Saturday 2 May 2015 19:02, UK
Sam Robson staked his claim for an England recall with an outstanding 178 as Middlesex dominated Durham on the first day of their Division One match at Lord's.
The 25-year-old played seven Tests last summer, averaging 30.54, but was left out for the series in West Indies.
With Yorkshire's Adam Lyth ignored in the Caribbean and Jonathan Trott enduring his third duck of the series in the third Test in Barbados the debate as to who should partner Alastair Cook this summer is back on the agenda.
So Robson's his first hundred since his 127 against Sri Lanka at Headingley last June could not have been better timed. Another potential candidate, Nick Compton, who played the last of his nine Tests two years ago, put his name in the frame with 50 as Middlesex reached 329-4 after being put in by a Durham side who have won both their opening games in Division One.
Compton played well in a second-wicket stand of 113 but this was Robson's day. He was utterly dominant against a Durham attack which badly missed the penetration provided by Graham Onions, who was nursing a sore knee.
Robson and Nick Gubbins survived a testing first hour on a green-tinged pitch offering good pace. Gubbins (23) was taken in the slips driving loosely at the fourth ball from Onions' replacement Paul Coughlin but Robson, whose previous six first-class innings this season had yielded just 81 runs, settled down with Compton to put their side in control after lunch.
He timed the ball impeccably throughout. His driving in the arc between mid on and mid off was particularly impressive and when the Durham seamers dropped short he pulled and cut powerfully as he moved to the 14th first-class hundred of his career off 205 balls with 15 fours.
He lost Compton shortly afterwards when leg-spinner Scott Borthwick forced him to play on for 50 but skipper Adam Voges ensured Middlesex did not lose momentum as he and Robson built an impressive third-wicket alliance of 127 in 33 overs either side of tea.
Voges offered a chance on 38 cutting at Borthwick, but Paul Collingwood failed to hold on at slip and the new ball brought Durham little respite as Voges brought up the 100 partnership by chopping Chris Rushworth over gully for four.
Robson belted Usman Arshad through the off side for successive boundaries to bring up Middlesex's 300 before Rushworth ended the stand when he had Voges lbw padding up to a straight one for 57, made off 91 balls with eight fours.
Robson offered a chance on 172 when Borthwick put him down off Coughlin at second slip but the same pair combined to dismiss him in the penultimate over off a tired-looking drive, ending a six-hour innings that spanned 300 balls and included 20 fours.
