Star-buck in Liverpool

Going away to the county champions is always a tough ask, and while Lancashire have had a tough start to the season (they are yet to pick up a victory in the championship) it was obvious that this would be a difficult week against strong opposition.

After losing yet another toss (incredibly that's six out of six lost now this year), Lancashire went in for a bat, and thanks to Ashwell Prince, made 144 on what looked to be a batsman's paradise. With the sun out and the pitch flat, it was a tough task for the bowlers, but they all plugged away manfully. With Strauss and Finn away with England, Morgan came in for his first Championship game in nearly two years, which mean that the balance of the team (six bats, keeper and four bowlers) remained the same, but it could be argued that on that pitch we were a bowler light.

After Lancashire put on an imposing 392, disappointingly the batsmen didn't quite get it going. Most of the top order batsmen made starts (only Rogers and Morgan of the top 8 made less than 19), but nobody went on to make the telling score that Prince had for the hosts. The batting has improved since the start of the season (which with the improvement in the weather is to be expected) but concerns still linger, as does the propensity to collapse at any given point. In many ways, this makes the rearguard action in the second innings all the more impressive, as it certainly hasn't been the norm so far this year.

Middlesex were bowled out midway through the third day short of the follow-on target, but Lancashire chose not to enforce, instead chasing quick runs which they hoped would set up victory. While tactically this strategy was probably the right one for captain Chapple to play, with hindsight it's fairly obvious that he kept his team out there for far too long. Making 266 from 54 overs, Chapple set Middlesex an unlikely 429 to win from three and a half sessions, and the fact that he stayed out there long into the final session of the third day only helped Middlesex in their attempts to save the draw.

Of course, given the way we batted Chapple could have given us ten sessions and probably wouldn't have got us out. Chris Rogers was like a man possessed, and after missing out a bit this year, you sensed that he was determined to make a telling score and save the game for his side. 138 not out was made by Buck - his first ton of the year - and indeed only his second time past fifty. Those runs just show Buck's importance to the team; with backs up against the wall he's often the man who delivers. He's now made four tons for Middlesex, and none of them have been made in winning causes, but this only emphasises the fact that he puts his hand up and makes the "hard" runs when his team needs it most. Credit must also go to Sam Robson and Joe Denly who both kept him company and made fifties as the draw was managed at 5pm only 1 wicket down.

Again, another week where Middlesex have competed well. As with quite a few games this year, we haven't got into many winning positions, but we have showed that we can compete, and that we are able to hold our own against the strongest teams in the division. Lancashire have struggled this year, but they still are a good side, so to take a draw from that game is very encouraging. Next up is Sussex, and while we've now had a run of fixtures against teams who will fancy finishing at the top end of the table, we now have a chance to beat one of the 'teams around us' in mid-table. Sussex do of course have a strong side, but so do we, and this is exactly the sort of game that we should be targeting. Here is the squad that's been announced...:


Chris Rogers (c)
Gareth Berg
Corey Collymore
Joe Denly
Neil Dexter
Steven Finn
Dawid Malan
Eoin Morgan
Tim Murtagh
Ollie Rayner
Sam Robson
Toby Roland-Jones
John Simpson


No real shocks to the squad, and we're lucky to have Finn back for this game after he missed the adventures in Aigburth. Toby Roland-Jones has come back in after recovering from his injury, and he'll hope to continue the excellent start to the season that he was enjoying before he was struck down. However, unless Berg or Murtagh are given a rest Toby's unlikely to play, with Finn likely to be the man coming straight in for Collymore, who again went wicketless against Lancashire.

Corey's had a pretty miserable start to the season, and just hasn't got it going, which has really made his place vulnerable. He's only taken six first class wickets all year, and the likes of Steven Crook and Anthony Ireland may not be too far away from a call up if Corey's misery continues. For my money, it's the dreads. Once those grow back, he'll be fine...

I'd guess that the team will be the same as at Liverpool other than Finn in for Corey, which means we'll line up as:

Rogers (c)
Robson
Denly
Malan
Morgan
Dexter
Simpson (wk)
Berg
Rayner
Murtagh
Finn


With Denly enjoying batting at three (after being pushed down a spot when Strauss was around) he looks as though he's staying there, and while Rogers does prefer batting at first drop, he's more than capable (as proved last week) as an opener, and is happy to take one for the team and open up alongside Robson. Otherwise I don't envisage any shocks to that team, and with the sun due to be out at Lord's, it might be nice to win the toss (for once), have a bat and stick on about 700! Here's to the next four days!

So what have I missed?

OK, I'll admit it. I forgot that I had a Middlesex blog, so completely forgot to put stuff up about the Notts, Holland and Leicestershire games. Oops. Sorry.

So what haven't I talked about? Obviously the story of the Notts game was the Ollie Rayner century. Ollie, or the Brighton Bradman as he is hereforth to be known, made an incredible 143 not out when coming in as a nightwatchman. Given the relative lack of support from the rest of the team (nobody else made fifty) after a very big 423 from Notts, Ollie's knock was invaluable in the context of the match, and his first county championship ton. Without it (which allowed us to declare 123 runs behind) Middlesex wouldn't have had any chance at all, and after a few early wickets in the Notts second innings, a famous Middlesex victory was not out of the question at all. At 23-4 after the first ball of the final day, an attacking declaration could have seen an enthralling day, but sadly Chris Read saw fit to kill the game by batting on for far too long, and when he eventually called them in, any chances of anyone seizing a result had long gone.

A fine battling performance against a very strong team at Trent Bridge, and again, showing that Middlesex have earned the right to compete in Division One. While we may not be good enough (yet) to really start thinking about winning these sorts of games, the fact that Middlesex held their own for four days (mostly) is very encouraging.

From Nottingham the team went off over the seas to the now-annual trip to Holland (which the players enjoy more than any away trip). Luckily players and hardy supporters alike were able to celebrate an excellent victory, with 212-9 being chased down with only two wickets lost. Paul Stirling excelled with the ball with four wickets (showing just how good he is when the ball is thrown to him - take note Dexy!), before Denly (96*) and Rogers (83*) saw them home with consummate ease. Up against a Dutch side who have started this year's CB40 very well, such a good victory has really set us off in the competition, especially after such a poor performance in the first game against Gloucestershire.

After a few days off, the boys then went up to Leicestershire for another CB40 game. Leicestershire have had their struggles in recent seasons, but have started this one well, and their T20 win last year proves that in limited over cricket they are a very strong side. Boosted by the return of Finn (who missed out on the England test side) and Morgan (back from the IPL and making his first Middlesex appearance since June 2010), the Panthers got to a very handy 241-6, thanks to late order runs from Dexter and Berg. And after Finn ripped into the Foxes early on (picking up 3-30 from his 8 overs), victory was always likely, and despite runs from the ever-impressive Ned Eckersley, Leicestershire were eventually bowled out 31 runs short of Middlesex's total.

So there we have it, just in case you were wondering what had happened to this blog. Here's to another famous victory at Aigburth (although with Lancs 128/1 in the second innings and 291 runs ahead as I write, a great escape would be more likely)!

