Sam Robson scored his maiden first-class century to hold together an otherwise shaky Middlesex batting performance on the opening day of their LV County Championship Division Two match with Essex at Lord’s.

Robson batted for more than six hours for a career-best 110 from 273 balls and with nine fours before a weary flick across the line, five overs from stumps, made him the last home casualty of the day that ended with Middlesex on 280 for six.

The Australian-born right-hander helped the second-bottom hosts recover from the perils of 66 for three and featured in a fourth-wicket stand with left-handed Dawid Malan that added 141 in 44 overs.

Batting first after Essex skipper Mark Pettini won the toss and elected to field, Middlesex suffered their first casualty ten overs into the day when Nick Compton’s airy back-foot force off the bowling of Graham Napier offered a simple chance to Bopara at cover.

The bustling Napier struck again in the 16th over when he trapped Owais Shah leg before for eight, though Shah added to his own demise by playing around his front pad to miss the line of an off-cutter.

Acting Middlesex skipper Eoin Morgan should have gone without scoring when he edged low to second slip against Napier only to see Alastair Cook down a chance to his left.

But Morgan failed to capitalise when, in the over after lunch, he wafted leg-side at Napier to edge to a tumbling James Foster behind the stumps.

Cook blotted his copybook for a second time when he dropped a second, more difficult chance diving to his left at second slip to give Malan a let-off when on two, an opportunity the left-hander accepted as he and Robson combined to take Middlesex past their first batting bonus point at 200.

Robson sidled to his half-century in 161 minutes and with eight fours, while Malan was considerably quicker reaching the landmark with an all-run four to deep cover against Tony Palladino, he also hit eight boundaries.

Malan’s luck finally eluded him on 73 when, in pushing forward to Danish Kaneria, he edged to slip where Cook atoned for his earlier blunders by staying down to claim a sharp catch.

Three balls later Ben Scott pushed outside the line of a quicker ball from wrist-spinner Kaneria to go without scoring and make it 207 for five, but Robson marched on untroubled to three figures, reaching his hundred from 255 balls and with eight fours.

Hindered by two dropped catches, Essex fought back well to take three wickets in the final session as Napier ended with three for 52 and Kaneria two for 65.