Middlesex take derby spoils

Billy Godleman and Sam Robson put on 101 for Middlesex's first wicket

Middlesex remained unbeaten in this year's Pro ARCH Trophy after a nailbiting two-wicket victory over Surrey in Sharjah.

Surrey were without Mark Ramprakash and Mark Butcher, both of whom are injured, but otherwise played a full-strength team in their local derby match with Middlesex.

However, they could only manage 184 for nine after winning the toss and batting first at the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, a target which Middlesex reached with just three balls to spare.

The Middlesex openers Billy Godleman and Sam Robson put on 101 for the first wicket, but were bogged down in the middle of the innings by some good spin bowling.

Captain Usman Afzaal took 3-21 from his five overs and Murtaza Hussain claimed 2-26 from his 10 to give Surrey a chance of victory, as the Panthers stuttered to 175 for six.

But Tim Murtagh and Steven Finn made sure Middlesex got over the line in the nick of time.

Opener Scott Newman had earlier top-scored for Surrey with 56, with Stewart Walters and Jon Batty shoring up the middle-order with 33 and 29 respectively.

Finn was once again the pick of the Middlesex attack with 3-43, but former Surrey bowler Murtagh claimed 2-24 in an accurate 10-over spell, which was all but equalled by Alan Richardson's 2-27.

The result means Middlesex reach the final of the competition, to be played in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Their opponents will be decided after the last set of round-robin matches tomorrow.