A few harsh lessons learnt

After a month of the four-day stuff, the coloured kits were broken out for the first time this season as Middlesex took on Gloucestershire in the first CB40 game of the season, and as it happened, it was live on Sky. Sadly, it was quite comfortably Middlesex's worst performance of the season, almost from start to finish, as the Gloucs Gladiators ran out victors by 5 wickets.




After rain washed out a couple of hours, the match was reduced to 26 overs a side, and after losing yet another toss (that's 5 out of 5 defeats with the coin this year), Middlesex (back under the stewardship of Neil Dexter) were asked once more to bat (that's the 5th time out of 5 that that's happened too). Malan and Denly opened up, and looked fairly confident, but while they put on 45 runs for the first wicket, they never really got going. Wickets fell all too regularly, and no batsman got set, or indeed scored at the rate necessary in a much reduced game. Only Paul Stirling of the top seven scored at over a run a ball, and against Gloucestershire attack that (no offence) didn't look that threatening, that isn't good enough.




Some late order smashing got us up to over 150 from the 26 overs, which looked about par, but would need a good bowling performance to defend it. Sadly, we didn't get it. Murtagh and Collymore opened up, and bowled what can only be described as a load of shite. For reasons that I am yet to understand, Murtagh, who has bowled almost solely from the Nursery End in his Middlesex career, was told to run in from the Pavilion, and vice versa for Corey. Whether that was a hunch or not from cap'n Dexter, it failed spectacularly, with Hamish Marshall cashing in on some lacklustre bowling to set a platform for an easy chase for his team. The bowlers were rotated a fair bit, with 8 of the team getting a go (for trivia fans, the three not required to turn their arms over were Simpson, Malan and Rogers), with part-time being favoured to the specialist bowlers at times, with Gareth Berg only getting one over. It was a very poor effort from Middlesex in the field; they didn't bowl well enough, didn't field as well as Gloucestershire (who saved at least ten runs through athletic fielding) and ultimately, they didn't bat as well as them either. All-round, a very disappointing effort from Middlesex.




On the bright side, this is just the first game, so there is still time to turn it around in the 40 over competition, but the nature of the competition is that only one of the seven in the group (or two if we're lucky) can get through, so we're going to have to bounce back very quickly. Also some positives to take out of the game was the bowling of Ollie Rayner, who was very economical from his six overs and took two wickets, and I thought Steven Crook bowled with pace and hostility on his first outing of the year as the game ebbed away from Middlesex. John Simpson paced his innings very well, after a slow start to gauge conditions he then started to free the arms, and without his quickfire 29, the game could really have been embarrassing.




However, it wasn't a day of many positives, and the Panthers will have to pick themselves up from the defeat and move on quickly. And the first place to move on to is the 4 day game at Nottingham starting tomorrow (Wednesday), for which a 12 man squad has been announced:




Chris Rogers (c)

Gareth Berg

Corey Collymore

Joe Denly

Neil Dexter

Steven Finn

Dawid Malan

Tim Murtagh

Ollie Rayner

Sam Robson

John Simpson

Andrew Strauss







Strauss and Finn are available, for what might be the last time before the test series starts, which is a plus. Toby Roland-Jones is out with a foot injury, which hopefully won't be too serious, and his place will almost certainly be filled by Corey Collymore, who's missed the last two games. Corey's had a very slow start to the season, and will really want to make his mark on a Nottinghamshire team that have begun the season very well. They, like us, will have the England duo of Swann and Broad available, but luckily they're missing Patel and Taylor, who are on England Lions duty.




The pessimists amongst the Middlesex fans who are looking at relegation will note that we already have two of the so-called "four wins needed to stay up", and with three quarters of the season still remaining, another win here would really see us looking up the table, rather than down. Of course, this comes against a Nottinghamshire team full of strength and confidence, but there's enough quality in the Middlesex team too to pull of an upset. The toss at Trent Bridge has been fairly key, with loads of wickets falling on the first day, before it dries out to see runs later on in the game, so hopefully Buck will have been practising his tossing and it will come down on our side. There's a very high chance of rain in the game (90% on one day), but fingers crossed it will all stay dry and allow Middlesex to continue their (championship) unbeaten run.




Come on the Middle!

Denly, declarations, and defeat (for Worcestershire)

After three rain ruined days, the match between Middlesex and Worcestershire seemed to be heading towards a bore draw. However, after an early morning conversation between the captains, and a rather generous declaration from Worcs captain Mitchell, Middlesex needed 10 wickets in a day to win the game, and did so with a few hours to spare, finally wrapping up the final wicket as Worcestershire were all out for 150, with Middlesex taking the win by 132 runs.

With a contrived double declaration overnight meaning Worcestershire needed 283 runs for victory from the 96 overs in the day, it was always going to be a tough ask, and questions will need to be asked of the Worcestershire captain, as it always seemed a ridiculously unlikely scenario to see his team win. Credit must go to Rogers for somehow getting Mitchell to agree to the target, as only a Middlesex win was ever likely - that was proved as Worcs fell one ball short of half way to surviving the day, and 132 runs short of actually winning the game.

Anyway, Middlesex pick up their second win of the season, and move into fourth spot in the table. Relegation? Pah!

So what have we learned from the game? Well, first and foremost, Joe Denly is some player. Coming in after a decent sized partnership between Robson and Strauss (Robbo made 50, Strauss fell one run short of his half-century), Denly looked incredibly composed at the crease, and his first Middlesex century (an unbeaten 134 - incidentally just two runs more than the eventual margin of victory, so it could quite literally be called a "match-winning innings") included 19 fours and a six - a sign that he is more than capable of sending the ball to the boundary. A different innings to his previous 'big' score for Middlesex, where he gutsed out a seventy-odd against Vernon Philander and Somerset , Denly was able to take advantage of some less than dangerous bowling, and push Middlesex up to 327/7 declared - what proved to be a winning score. Alan Richardson aside, Worcs' bowling attack looked very ordinary, and allied to an equally average batting performance, it's easy to see why many are tipping them to go down this year. You feel Richardson's going to have to have yet another magical season with the ball if they're to get anywhere in Division One this summer.

Equally, however, while the top order thrived, the middle order failed, yet again. 4, 5, 6 and 7 of Rogers, Malan, Dexter and Simpson only contributed 23 runs between them, and that middle-order collapse has become a part of every game this year. While we've often been bailed out by the strong top order, there are question marks over some of these players, and it will be interesting to see who scores heavily for the seconds (if they're able to get out on the pitch) over the next few weeks, as they may well be called into action to rejuvinate an ailing Middlesex middle. Runs for Berg were handy after a torrid start to the season with the bat for him (he now averages 8 with the blade), and of course, the Lambeth Lara remained unbeaten as Middlesex declared, with Murtagh's average now second in the list this year for Middlesex, with 32.

