Nottinghamshire 345 for 7 (Patel 86*, Lumb 78, Hales 73) v Middlesex
Scorecard
Alex Hales calls himself a FOMO - fear of missing out - sufferer. But come May 19, he will not, barring sudden injury, be missing out on England's opening Test of the summer.
After an underwhelming series in South Africa, the populist and simplistic advice to Hales has been that he should ignore the colour of the ball, the length of the match and merely treat first-class cricket as an opportunity to thrash bowlers while wearing whites.
Yet the evidence is that Hales has ignored these clarion cries, and instead resolved to approach his innings against the red ball with ample care. In a sense this method is true to that which has earned him such success in limited-overs cricket: even in the hurly-burly of Twenty20, Hales likes to play himself in for a few overs.
There was not much razzmatazz in Hales' batting on his first-class comeback last week: in the second innings against Yorkshire he took 115 balls over 34 runs, but the contribution was critical in preventing Nottinghamshire from losing the match.
Even at a sun-kissed Lord's, Hales began in the same austere mood. After Tim Murtagh trapped Steven Mullaney lbw with the fifth ball of the day - jagging a ball back after earlier deliveries had swung away, a distillation of the skills that have underpinned a fine career - Hales opted not for attack, but for old-fashioned adhesiveness. One run came from his first 16 balls, and just ten from his first 39. If the well-judged leaves and assiduous defence were not the qualities that had attracted England to Hales in limited-overs cricket, or seduced them into thinking he could be their own very own David Warner in Tests, they were all the more impressive for that.
After the self-denial came the brutality. While it was not quite of the ilk of Hales in T20, his innings became progressively more violent. Murtagh was pulled imperiously, and Steven Finn was driven crisply. Ollie Rayner was simply treated with contempt: Hales lofted the fourth ball from Rayner he faced for a ferocious four, ignoring the convention of respectfully playing out the last minutes before lunch, and then later harrumphed 14 in four balls, including a six over long on, against his offspin.
"The first hour was really tough. Murtagh bowled an immaculate line and length and didn't give us anything to hit. You know at Lord's, if you can get through that tough morning session with the sun out, it can be pretty high scoring," Hales said.
"I've just played according to how the bowlers have bowled. I'm not looking to go out to bat with any particular gear, I'm just looking to adapt to how the bowlers are bowling - leaving well and having that attacking intent to put away the bad balls. I'm not necessarily looking to be more defensive, it's just that both teams [Yorkshire and Middlesex] have bowled pretty well up front."
The only shame was that Hales could not make his first first-class century since last August: on 73, he was bowled attempting to clout Toby Roland-Jones through the offside. Still, he could be sustained by the knowledge that he had assuaged any doubts over his inclusion in first Test. His decision to opt out of the opening weeks of the domestic season, in the knowledge that he risked allowing rivals to usurp him, has been vindicated.
"Missing the first few games was a personal choice for me - resting up and making sure I had a full tank for what is going to be a tough long summer and hopefully winter ahead. There was pressure to score runs - they've been some openers who have scored big runs. I knew that was going to be the case and the pressure was going to be on."
Vindicated, too, was Nottinghamshire's decision to bat first. That owed much to Hales' alliance with Greg Smith: the 57 they shared for the second wicket prevented Murtagh and Finn maximising the assistance provided by the wicket in the opening session, before Michael Lumb's stylish 78 in more benign conditions.
Yet when Lumb was dismissed by an arm ball from Rayner, Nottinghamshire were 208 for 5 and in danger of failing to bat out the day. That they did so, and have designs on passing 400 on a slightly tacky wicket, was the result of Samit Patel, who produced the day's most exquisite shots.
With each crisp stroke, Patel made the reprieve he received from John Simpson on 11, off Rayner, come to look more like the day's decisive moment. As the evening shadows on the outfield lengthened, Patel's assault against the second new ball - dreamy straight drives fused with a contemptuous pull off Finn - was a sight to behold.
The same could not be said of Finn's bowling. He sprayed the new ball around on both sides of the wicket and his pace also seemed palpably down. Though he improved to strike twice with the second new ball, this was not a performance to impress Angus Fraser or Mick Newell, the England selectors employed by opposing teams in this match. Should he continue his sterling start to the season later in the match, Jake Ball might yet have a chance of ousting Finn from the starting eleven at Headingley.
