and Essex – enough to see them through to the quarter-finals on more wins. That was followed up by a seven-wicket win in the Championship over Hampshire, before their luck ran out, and they lost a high-scoring match to Gloucestershire in the National League before saying goodbye to the Twenty20 Cup with a 19-run loss to defending champions Leicestershire. A tour to Wales followed, winning the one-day game against Glamorgan in style before playing a Championship game on the same ground, which they also won comfortably.
August started with a three-wicket loss to Warwickshire, which saw them crash into sixth place in the Championship table, and another loss to Essex followed, this time in the National League. In the Championship, they set Nottinghamshire 530 to win on the fourth day at Trent Bridge, but that day was rained off, resulting in a draw. Then, Northamptonshire travelled to Lord's and beat Middlesex by 14 runs in the National League.
On 16 August, Middlesex travelled to Hove in Sussex, only to be slaughtered by their Pakistani imports. The match with Sussex was over inside two days and Middlesex were beaten by an innings and 232 runs, the highest margin of defeat suffered by any team in the entire Championship season. Then followed a four-day break, before they drew with Kent and Gloucestershire in quick succession. After August had given them no victories, September started brightly, as the recently crowned C&G Trophy champions Hampshire were defeated by two wickets. Their seventh Championship draw of the season, against Kent at Lord's, meant that their match with Surrey at The Oval on 21 September looked to be a relegation final, with the loser going down into Division Two.
However, there was also the National League to think about, and Middlesex won the first of two successive week-end matches before the Championship clash with Surrey, beating Glamorgan by five runs. The last one-day match of the season was also a win, a 44-run one over Lancashire, securing second place behind the dominant Essex. Their last match of the season was a Championship game with Surrey, and Middlesex needed to limit Surrey's point-gap to 14. After earning 5 batting points on the first day, and declaring to limit Surrey to two bowling points, Middlesex only needed one bowling point to secure continued presence in Division Two. Indian spinner Yogesh Golwalkar took the final wicket, and despite losing by an innings and 39 runs, Middlesex stayed up.
Players Scott Styris Nantie Hayward Melvyn Betts Nick Compton Jamie Dalrymple Billy Godleman Paul Hutchison Ed Joyce Chad Keegan Eoin Morgan David Nash Chris Peploe Boyd Rankin Alan Richardson Ben Scott Owais Shah Ed Smith Andrew Strauss Paul Weekes Chris Whelan Chris Wright
Tables
Championship
+ 2005 County Championship – Division One Pos Team Pld W D L Pen BP Pts 1 Nottinghamshire 16 9 4 3 0 94 236 2 Hampshire 16 9 4 3 0.5 92 233.5 3 Sussex 16 7 6 3 0 102 224 4 Warwickshire 16 8 3 5 0.5 86 209.5 5 Kent 16 6 7 3 8.5 99 202.5 6 Middlesex 16 4 7 5 0.5 98 181.5 7 Surrey 16 4 9 3 8.5 97 180.5 8 Gloucestershire 16 1 5 10 2 72 104 9 Glamorgan 16 1 1 14 0 71 88.5
totesport League
+ 2005 totesport League – Division One Pos Team Pld W L NR Pts 1 Essex Eagles 16 13 1 2 56 2 Middlesex Crusaders 16 10 5 1 42 3 Northamptonshire Steelbacks 16 7 7 2 32 4 Glamorgan Dragons 16 6 6 4 32 5 Nottinghamshire Outlaws 16 6 7 3 30 6 Lancashire Lightning 16 6 9 1 26 7 Gloucestershire Gladiators 16 6 9 1 26 8 Worcestershire Royals 16 5 10 1 22 9 Hampshire Hawks 16 5 10 1 22
Match details
Nottinghamshire v Middlesex (17 April)
Middlesex (4pts) beat Nottinghamshire (0pts) by 35 runs (D/L method)
At Trent Bridge, Chad Keegan took career best figures of 6 for 33 as Nottinghamshire Outlaws were bowled out for 173. By the time Keegan had finished they were 75 for 6, but the tail wagged. Middlesex Crusaders scored 91 for 0 off 21.3 overs, thanks to a half-century from Paul Weekes, when rain brought an end to the match. Middlesex were comfortable winners on the Duckworth–Lewis method. (BBC scorecard)
Middlesex v Nottinghamshire (20–23 April)
Middlesex (9pts) drew with Nottinghamshire (12pts)
The first day at Lord's saw Nottinghamshire, who were put in to bat, progress to 399 for 6, thanks to 117 not out from Australian David Hussey. Alan Richardson starred for Middlesex, taking 5 wickets on his county debut.
