Title-chasing Middlesex accept Lancashire’s invitation to bat with relish

• Middlesex 258-3 v Lancashire
• Top four all make half-centuriesThe logic behind Steven Croft’s decision to invite Middlesex to bat first was sound enough. It is September, the floodlights were on and even though Old Trafford has been full of runs in recent weeks and the pitch was pale enough to please batsmen it felt like a bowling morning. Croft’s Middlesex counterpart, James Franklin, in asking for a toss, evidently did not agree.There was another catch. The Championshi