However, as well as Middlesex batted, the game was won with the ball. After taking two Worcs wickets last night, they came back this morning to see Worcestershire had started a new innings, and then took the ten wickets to win for just 150. Middlesex's bowling figures so far this year are excellent, with Roland-Jones leading the way with 16 Championship wickets at an incredible return of 13. He took four wickets in the game, as did Murtagh, with Finn and Berg both chipping in with two apiece. Yet again Middlesex haven't needed a spinner, and given the early season conditions being incredibly conducive for the fast bowlers, chances are Ollie Rayner may be waiting a while to get a go again in four day cricket. Corey Collymore (to my surprise) missed out in this game, and given the form of the four seamers, and with Finn likely to be available for next week's game at Trent Bridge against Nottingham, Corey may miss out once more. There are some faint murmerings of the West Indies calling Corey up for their test side for the games against England due to the visa problems of their touring squad, which would see the odd situation of Corey getting into the West Indies team but not Middlesex's! (Although I do have it on fairly good authority that Corey will not be called for, and even if he was, he would be unlikely to accept, given that this would end his hopes of playing for Middlesex as a Kolpak).

The big story from the game however was the declaration, and while other counties might sniff at an incredibly generous offer from Mitchell, it can't be denied that Middlesex played winning cricket throughout the game. Our 327/7 played 195/12, and it would have been unfair had rain denied us the chance to take the win, and the valuable 16 points. The fact that 16 points is on offer for the win (as opposed for the 3 for the draw) would have tempted Mitchell into his decision, as a draw is almost meaningless compared to the vast rewards given by a win. However, Worcestershire supporters will bemoan the fact that a more even declaration was not sought by Mitchell, as it was a very one-sided decision, and I'm sure Rogers would have accepted a 260 chase in 60 overs, rather than 283 in 96, which completely took the draw out of the equation, and made the Worcs chase incredibly unlikely. Still, Middlesex won't mind, and will take a big win which could prove crucial come the end of the season.

Up tomorrow is the start of the CB40 with a game against Gloucestershire, and we wait with baited breath the squad for that, just to see in what direction the side will be going. Will bring you news of that as and when!

Come on the Middle!

Middlesex v Worcestershire Squad News

Middlesex's week off couldn't have come at a better time, as every game around the country was rain ruined, with no results possible. This means that nobody was able to get a big win, effectively meaning Middlesex will have 16 games in a 15 game season, and the extra points there could make all the difference come the end of September. Everyone will be hoping that the rain doesn't come this week, as on paper, Worcestershire at home is our most winnable game of the year. No disrespect at all to Worcs, but looking at their squad compared to the other counties in Division One, they appear to be the weakest, and the home and away games against them should be our best chance of racking up some serious points. It would have been infuriating had this game been last week to see both teams sit in the pavilion for all four days (as happened at the Oval, where Surrey and Durham didn't even get one ball bowled), so fingers crossed the weather stays fine for this week.

Onto matters Middlesex, and the 13 man squad has been named...
Chris Rogers (c)
Gareth Berg
Corey Collymore
Joe Denly
Neil Dexter
Steven Finn
Dawid Malan
Tim Murtagh
Ollie Rayner
Sam Robson
Toby Roland-Jones
John Simpson (wk)
Andrew Strauss

Unsurprsingly, it's the 11 who took on Durham last time out, with the addition of the rested Corey Collymore, and 12th man Ollie Rayner. Chris Rogers remains as captain, and there don't seem to be any injury doubts, meaning that (perhaps Eoin Morgan aside) this is Middlesex's strongest possible squad for a four day game. (Although fans of Paul Stirling will tell you different)

As for the team that will be picked, chances are the make-up of the team will be the same. Ollie Rayner didn't play last time, and seeing as it's even less likely to spin this week, he'll probably miss out again, meaning it'll be six batsmen with the keeper at seven, followed by four seamers. Corey was rested against Durham, but he's back, and with the rotation policy that is needed for the bowlers, one of Murtagh, Roland-Jones or Berg will make way for Corey. It could be any of those three, but it won't make much difference as to who misses out, as with Finn and Collymore in (plus two others) it will be a very strong seam attack either way. The rest that whoever it is gets will be important as the season progresses, so there won't be many complaints from whoever is chosen to help Ollie mix some drinks for the four days.

As to the batting, Middlesex will really need to be on their game, especially with Wisden Cricketer of the Year, and former Middlesex favourite Alan Richardson taking the new ball. Ideally we might win a toss for the first time this year, but at some point Richo will be running in at us, and given the collapses that have plagued our season thus far, someone's really going to have to step up. Richardson is the main man for Worcs, and a real threat, and given our poor performances to Philander, Dernbach and Onions so far, that could be a real worry.

Anyway, we're currently fifth in the table, with a game in hand over three of the team above us, so let's hope we can pick up a big win this week and push up into those Champions League spots!

Durham match report

After the earliest start to a county season on record, it was perhaps inevitable that one of the first few games would fall victim to the weather, and this game against Durham proved to be that. While it looked at one stage that Durham were certs to win it, and even for a brief few moments that Middlesex were going to snatch it, the weather, which put paid to the first day as well as large spells of the second and fourth meant that the spoils were indeed shared on the final afternoon. I must admit that when Onions had ripped through us once more on the final morning that I'd given up on the game and had gone off to do something else, so was pleasantly surprised to see that somehow Simpson and The-Lambeth-Lara (C) had put together a partnership, and with rain falling, apparently saved the draw. Thinking nothing of it until much later on that evening, where upon I checked my Twitter, imagine my amazement to see that with Durham needing 130 to win, a) they'd managed to get back on, and b) Middlesex nearly won it!

Anyway, on with the match itself, and again we failed (twice) with the bat. With Strauss coming in for Rayner, there were thoughts that this extra bat would help bolster the lineup and make us less prone to collapse, but at 2-3, and 28-4, this certainly was not the case. The England captain himself managed to bag a second ball duck when Onions bowled him through the gate, and it didn't get much better from there. Admittedly it is tough to bat at this time of the year, and we're hardly the only county to have struggled when batting, but it might be nice to eventually score a few runs. 188 all out, which was with a bit of late-order resistance (as usual) meant no bonus points, which is again disappointing.

One bright spark was Neil Dexter. After just 16 runs in the first two games, Dex stepped back from his role of captaincy, and went and made a gutsy 65 in very tough conditions on Friday afternoon. It may not have been the Dexter of old, but hopefully the confidence given to him by those runs will see him get back to the batsman that we all know very soon. John Simpson's display as well was very encouraging - after a few failures from him he was due some scores, and an impressive 25 not out first up was joined by a backs-against-the-wall 47 when all seemed lost on the final afternoon. Simmo is an excellent bat, and seeing as there isn't anyone with any experience lining up to replace him, it's important that the keeper does start to contribute, which he has started to here.

Action shot of Tim Murtagh batting...



