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)!