Middlesex all-rounder James Harris hopes his side can go on and complete victory over Derbyshire on day four of the County Championship Division Two match at Lord’s on Friday.

The hosts closed on 199-7, 327 runs ahead, after Sam Robson added 73 more runs to his first innings 134.

And Harris, who is unbeaten alongside Martin Andersson, said: “The game’s beautifully poised. I think we’ve had a really good day. To have this many on the board with a day to play, I think we’re in a really good position.

“Sam Robson looked in great form – he’s gone past 200 runs for the game. To bat as well as he’s done in this game, it’s a joy to watch.

“The wicket hasn’t had too much going on but it is deteriorating. Hopefully as the game goes on it’ll deteriorate more and there’ll be a bit more bounce. The ball hasn’t swung a huge amount in this game so far, but maybe we can get it to reverse depending on what conditions are like tomorrow.

“We’ve got some options and we’ll go in hard to try and get a positive result. It’ll be tough, but we’ve done it a lot this season, defending totals, and we’ve come out on top more times than not.”

Matt Critchley became Derbyshire’s youngest-ever centurion at Lord’s, as the 22-year-old top scored with 105 in his side’s 295, eight months younger than Stan Worthington when he hit 101 on the same ground 90 years earlier.

And Harris (4-83) proved the pick of the Middlesex attack as the visitors avoided the follow-on, before Robson put on 58 with Nick Gubbins, who was out hit wicket after dislodging his bails while attempting a leg glance off Lockie Ferguson.

Critchley then picked up three wickets with his leg spin, including the scalps of Stevie Eskinazi, Dawid Malan and Max Holden, while also running out Robson.

However, the home side extended their lead beyond 300 before bad light brought play to an early close.