If I was to sum up the bowling effort, it would be that they started badly, turned it around, and then let it slip right at the end. After Finn and Murtagh bowled a pile of junk just before lunch on Day 3, allowing Durham to race out of the blocks, they got their acts together after the interval in one of the weirdest sessions of county cricket I've ever seen. Durham added 165 runs, but lost 6 wickets, in a session that certainly got the game moving. The post new ball figthtback has been something we've seen in all three games, which does show good fight, but in all three games it's allowed the opposition to get off to a great start with the bat. Suppiah and Trescothick smashed Murtagh and Collymore around Taunton, Davies and Rudolph put on 85 for Surrey, and Smith and Di Venuto helped themselves as Finn and Murtagh chucked up a lot of freebies on Saturday morning. (Although Finn did make me look pretty stupid when I was commentating on BBC London...) It was very poor cricket, and I'm sure Gus and Richard Johnson will be working hard to ensure that that's the last of it in terms of wasting the new ball. In Division One you can't afford to give teams any advantage, and to waste the new ball (which as we've seen in the excellent spells of Philander and Onions is the best time to strike) is criminal at this level - another harsh lesson learnt. However, the fightback was encouraging, and to peg Durham back to 194-9 shows the character of this side when many others would have let their heads drop. (Although the record 10th wicket partnership between Borthwick and Onions was not ideal...)

So another game gone, and a draw with Durham is certainly not the worst result in the world - a result that many Middlesex fans (myself included) would have taken before proceedings got underway. And a result that everyone would have taken when 8 down just after lunch with Durham sniffing victory! The boys have a week off now, which means they'll be dodging rain clouds on the golf course, and I have a few exams, so that'll probably be the last you hear from me until the Worcestershire game. Come on the Middle!

Squad named for Durham game...

... and interestingly, after this news earlier this afternoon, Neil Dexter's been named in the squad (which makes my assumption that he wouldn't be look very foolish, and confirms that I know absolutely nothing about what's really going on at Middlesex!).

The 13 man squad itself is:

Chris Rogers (c)
Gareth Berg
Steven Crook
Joe Denly
Neil Dexter
Steven Finn
Dawid Malan
Tim Murtagh
Ollie Rayner
Sam Robson
Toby Roland-Jones
John Simpson (wk)
Andrew Strauss

Corey Collymore is missing out (as predicted, I had to get something right eventually) as part of the 'rotation policy', but chances are he wouldn't have made the team either way. Gareth Berg has been struggling with a chest infection, so Steven Crook is in as cover for him, but we'll find out tomorrow morning whether he's fit to play.

From what I see, the only selection dilemma is between Neil Dexter and Ollie Rayner. We will go with four seamers (as usual), with either Crook or Berg (fitness depending) joining Murtagh, Roland-Jones and Finn, with Strauss coming into the top order. So the question is whether they go with the extra batsman (Dex) or the spinner (Rayner)?

There's a case for leaving out both. The ball hasn't spun much in this very early part of the season, and seeing as Ollie was only required to bowl six overs against Surrey, it would make sense to strengthen the batting, which has been rather shaky thus far. Conversely, with Dexter having handed over the captaincy, will he be right mentally to suddenly go and make runs? Or would the release of not being required to captain take the pressure of his shoulders and allow him to return to form?

It's a tough one, but I reckon that they'll go with Dexter. Having named him in the squad, they're going to pick him (otherwise they'd have let him slip away and play for the 2nds) so as such he may get a game. Plus, the batting needs all the strength it can get, and as handy as Ollie Rayner is, I think we'd all prefer the safety-net of Dexter at six with Simpson at seven and Berg at 8.

Whatever way Middlesex go, it'll be a tough game, as Durham are a very good team. However, they did lose their only game of the season last week to Notts, and after Sunday morning, we'll have a lot of momentum to take into the game, which will hopefully help us massively. With overcast conditions forecast, and the pitches playing quite tough so far, the toss will be massive, especially considering the damage Durham's formidable bowling attack could do if asked to field first. Hopefully Chris Roger's tossing (careful) will be better than Dexy's (0 from 2 this year) and he can help Middlesex to a second win in a row. Come on the Middle!

Dexter stands down as captain

Clicked onto the Middlesex website this morning and was shocked to see this piece of news. While there were a few rumblings about Dexy's captaincy, I don't think anyone really saw him standing down now coming.

First - to clarify what the news is. Dexy is to take a break from four-day captaincy to focus on his batting. He still remains as club captain (so would captain any 40 over or T20 games) but for the time being Chris Rogers is taking over as captain of the four-day team.

Am not sure if Neil is going to actually be in the team for the next couple of week / tomorrow, but the fact that this news has come out suggests that he won't be in the team. Sadly, his batting form (as I alluded to in the last blog) just hasn't been up to it at the back end of last year or in the start of this, and either Neil has decided, or it's been decided for him, that he isn't justifying his place in the team, so he's likely to miss out (though that will be confirmed or not when the squad for tomorrow is announced).

It's a shame for Neil that things have got to this, especially after what I thought was a brilliant game as skipper last week. Gus Fraser even mentioned Dexy's tactical astuteness in his review of the game, saying "I thought Neil Dexter captained the team superbly. His tactics on the final morning were excellent. He picked the right time to have the field in and the right time to have fielders saving four. His introduction of Toby Roland-Jones was inspired too. It was Toby who dismissed Rory Hamilton-Brown in his first over", so any issues are clearly down to matters other than his skipper-ship.

In the short term, I would guess that Strauss would come in 'like-for-like' as a batsman for Dexter, although they may decide to go with the structure (6 specialist batsmen, keeper and 4 seamers) that I floated in the last blog, with Adam London / Paul Stirling taking Dex's role.

In the long term however, things could be tough for Dex. Once a captain gives anyone else a go it's tough to recover, and if Bucky does well then he may well get the nod full-time. And if whoever takes Dexy' batting place does well, then it could well be tough to even break into the team, let alone get back as captain.

It will be a time of upheaval for the rest of the boys with the captain suddenly going, so hopefully they can pull together and take the momentum of Sunday morning into the game against Durham.

Squeaky bum time as Middlesex beat Surrey

Wowsers - what a game. What a match, and what a morning - a finish that will live long in the memory of Middlesex fans. With Surrey just one hit away from winning the game, Jade Dernbach lobbed one up in the air, and after a nervous few seconds of waiting, Sam Robson stepped forward from nowhere to claim the catch, and seal the victory for Middlesex, by just three runs.

A massive, massive performance from the team, all the way through the game - a game that was a brilliant advertisement for county cricket. Played on a sporting pitch that offered a bit for both bat and ball (nowhere near as bad as Surrey are making out), there were some high quality performances from both teams throughout, but it was Middlesex who held their nerve to record victory by such a narrow margin. Anyone who was at Lord's this morning will have no doubts that the county game is in rude health at the moment.

Anyway, onto the main talking points from the game - the main one being the pitch. While Adams and Hamilton-Brown do have a point that the pitch did offer a bit to the bowler (and one nameless member of the Middlesex team did tell me that it probably could have done with a little less grass), from watching three days of the game, I don't think that it was an 'unfair' pitch. Given that we're in the second week of April, and that much of the game was played with overcast skies, batting is always going to be tough, and for Surrey to come out and publicly slate it does smack of sour grapes. Both teams have to bat twice on it, and of course, if Hamilton-Brown felt it was going to deteriorate so badly he probably should have elected to bat first when he won the toss. And it was the sort of pitch that if you dig in and stick around, you can make some runs, as Malan, Robson, and Hamilton-Brown all showed. Yes, it was a low scoring game, but it wasn't 33 plays 18.

