Ripley: County can be really happy with work put in during Middlesex draw

David Ripley says Northants should be 'really happy' with the work they put in to claim a draw against Middlesex.
Jason Holder made his Northants debut in the draw against MiddlesexJason Holder made his Northants debut in the draw against Middlesex
Jason Holder made his Northants debut in the draw against Middlesex

The County were unable to get the wickets they desperately wanted on the final day of the Specsavers County Championship Division Two clash in Northampton.Middlesex, who were bowled out for 271 in their first innings, batted it out in their second, eventually declaring on 317 for four.It meant frustration for Northants, who had taken control with a total of 445 all out in their first innings.And County head coach Ripley said: "We had an opportunity to win the game after working very hard over the first couple of days.“We are playing against good opposition and they played very well - but we did go past the bat a lot and a couple of nicks would have changed things.“But against one of the better teams in the league we’ve got four batting points, made them follow-on and over four days we’ve got to be really happy with what we’ve put in."Luke Procter (81 not out), Alex Wakely (76) and Adam Rossington (67) were the key men with the bat for the County.Nathan Buck excelled with the ball, finishing with a total of eight wickets in the match.But Middlesex were able to escape with nine points, while Northants claimed 12 from the Championship curtain raiser.And Middlesex head coach Stuart Law said: "“The way we finished was very pleasing today, we fought well with the bat on the last two days.“We didn’t bowl or bat as well as we could in the first innings but to come away with a draw was pleasing.“It was great that we showed some fight but we’ve obviously got plenty to work on."