Middlesex relegated after dramatic defeat by Notts

Middlesex's desperate bid for a dramatic final-day victory just fell short at Trent Bridge as they lost narrowly to Nottinghamshire by two wickets to be relegated back to Division Two of the County Championship.

Kent were forced to settle for a draw with Lancashire, to give Middlesex an outside chance if they could force victory.

But, in scenes of almost unbearable tension, both in Nottingham and Canterbury, despite losing their eighth wicket with five runs still needed, the hosts just about kept their heads to get over the line and send Middlesex down, while Kent survived.

There had looked to be only one outcome when Middlesex skipper Toby Roland-Jones set Notts a target of just 207 in a generous 58 overs.

But on a dry, turning pitch on a beautifully sunny last afternoon of the season, the Middlesex spinners made a real fight of it.

Frontline spinners Jayant Yadav (2-68) and Josh de Caires (1-24) were upstaged, however, by former England opener and occasional leg-spinner Sam Robson, who followed up his earlier century to finish with a career-best 4-46.

The visitors gave the hosts a real scare as they slipped to 157-7 before Matt Montgomery (34 not out) held the tail together to drag Notts across the line.

Fittingly, it was Notts number 10 Jake Ball - in the former England paceman's final appearance - who swept Robson for the winning boundary.

Earlier, as Nottinghamshire set fields that allowed Middlesex to set the game up, Robson hit a 109-ball unbeaten 105 - his third of the paltry total of four red-ball hundreds that his side have managed this season.

This is Middlesex's third relegation since two-division cricket began in 2000, having also gone down in 2006 and 2017.