The ebb and flow of the game was superb, and again, the fight showed by Middlesex was very heartening. After Dernbach ripped through the middle order (who have now failed for a concerning fourth time in a row), Middlesex were 108-6 and in tatters, but a strong rearguard action from the patient and watchful Malan and the #lambethlara (copyright me) Murtagh, plus support from TRJ and Collymore pushed us up to 256, and two important batting points. With every run being crucial, that effort from the tail-end, for the second game in a row, was excellent. And with the ball, when Surrey looked to be on top, somehow we'd find a way of wresting back the initiative, first with Ollie Rayner getting the breakthrough with Rudolph stumped, and then the captain Dexter bringing himself on to bowl and excellent spell and take 3-23. And then of course, when Surrey were four down overnight on Saturday, Middlesex somehow managed to take the final six wickets just in the nick of time and win the game.

On a less positive note, the batting side has failed now for four innings in a row. While the top four of Robson, Denly, Rogers and Malan all seem in good nick, and have made good starts in both games, the form of the lower-middle order is becoming quite worrying. Captain Dex at 5 has made 15 runs from 4 innings so far, John Simpson's made 26, and Gareth Berg has made 20. We've collapsed in all four innings of the season, which is not a good thing at all. Berg and Simpson will both remain in the team due to the other strings to their bow (Bergy for his bowling, Simmo for his keeping), but the question is how long Dex can afford to rely on his captaincy to keep him in the team. With Strauss coming back next week there is a school of thought that Dex should drop out to make way, and looking at his form, both this season and the end of last, you can see why he's vulnerable. However, for my money, dropping the captain would be a foolish move, and you sense Dexy just needs one knock of any note just for a bit of confidence, which he looks like he's desperately lacking at the crease. As a captain this year I think he's been superb - making the right bowling changes at the right time, and getting the fields pretty much bang on (although I probably would have put a midwicket in when Maynard and Hamilton-Brown kept picking up easy singles, and I would also have had a third man in for Dernbach with only four needed and the possibility that an outside edge wins Surrey the game!), but he is in the team primarily as a batsman, so he does need some runs quickly to quieten the naysayers. Century next week please Neil!

So, with Durham starting on Thursday, and Finn and Strauss available, the question is who should they come in for - if at all? Well, if you have players of their class available they should undoubtedly come in, but working out who to drop will be a tough one. There are no obvious candidates for who should miss out, which means Gus will have a bit of a headache trying to piece together the team. Were I in charge, I'd probably drop Ollie Rayner and Corey Collymore - Ollie because we haven't needed a spinner massively in the first two games (Olls only bowled the six overs this game), and with it seaming about he's fairly redundant, so we may as well add the extra batter in Strauss - and Corey, because of it's difficult to drop any of Berg, Murtagh and TRJ, who have all excelled so far, so Corey (who it must be said has also started the season well, but not quite with that spark of the other three seamers) being the unlucky man to make way for Finn.

All of that means I'd rejig the batting order a bit, dropping Robson down to four (which is a shame as he is an excellent opener, but you do have to accommodate the England captain), meaning my team would be:

1) Denly
2) Strauss
3) Rogers
4) Robson
5) Malan
6) Dexter (c)
7) Simpson (wk)
8) Berg
9) Lara
10) Roland-Jones
11) Finn

The extra batsman just gives us that little bit of a safety net after the shakes of the middle order thus far, and that seam quartet is as strong as any that will play county cricket this year. Durham will be a tough ask, but if Middlesex can show the same amount of guts that they did this morning - anything's possible!


And if you weren't lucky enough to have been at Lord's today (or just want to relive it) - here's the highlights from Day 4!

A few harsh lessons learnt...

So the first game of the season has been played, and sadly Middlesex have lost. While in the end Somerset only needed to chase 72, in reality the game was much closer, and Middlesex will feel very disappointed to have only picked up 3 points, but at the same time, fairly pleased in the knowledge that they can compete at the highest level.

The game was always going to be a struggle after losing the toss and being inserted on a miserable day in Taunton. With visibility poor and low overcast skies, the stage was set for Vernon Philander, who certainly did not disappoint. His opening spell with the new ball on Thursday afternoon was as good a spell as will be bowled anywhere in the world this year, whether domestic or international, and was simply stunning. His third ball was just too good for poor old Sam Robson, who did well to get a faint edge through to the keeper, and he consistently troubled both Rogers and new-boy Denly. However, the fight shown by those two was incredibly pleasing, and they really battled hard as both Philander, and the equally as impressive Kirby stormed in for over an hour. We all know just how good Rogers is, but it was great to see the new signing Denly show his class in his first Middlesex innings, with a 73 which deserved to be a lot more. If he carries on like that, we really have got a gem of a player on our hands.

After reaching stumps on a rain reduced first day at 118/4, a mini-collapse ensued leaving us at 150/7, and not much chance of making a decent score, with 250ish seeming par. Cometh the hour, cometh the Lambeth Lara, and Tim Murtagh's incredibly timely 45 was unlucky to be ended after a "yes, no, maybe, sorry" exchange with Toby Roland-Jones that saw Murts on his backside in the middle of the pitch. While we missed out on the second batting point at 246 all out, it was a really good rally from the tail-end, with Rayner, Murts and TRJ all chipping in, and showing good fight. It was the sort of situation that not that long ago would have seen us fold to 155 all out, so those extra runs in a low-scoring game were very handy indeed.

Disappointingly, while Somerset started brilliantly with the new ball, Middlesex were godawful and completely wasted it, allowing Somerset to get off to a flier. While there was a quick flurry of wickets that saw the home county reduced to 103-3, the overall standard of bowling in the second evening was fairly average, and not good enough by half at this level. Gareth Berg was the pick of the bowlers, but ultimately he was the best of a bad bunch. However, the next morning, Middlesex really did start bowling well, and deserved to get Somerset out for less than the 350 that they eventually made, mostly thanks to a 150 partnership between Nick Compton (who got out for 99, lol) and Craig Kieswetter. Corey Collymore recovered from a rubbish start to end up with 3-66, and it all seemed fairly respectable.

However, the main difference between Division Two and Division One is the amount of chances that you're given. In Div 2, the intensity wasn't as high, and even if there was a drop or a missed run-out, another one wouldn't be far away, so it wouldn't hurt too much. Here, Middlesex had the chance to get Kieswetter out on 0 (dropped by the usually immaculate Ollie Rayner in the slips) and on 6 (where a terrible mix-up between Compton and Kieswetter saw both batsmen standing side by side at the same end, but a worse mix up by Middlesex meant they were able to get away with it), and were made to rue it as the pair racked up the match-winning partnership. Who knows what would have happened had Buttler come in with his side well behind and wobbling, just as Middlesex were seizing the initiative?

