Flower leads Essex stroll

Flower: Match winner

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Essex kept their Clydesdale Bank 40 semi-final hopes alive with a comfortable seven-wicket win over Middlesex on the back of half centuries from Grant Flower and Ravi Bopara.

After Middlesex made just 189-7 from their 40 overs, a third-wicket partnership of 114 in 19 overs between Bopara and Flower led hosts to victory with over six overs to spare.

Bopara profited from an early escape to make 68 from 77 balls, while Flower went on to hit an unbeaten 81 from 76 balls.

Tom Scollay was the player who blundered to let Bopara off the hook, putting down a far-from-typical chance at deep mid-wicket when the batsman had made just 14.

Had he held it, England fast bowler Steven Finn would have been celebrating his third wicket, having dismissed the Essex openers in his first five overs.

He found the edge of Mark Pettini's bat to have him caught behind for 13, while he removed Test colleague Alastair Cook with the help of a fine catch by Dawid Malan on the mid-wicket boundary.

Innings

Bopara made Scollay pay by going on to hammer five fours and two sixes in a fine exhibition of controlled hitting before he was caught at long on attacking Toby Roland-Jones.

Flower reached his half-century from 58 balls, and went on to gather eight fours before walking off to a standing ovation.

Neil Dexter provided what little spark there was to the Middlesex innings, hitting two fours and two sixes en route to an unbeaten 48 from 38 balls.

Malan found it difficult to get into his stride. His innings of 38 spanned 61 deliveries, and he was still seeking his first boundary when he was bowled having a wide swing against paceman Chris Wright.

Scott Newman, John Simpson and Gareth Berg all flattered to deceive, each failing to post a substantial contribution after getting into the 20s.

Hard going

While tight bowling combined with a slowish pitch did not make run-gathering easy, superb work in the field also hampered the visitors' progress.

Newman, Berg and Scollay were all run out, while the stumps were thrown down on a couple more occasions with the batsman just scrambling home.

Paceman David Masters did not take a wicket, but proved Essex's most economical bowler, conceding 29 in his eight overs. Wright picked up his two successes at a cost of 38 in his eight-over stint.