Eskinazi hits unbeaten 178 against Warwickshire

Middlesex batsman Steve Eskinazi was delighted to do his bit for the team on day two of their Specsavers County Championship match with Warwickshire.

Eskinazi finished unbeaten on 178, having spent 347 minutes at the crease, as the defending champions closed on 302-6 in reply to the home side’s 334.

And although the marathon effort had been hard work, Eskinazi was happy with his career-best display.

He said: “I am tired but over the moon with the position the team is in. I was just pleased to put in a good stint and get the boys close to parity on the second day.

“It’s my highest first-class story by some distance. It is a very nice feeling to contribute on a pitch that can go one or two ways. There is a bit in it for the bowlers, but if you set your stall out you can bat big.

“I had a bit of good luck but you are never going to have a big innings without going through patches like that. It’s rare that you can stay on that upward curve the whole way through so, as a batter, with your partner it’s about understanding the periods where you have to absorb some pressure and then other periods when the ball is a little bit older and softer and the bowlers are tireder. It’s always going to be ebb and flow so you just have to pick the right times.”

Eskinazi had support from Nick Compton (33), stand-in captain Dawid Malan (39) and John Simpson (24) along the way and will hope to help Middlesex build a decent first-innings lead on day three.

Warwickshire first-team coach Jim Troughton paid tribute to his innings, adding: “Steve Eskinazi has done a really good job for his team. He has ridden his luck a little bit but that’s what you can do as a batter if you get chances.

“He was close to being run out and close being lbw and at times we were looking close to getting him, but then he would bash a couple of boundaries and get away again and he stuck at it well.

“All through the match the batting side has got into decent positions then just lost wickets. It’s been a really tight couple of days cricket and it is set up potentially for a very interesting second half of the match.

“If we can prevent them getting past us it will be pretty much a one-innings game.

“We made them work hard in the last session which was a really good effort because that session can be the hardest to bowl in as the sun’s been out and the ball’s got softer.”