Nottinghamshire batted on to 546 all out on the second day, despite losing Hussey for just one more added run. Paul Franks scored a century, and Richardson increased his tally to 7 for 113. In response to this, Middlesex fared poorly, whilst fast-medium bowler Greg Smith removed the top order. The home side finished on 167 for 6, but were rescued on the third day when Irishman Ed Joyce took his score up to 192. Middlesex finished on 345, 201 behind. Stephen Fleming chose not to enforce the follow-on, and amassed a lead of 413 when they declared on 212 for 5. Maybe the Notts bowlers were tired, but it seemed like negative play with rain predicted for the fourth day.
And the rain did come, with only 57 overs possible. Middlesex had progressed to 158 for 2 before play was abandoned, which suggested Notts might have struggled to win anyway. (Cricinfo scorecard)
Middlesex v Lancashire (24 April)
Middlesex (4pts) beat Lancashire (0pts) by 69 runs
Lancashire Lightning won the toss at Lord's and put Middlesex Crusaders in. This looked the right decision as Lancashire's seam and swing bowling attack saw Middlesex fall to 6 for 3, and then 37 for 6. The Crusaders were then rescued by James Dalrymple, who took 81 off 82 balls to take them to 210 for 9 in their 45 overs.
Lancashire's reply started to come unstuck when both openers, Stuart Law and Iain Sutcliffe, fell in successive balls with the score on 23. The game saw the return of Andrew Flintoff, back after his operation and playing just as a batsman. But he couldn't stop the rot and made only 17 before falling lbw to Scott Styris. The Lightning were finally all out for 141 and Middlesex completed their second win in two matches. All eleven bowlers used in the match got at least one wicket, but the most prolific wicket-taker, Kyle Hogg, also conceded the most runs. (Cricinfo scorecard)
Warwickshire v Middlesex (27–30 April)
Warwickshire (22pts) beat Middlesex (5pts) by seven wickets
Middlesex batted first at Edgbaston. Their Irish left-hander, Ed Joyce, was the anchor of the innings making 92 as he took his side from 56 for 4 to 253 for 7. He was assisted by a quick-fire half-century from Scott Styris, an innings somewhat out of pace with his team-mates' innings. They were finally all out for 298. Warwickshire lost 2 wickets in scoring 18 by the close.
Only 68 overs were possible on the second day. Ian Bell dominated, setting out his case for an England call-up, with 143 not out. He said, "If I was to play for England, I'd bat anywhere I was told to bat. Just to play would be great. I'm batting at three for Warwickshire and enjoying it. I know there's some competition [for Test places] and there's a lot being talked about it. I've just got to concentrate on scoring as many runs as I can for Warwickshire." No other player scored so freely though, and Warwickshire ended the day on 277 for 6.
On the third day, England spin bowler Ashley Giles, who notched up 62, stayed with him. Bell was finally run out for a seven-hour 231 as Warwickshire closed on 430. Giles then starred with the ball, taking two wickets as Middlesex finished on 137 for 3 at stumps. On the fourth day, Giles tripled his tally to end with 6, as Middlesex faltered to 246 despite 63 from Joyce. That left Warwickshire needing only 115 to win, and despite Paul Hutchison taking two wickets, Bell led his team to a seven-wicket victory by scoring 47. (Cricinfo scorecard)
Middlesex v Worcestershire (1 May)
Middlesex (4pts) beat Worcestershire (0pts) by 3 wickets (D/L method)
The Worcestershire Royals put on 201 for 7 in their 44 overs, with David Leatherdale making 72 from 83 balls in an innings in which Graeme Hick became the heaviest scorer in the Sunday League's history. New Zealander Scott Styris took 3 wickets for Middlesex Crusaders, and kept the visitors from scoring freely. Middlesex made heavy work of overturning this total, even though they had 104 on the board before the first wicket fell. But ultimately they retained their 100% Sunday League record with 3 wickets and 1 over left. (BBC scorecard)
Northumberland v Middlesex (3–4 May)
Middlesex beat Northumberland by 10 wickets to progress to Round Two of the C&G Trophy
Rain meant there was no play on the first day at Jesmond. On a second day where plenty of runs were available, Northumberland put on 206 for 8 with Stephen Humble making an unbeaten 88 from number 8 in the batting order. Middlesex in the shape of Ed Smith and Paul Weekes knocked them off in just 31.3 overs. Weekes ended up with 106, Middlesex' first List A century of the season. (BBC scorecard)
Hampshire v Middlesex (6–9 May)
Hampshire (19pts) beat Middlesex (5pts) by 64 runs
Hampshire won a closely fought match at the Rose Bowl by 64 runs despite the efforts with the ball by New Zealand and Middlesex all-rounder Scott Styris, who took his first ten-wicket haul of his career on a pitch that quickly deteriorated and in Styris' own words was "junk". With former England wicket-keeper John Crawley starring in the first innings, making a controlled 84 before being ninth out to Alan Richardson. There were disappointments for England fans, though, who had hoped that Kevin Pietersen would find some form – instead, he was out for a 10-ball duck in the first innings. Hampshire made 275 in their first innings, Alan Richardson and Scott Styris taking four wickets each.