Lehmann happy with Northants bowlers' effort despite domination from Holden and Williamson

And that after Northants stand-in captain Lewis McManus had won the toss.

An already pretty threadbare County squad was weakened further on the morning of the game as skipper Luke Procter was ruled out for personal reasons, with McManus taking charge for the first time in red ball cricket.

That meant Aadi Sharma, George Bartlett, Rob Keogh and Ben Sanderson were brought into the team having missed the most recent four day clash against Kent.

Sanderson and Liam Guthrie started well and offered up a threat in the early overs, but once Middlesex settled into their task they took control with former Northants batter Max Holden hitting an unbeaten 137 from 256 balls

He was supported by New Zealand star Kane Williamson, who hit 88 from 134 balls, and Sam Robson, who made 57 from 108 deliveries before flicking a legside Sanderson ball to McManus behind the stumps for the only wicket of the day.

“I thought we bowled pretty well in the first session, and maybe a couple of decisions could have gone our way and didn’t," said Lehmann.

"But Middlesex played well, give them credit. Holden did well and Kane Williamson showed why he’s one of the best batters in the world.

“We were very good in the first couple of hours, not great in the middle session but I’m pleased with the effort – I would have liked a few more wickets.

“It’s a pretty good wicket, we’ve just got to come back with the new ball tomorrow and get a few early.

"We dropped some chances again and that costs you."

There was more worrying news for Northants as Keogh suffered an injured finger trying to take a caught and bowled chance from Williamson, which Lehmann also felt affected the balance of his side.

“Lewis McManus did a good job, changing his bowlers around," said the head coach.

"But obviously Keysy (Rob Keogh) getting hurt didn’t help, because he was in the middle of a decent spell.”

Holden, who made his first-class debut while on loan at Northants as a teenager in 2017, was delighted with his day's work against his former club.

“If you do the hard work early here, there’s runs to be had and it was nice to finish the day in a good position," said Holden.

"Sanderson and Guthrie are a pretty handy new-ball partnership and me and Robbo had to dig in for those first 10 overs and take away as much risk as we could.

“Having done that and got used to the conditions, it’s about application and concentration and doing it as long as you can.

"Having Kane (Williamson) at the other end, a man who’s renowned for that, is pretty handy and I’m pleased to have batted with him for that long."

Play is due to resume in Northwood at 11am on Wednesday.

Quotes courtesy of Ben Kosky