Seamer Guthrie confident spinners will play their part as Middlesex clash progresses

But he and his team-mates are still hopeful they will come good as the four-day encounter progresses.

The County named four spinners in their team on Sunday, with overseas signing Lloyd Pope joined by fellow leg-spinner Calvin Harrison, once again joining on a two-match loan from Nottinghamshire, left-arm spinner Saif Zaib and off-spinner Rob Keogh.

They bowled 44 overs between them but failed to take a wicket, as left-arm seamer Liam Guthrie claimed a brilliant six for 87, and Justin Broad taking the two other wickets to fall as Middlesex fought back from 31 for three and 160 for six.

The visitors eventually ended up in a strong position as they closed on 397 for eight, with Joe Cracknell hitting an unbeaten 106, his maiden first-class century.

“Obviously, we expect it to spin at some point throughout the game, but there wasn’t much, it hasn't really broken up so far," said Guthrie.

"So hopefully it can break up a bit and the spinners come into play in the second innings.

“Up front, it was nice to get a few wickets, and then we probably struggled to put together the rest of it throughout the day, but obviously, come back in the morning, get those two wickets and then start our batting.

“It's nice to come back into four-day cricket, this little block now, hopefully we can get some momentum, get a couple of wins and then get back into the T20s."

In all, Northants used eight different bowlers before tea on the opening day, and Guthrie said: “That's a bit rare, but I guess we’ve got plenty of options, that's the good thing about it.

"We've got lots of spinners and different match-ups for each batsman. So yeah, it's probably a good thing.

“It was a fast outfield, the ball was flying off the bat. So, I think our fielding could have been probably a tad better as well.

"We've just debriefed and discussed that our out fielding could have been a bit better, but we'll rest up, come back on Monday and take those wickets.”

The match is the first this season where a Kookaburra ball is being used instead of a Dukes, and as a player who has played most of his cricket in Australia, it was perhaps no surprise Guthrie fared the best of all the Northants bowlers.

“I’ve played a fair bit with the Kookaburra back home in Oz, but yeah, obviously the ball has got a bit softer compared to the Dukes, softer earlier on in the innings," he said.

"That's kind of what happened. The ball was nice up front, it still swung a bit up front, and then sort of got a bit softer, and the swing came off the ball, and then, yeah, we found it hard.

"We just had to probably hold our length a bit for a bit longer. Probably leaked a bit towards the end there."

On the difference between a Dukes and Kookaburra ball, Guthrie added: "It is a different skill to the Dukes.

"I mean, guys who play with the Dukes over here obviously have skills that are different to what Australian seamers would have when they come over here.

"But I think it's just about being clear with your plans and hitting the deck hard, not floating it with the Kookaburra ball when it's a bit softer."

Day two of the Northants versus Middlesex clash is due to start at 11am on Monday.

Quotes courtesy of Jeremy Blackmore