The batting in the second innings was incredibly disappointing after Rogers (who made 50) and Robson both got out after a solid partnership on the fourth morning, and the loss of 9-70 smacks of a side who threw it away when they should have been able to hold on for the draw. However, I think the concerns over the over-rate (Middlesex went into the fourth innings 3 overs behind and facing a 3 point penalty) may have had something to do with it, as thoughts were very muddled at the end as nobody knew whether to attack or defend. And to be fair, 19-year-old George Dockrell did bowl very well, taking 6-27 from 20 overs. The long and the short of it meant that our third innings score of 175 meant Somerset needed just 72 for victory, and despite a Gareth Berg induced wobble (the cidermen were 44-4 at one point), a quickfire 37 from Hildreth saw them over the line just before the clouds closed in and the points were shared.

It's always disappointing to lose a game, and more so when going into the fourth day we had a very real chance of saving the draw, but the fight shown by the team was very pleasing. We won't have to face a display of bowling all season better than Vernon Philander, and the fact that Denly, Rogers (twice) and Robson all stood up to him and kept him out shows that there's a fair bit of grit about our top order. And while the bowlers were on the wrong end of things on Friday afternoon, they came back strongly for the third day and bowled a hell of a lot better. That bouncebackability will really come in handy over the course of the season, and the strength of the team mentally shows some positive signs.

On a more negative note, the middle order didn't contribute much with the bat. With only six out and out batsmen (and that includes John Simpson at 6 who averages 33 in FC cricket), somebody really has to make runs, and that didn't happen this week. It will be interesting to see how they rejig things if / when Strauss or Morgan end up in the side. And the fielding wasn't quite up to Somerset's very high standards - when they needed to hit the stumps they would, but on the three run-out chances, we missed, and we dropped far too many catches. When chances are so hard to come by, we can ill afford to let them go.

All in all, a tough game, but we can learn a lot from it. Chris Rogers has got his one brainless dismissal out of the way this season, and hopefully the bowlers will have worked out what went wrong with the new ball - and judging by their performance the next day, they've already started to correct it. The next game is the old enemy from south of the river, and I'd guess that we'd name the same squad, but probably without Adam London. Ten out of the eleven will be the same, with the only potential change being Steven Crook in for Ollie Rayner if Gus and Dexy think that the pitch won't spin, but I'd keep it as it is. Surrey are on a high after beating Sussex, and with the brown trouser brigade likely to be relegation rivals (despite some so-called experts bizarrely tipping Rory's chav army for the title), beating them here is very important. Let's hope we see yet another trouncing of the boys from the Oval!


(PS - have written a round-up of the last week of county fixtures for All Out Cricket - go and have a look!)

Somerset v Middlesex squads announced

So here we are, the first official squad of the season. And this is it - the 13 men chosen to valiantly represent Middlesex against Somerset at Taunton in the four day game starting tomorrow...

Neil Dexter (captain)
Gareth Berg
Corey Collymore
Steven Crook
Joe Denly
Adam London
Dawid Malan
Tim Murtagh
Ollie Rayner
Sam Robson
Chris Rogers
Toby Roland-Jones
John Simpson

It's pretty much as expected. In fact, it's totally as expected. The twelve who took on Durham uni at the weekend are all selected, with Joe Denly added to the squad after recovering from his injury. While he wasn't fit enough to play in the uni game, he did have a bat in the abandoned game against Northampton yesterday (a game that completely flew under my radar), so I presume he's passed his fitness test and will play, probably coming in for Adam London at the top of the order.

The only other dilemma is how the bowlers will shape up. Toby Roland-Jones and Steven Crook have both had very good pre-seasons, and while I thought Corey Collymore would have been first choice, the fact that both TRJ and the Crooky Monster were picked ahead of him for the uni game suggests that they're higher up in Gus' pecking order at the moment. Gareth Berg, who didn't bowl in that game, has confirmed (via the ever reliable source of Twitter) that he's "definitely" fit to bowl, which helps the balance of the team no end, and allows us to go in with four seamers.

As the days have ticked down to this game I have become more and more pessimistic, as Somerset have a ridiculously strong batting order (Trescothick, Kieswetter, Compton, Hildreth, Buttler), and while they'll miss Alfonso Thomas at the IPL, they're being boosted by the arrival of Vernon Philander, who as we know, has had a decent start to his test career. The forecast for Taunton suggests it will be fairly overcast on all four days, with a possibility of rain on Thursday, so hopefully we'll be able to get the season off and running with a positive result. And hopefully we won't be praying for rain on Sunday afternoon!

The wait is over, we're finally back in Division One, and now let's stay there!

Middlesex v Durham MCCU round-up

So the first first-class game of Middlesex's season has been played, and has ended in a draw, with neither side able to force a victory in the three days of the game. Merchant Taylor's School, Britain's newest first class ground was the scene for another record as Sam Robson became the first ever March centurion in this country - a statistical quirk caused by the early start of the season, but a very nice one at that.

Middlesex won the toss and had a bat, with the only change to the side that I thought being Steven Crook playing ahead of Corey Collymore. Was surprised that Corey wasn't given a go seeing as he's likely to be first choice, and that he hasn't had millions of overs under his belt in pre-season, but there you go! Maybe he's further down the pecking order than I thought. The other thing I got wrong was that Adam London opened alongside Robson - a position he may well play in at Taunton, but he'll miss out if Joe Denly is passed fit.

Anyway, with the bat first innings, Middlesex stuck up 368/9 declared, with the highlight being a fifth first class ton for Sam Robson at the top of the order. Dawid Malan continued his good pre-season with a century, and Gareth Bergarelli also passed fifty, to go with his 100* in the intra-squad friendly last week. More worrying was Rogers (in his first knock in England since September) and Dexter getting blobs, but a half-century for Dexy in the second innings showed he's in some sort of form, and seeing as Rogers has come straight out of the Australian domestic season (where it was only a couple of weeks ago he made 124 at the WACA against Western Australia), and given the class of the man, I don't think there are any issues for him going into the first game.

Indeed, of the 6 batsmen, all of them seem in relatively good form, with Simpson making an unbeaten 49 in the second innings as well. Indeed, Tim Murtagh's carried his good form with the bat from last year (well, his final knock of the year at Grace Road) with a 26 ball 31. He does take his batting seriously (ish) and it would be good to see him make a few runs down the order this year.

With the ball, first innings Middlesex skittled the students for 124, with Murtagh taking a wicket in the first over, followed by 2-50 for TRJ, 2-18 for Rayner and eye-catchingly 4-16 for Steven Crook. I wouldn't have had Crook down as first choice ahead of this game, but after an impressive pre-season on the back of an excellent breakthrough summer last year, it's certainly given Gus something to think about when he sits down to name his first Championship team of the year on Wednesday evening. Crook really does offer that extra yard of pace to Murtagh, Roland-Jones, and even Collymore, and that could give him the edge when it comes to selection.

The only concern on the bowling front is the mysterious absence of Gareth Berg - nothing official from the club but the word on the street (Twitter) says that Bergy 'has a slight niggle but should be OK to bowl on Thursday'. Have no idea how correct this is, but if I hear anything else then I'll let you know!

After having another bat, Dexter declared overnight setting Durham an unlikely 386 to win, and they never really went after it, preferring to bat out the day to save the draw, which annoyingly they did quite comfortably. The experts say that the difference between Division One and Division Two is the quality of the batting, and it might be slightly worrying if we're only able to take three wickets in a day - especially if those players are only students. Murts, TRJ and Rayner took one apiece as Durham ended at 199/3 (from 83 overs), and hands were shaken at 5 to confirm the draw.

It's a shame that we couldn't force a win, but it's best that we get those annoying days where teams hang on against us out of the way at this stage of the season, rather than when it really matters. The team now head on to Taunton, where the fun really starts!

Speaking of Somerset, they took on Cardiff Uni, and their batsmen (Nick Compton and James Hildreth at least) look in ominous form, with both picking up big double centuries as they combined for a mammoth 450 run partnership. I'm all for games between counties and universities, but these shouldn't really hold first class status, with both Compton and Hildreth's averages taking a very handy boost. Either way, they're both in good nick ahead of the game starting Thursday, and of course, if we didn't know already, their partnership shows just how hard it is to take wickets at Taunton, and the importance of knuckling down once you're set. The ideal plan for the game is to bat first, put on an imposing total, and hope to bowl them out twice in the four days, but the smart money could well be on the draw. If it's any consolation, Somerset's bowlers didn't fare a great deal better, with Cardiff Uni declaring twice as that game also ebbed into a bore draw.

With the end of this game is the end of pre-season - and the start of the season proper! Am going down to Taunton early on Thursday morning, and am already very excited to see Middlesex take their bow in the first division. Come on the Middle!

Middlesex v Durham MCCU Squad Announcement

The squad for the maiden first-class Middlesex game of the season has been announced, and it goes like this:

Neil Dexter (captain)
Gareth Berg
Corey Collymore
Steven Crook
Adam London
Dawid Malan
Tim Murtagh
Ollie Rayner
Sam Robson
Chris Rogers
Toby Roland-Jones
John Simpson (wk)


Joe Denly is out with a calf strain, and fingers crossed he'll be OK for Somerset on Thursday, but it seems like it's touch and go. It would be tough for Joe to come straight into a big championship game after missing all of pre-season, so he may well miss out, get a seconds game under his belt, and then in to make his Middlesex debut. It's a little bit ironic (only if you ask Alanis Morrissette) that Scott Newman has gone out on loan as he wasn't going to be needed for the early part of the season, and chances are he would have played in the first few games! (OK, not that ironic)

Denly missing out gives Adam London a chance in the first team. Adam didn't play at all in the Championship last year, but is a very talented batsman, and deserves a go in the firsts. At the age of 23 this year could be now or never for Adam, as if he doesn't establish himself this year, he may make a decision like Dan Housego and look to go elsewhere. Having struggled with his injuries over the last couple of years, it would be great to see him nail down a spot in the team, but as chances will be few and far between (with an ever-growing likelihood that Messrs Morgan and Strauss will be available for long spells this year) he'll have to take his chances when he gets them, and this is the perfect opportunity.

As for the rest of the team, we'll probably see Chris Rogers move up to open alongside Robson, with London, or possibly Malan in at 3. As with last year, we're likely to go in with four seamers and a spinner, so it's a toss-up between Steven Crook and Toby Roland-Jones for the final seamer spot (behind Murtagh, Collymore and Berg), and chances are they'll plump for TRJ. So would guess that the team will be:

1) Robson
2) Rogers
3) London
4) Malan
5) Dexter (c)
6) Simpson
7) Berg
8) Rayner
9) Roland-Jones
10) Murtagh
11) Collymore

This is pretty close to how they'll line up at Taunton next week, with the only possible change being Denly in for London (if Joe has recovered, and has got bored of playing Draw Something against me), but that remains to be seen!

The match is at Merchant Taylors' and is free entry, and with the sun out hopefully there'll be a fair few in to see Middlesex in their first official game of the year!

Winning is a habit...

And seemingly it's one that Middlesex have even at this very early stage of the season.

Much of the success of last year has been given to the flying start that we made, which was down to a successful pre-season, both in training and the warm-up matches. Already we're three from three in our friendlies, with wins over Kent, a MCCL representative team, and Essex, and Middlesex are guaranteed a win today as the Neil Dexter XI take on the Dawid Malan XI. Hopefully the teams for that will have been decided by the two captains, who each picked a player in turn...

The main point of the warm-up games, aside from getting match fitness, is to get some time in the middle and some confidence. Which is why it's great to see flying starts from Malan, who made a ton against Kent, Toby Roland-Jones who's taken 6 wickets cheaply in his two games, and Steven Crook, who blazed a 29-ball fifty against Essex. Crooky is a genuine all-rounder, and while he didn't contribute as much as we'd have liked last year with the bat (although he nearly got us over the line when all seemed lost in the CB40 game against Yorkshire), it's great to see him striking it clearly. If he gets both parts of his game going, he could be a formidable player.

On Malan - after going without a one day ton for so long, he's now got two, both against Kent (even if this was just a friendly). In fact, up to the start of last season, his List A performances were incredibly disappointing, with 742 runs at just 19.53 and a high score of 60. Since then, however, he's made 512 runs at 42.67, 3 fifties and a ton, and if you include the Kent game, he's averaging 49.23 since the start of last year. His turnaround in the quarters has been remarkable, and could well be due to his elevation as an opener. After a slowish start to last season, it would be great to see Malla hit the ground running and really stamp his mark on Division One. Now one of the more senior players, (having been given the responsibility of captaining a side in today's friendly, one would assume he's third in line to the throne behind Dexter and Rogers), 2012 could be a big season for Malan. Let's hope so anyway!

Middlesex's next port of call is the University game against Durham at the weekend, and it will be interesting to see what side is named, as chances are that will be the side that takes to the field in just over a week's time to play Somerset. Come on the Middle!

First Squads of the Season!

So here it is - after months of waiting, the cricket season is finally upon us. While the official stuff gets started in a couple of weeks in Taunton, Middlesex kick off their pre-season friendlies tomorrow and Saturday with games against Kent at Beckenham, and a Middlesex League XI at Ealing, and the squads have been announced!

Middlesex CCC squad to face Kent on 23rd March
Neil Dexter (Captain)
Steven Crook
Joe Denly
Anthony Ireland
Adam London
Dawid Malan
Sam Robson
Ollie Rayner
Toby Roland-Jones
Tom Scollay
John Simpson (wk)
Tom Smith
Robbie Williams

The 13 man squad for the 40 over game is without Tim Murtagh (who was called up yesterday for Ireland at the World T20 qualifiers in Dubai) and Gareth Berg, Paul Stirling and Josh Davey, who were out there already. Chris Rogers and Corey Collymore are also missing, presumably still out in Australia, where they've been playing this winter.

This gives a chance to the less established Scollay, London and Williams, who didn't get much of a crack last year. Based purely on speculation and guesswork, I reckon Middlesex will line up with Denly and Malan opening with Robson at three; Dexter, London and Scollay making up the middle order with Simpson at seven, followed by the bowlers. Not sure if it will be a strict eleven-a-side game or if they'll be allowed to field all thirteen, but if so I assume all of the bowlers will get a few overs. The battle between Rayner and Smith could be an interesting one, as they'll both be fighting for the first choice spinner's role once the season starts.


Middlesex CCC squad to face the MCCL represetative XI on 24th March
Tom Scollay (Captain)
Steven Crook
Tom Helm
Anthony Ireland
James Kettleborough
Adam London
Ravi Patel
Ollie Rayner
Adam Rossington (wk)
Tom Smith
Gurjit Sandhu
Robbie Williams

The other game at Ealing has the look of a second team squad about it, with Dexter, Malan, Denly, Roland-Jones, Robson and Simpson all getting the day off. If it is how the second team will look once the season starts, the fact that both Rayner and Smith are in it suggests that they'll be going without a front-line spinner early on, but we'll see.

While these are just two fairly meaningless friendlies, it'll just be nice to see Middlesex back out on a cricket pitch for the first time since Grace Road!

Newman off to Kent

After a few rumours had been flying about, it's been confirmed today that Scott Newman has joined Kent on loan for the first two months of the season. With Robson, Denly and Rogers likely to make up the top-order for the first part of the season, Scott wouldn't have had much of a look in, so has been allowed to head off to Canterbury to get the season started.

It seems like a good deal all round, with Scott being able to get in some match practice after a few months off (and perhaps 'prove a point' to those who don't see him in Middlesex's plans), Kent gaining a player with plenty of county experience, especially after a winter of upheaval, and it certainly suits Middlesex to have Scott playing a good standard of cricket fresh as and when he's needed over the season.

The benefits of the loan are fairly clear, and I'd assume there's some sort of clause allowing Middlesex to recall Scott if there are injuries or a dramatic loss of form of any of those top three, so it seems like a good move all round.

I'm sure all Middlesex fans wish Scott all the best, and hopefully we'll see him back full of runs when he returns to Middlesex in June!

Middlesex Statement on Murtagh for Ireland

After a fair bit of speculation and rumour-mongering (mostly by me), Middlesex have finally broken their silence about Tim Murtagh and his chances of playing for Ireland, in this statement from Gus here.

There isn't too much more said than we already know (which you will already know having read my earlier blog about this) - that Tim has applied for Irish citizenship, and recieved his Irish passport, which means he is eligible to play for Ireland. However, the club have confirmed that they will allow Tim to play in any game for Ireland, regardless of his Middlesex commitments, with Gus saying "it would be wrong for Middlesex to deprive a player from playing".

In terms of Middlesex games that Tim would potentially miss, as it stands Ireland only have one confirmed match, against Australia on the 23rd June, which means Tim would likely miss the away Sussex T20 the night before. The Middlesex statement also alludes to two as yet unconfirmed Afghanistan games, but these dates are yet to be nailed down.

Other than that, it should be business as usual for Tim. Gus talks about how Tim's played a full part in pre-season training and will be flying off to Cape Town with the team on Monday as planned. Ireland do have a World T20 qualifying tournament in March (which bizarrely Gareth Berg will be taking part in as an Italian player), but Tim wasn't picked in the Irish squad for that tournament, although he could yet be called up as a replacement.

That's pretty much all I know on the story - if I hear anything new I'll whack that up as soon as.

Murtagh set for Ireland

This might be jumping the gun a bit before any official announcement, but after tweeting earlier that he's now officially an Irish citizen, it appears that 2011 player of the year Tim Murtagh is now eligible for Ireland. Having already expressed an interest in turning out for the boys in green, Tim getting an Irish passport seems to have all but officially confirmed that he will represent the land of his three grandparents. So what does this mean?

While both Tim and Cricket Ireland have (publicly at least) been fairly non-committal about the matter, on air with Kevin Hand Tim said that were he to decide to play for Ireland, he wouldn't want to just turn up and play at a World Cup, he'd want to do it the "right way" and play in the various qualifiers that Ireland have to go through, and their international series across the globe. If Tim does, as now expected, commit to Ireland, he'll likely join Paul Stirling in missing Middlesex games every now and again to pull on the green shirt of his adopted nation.

Luckily for Middlesex fans, the Irish fixture schedule doesn't look hugely strenuous at this stage. Ireland are off for a six game series in the ICC Intercontinental Cup in Kenya next month, as well as seven World T20 Qualifiers, but all of those games will be over by the time Middlesex's season starts on April 5th. In fact, if Tim does play for Ireland in these games, he should be much more match sharp and ready in time for the big county kick off, which can only be good news.

Unfortunately, the official Ireland fixtures which will take place after this are disconcertingly vague. Ireland are to play Intercontinental Cup games against Afghanistan, the UAE, Holland and Scotland, but these are currently marked as "date not yet confirmed". The only confirmed international that Ireland have at this stage is on June 23, where they take on Australia in Belfast - which comes one day after we're due to take on Sussex in a T20 at Hove, so no huge loss for Tim to miss what's likely to be a dead rubber (by which I mean we'll have already qualified...). Other than that Tim, and Paul Stirling too, will be available for the bulk of Middlesex's fixtures this summer.

I don't know how far away any of this is away from being confirmed, or whether it'll go through at all, but it can only be a good thing for all concerned. While Middlesex fans will be upset to see a key player miss a couple of games, few will begrudge Tim the opportunity to play international cricket after years of being cruelly snubbed by England. On a professional level for Tim it can only help his game, as testing himself against the best of the world will only add to his experience, and hopefully Middlesex will see the fruits of this when he returns from his travels. And Murtagh missing a couple of games may give young players like Gurjit Sandhu or Robbie Williams the chance to get into the team and impress.

So good luck to Tim as (if) he embarks on a new adventure, and here's to plenty of wickets for both Middlesex and Ireland alike!

New 2012 Kits

Cricket related Middlesex news has been fairly thin on the ground recently, but MCCC have just released the images for the 2012 kits, so in order to justify having this blog, here they are.

Middlesex and England's Strauss, Finn and Morgan (not that one) show off the 2012 kits

So there they are. Let's start with:

The whites

The County Championship kit, expertly modelled by Straussy, looks fairly similar to previous year's offerings, but with a few subtle differences. The first, and most obvious, is the new sponsor, Brooks Macdonald, who were unveiled as the new three year sponsors this morning. The kit itself is a very white white (as opposed to the creams and greys seen at other counties), and there is a bit more navy trim than before. All in all, a very nice effort.


The pinks

The T20 kit is, from what I can see, exactly the same as last years, but with the new sponsor replacing Ignis. No longer the baby pink of years gone by, the much darker hue of pink matches the shirt of Pinky the Panther, and more importantly, the charity that it supports. (Just a note, hopefully there will be trousers with the matching colours this year, rather than the 'old' pink. On an OCD level, that really annoyed me.)



The quarters

After the years of the pink-and-navy quartered shirts, the new Harlequins inspired effort may take some getting used to, especially amongst the traditionalists. It's certainly a new direction for the one day kit, and so far the jury's out. But as long at the Panthers tear up the CB40 in it, I'm sure not many will care what the shirt looks like!


All shirts (and plenty more besides) are available in the Middlesex shop, and online