Middlesex play the first of four home floodlit t20 matches at Lord’s this Thursday evening, when Sussex make the journey up to the Home of Cricket from the south coast for what will be the fourth match of Middlesex’s 2016 NatWest T20 Blast South Group campaign.
Dawid Malan, having recently celebrated the news of a well-deserved and long awaited call-up to the England T20I squad, will lead his side into the game on the back of a thrilling victory at Essex last Friday, where, in a closely fought encounter at the ECG, his side defended a total of 173 to win by 17 runs. This victory, Middlesex’s second in their opening three matches, took them to fourth in the South Group table, just two points off the top of the group with games in hand on the sides around them.
Middlesex’s bowling unit performed well to defend their total at a small Essex County Ground last week and Malan will have been delighted with the manner in which overseas signing Mitchell McClenaghan settled straight back into the side, as the New Zealand paceman picked up four wickets on his first appearance back with Middlesex following his return from the IPL. The availability of Steven Finn, now back with Middlesex from England Test duty, provides Malan with further options for the visit of Sussex, adding yet more firepower to an already strong pace attack.
Another highlight for Malan from the win at Chelmsford will have been the continued form of England One-Day and T20 Captain, Eoin Morgan, who backed up the fine fifty he hit for Middlesex in the Royal London Cup last week at Radlett with another half century against Essex. Morgan batted with great vigilance and patience, before exploding in the final stages of the innings, smashing Graham Napier for a crucial 22 runs off the final over, to take Middlesex to a match-winning total to finish unbeaten on 59.
Spectators at Lord’s are in for a real treat on Thursday, as an in-form Brendon McCullum leads the batting charge for Middlesex, coming into the game on the back of a magnificent white-ball hundred for the Seaxes, hitting 110 off 85 balls in the Royal London One-Day Cup against Glamorgan on Tuesday in Cardiff. Add to that the likes of Malan and Eoin Morgan, and the threat of runs from Middlesex’s top order is quite phenomenal.
Sussex are not short of international talent themselves however, as both Chris Jordan and Tymal Mills will likely to lead the visitors’ attack on Thursday, the latter, like Malan, also celebrating a well-earned call-up to the England T20I squad this week. Under the guidance of the hugely experienced Luke Wright, Sussex have made good progress in the competition to date, winning three of their four encounters to date to put them joint top of the group on six points.
With Middlesex just two points behind Sussex in the table, a victory for the Seaxes will take them ahead of the Martlets on net run rate and will set them up nicely ahead of a tough derby fixture against London rivals Surrey the following night at the Kia Oval.
Middlesex squad: Dawid Malan (c), Steven Finn, James Fuller, James Franklin, Nick Gubbins, Ryan Higgins, Mitchell McClenaghan, Brendon McCullum, Eoin Morgan, Ollie Rayner, Toby Roland-Jones, John Simpson, Nathan Sowter.
Gates open at 4.45. The match is due to start at 6.15
TICKET INFORMATION – GENERAL PUBLIC STANDS
Adults £25 and under 16s £5.
On the day of the match, the ticket office within Lord’s Cricket Ground will be open until midday if you would like to purchase tickets before gates open. After this point tickets will only be available to buy once the gates open at 4:45pm, from the North Gate Ticket Selling Point on Wellington Place (CASH PURCHASES PREFERRED).
If you are collecting tickets on the day, you can do so from the East Gate Ticket Collection point on St John’s Wood Road, which will be open from 2pm. There is a high volume of tickets to be collected, so we do suggest you arrive early.
ON ENTRY INTO LORD’S
All tickets and membership cards will be scanned on entry into the ground. Searching will be taking place at all gates, so please arrive early as there may be delays getting into the ground.
MIDDLESEX MEMBERS – IMPORTANT INFORMATION
All Middlesex members (except County level members) can gain entry to the ground and into the pavilion and members and friends enclosures on production of your 2016 Membership Card.
All membership cards will be scanned on entry into the ground. Searching will also be taking place at all gates, so please arrive early as there may be delays getting into the ground.
Members' guest tickets include both Pavilion Admission Tickets and Rover Tickets and details about these can be found below.
PAVILION ADMISSION TICKETS FOR MEMBERS' GUESTS:
Pavilion Admission Tickets are now SOLD OUT for the match on Thursday.
ROVER TICKETS FOR MEMBERS' GUESTS:
There are a limited number of Rover Tickets left for the match on Thursday.
They can be purchased in person from the Lord's ticket office inside the ground until midday on Thursday and will also be available to purchase on the day from the Grace Gate Ticket Sales Point on St John’s Wood Road from gates opening at 4.45pm (CASH PURCHASES PREFERRED) – SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY.
Please Note: If you have purchased a Rover Ticket instead of a Pavilion Admission Ticket for your guest then unfortunately you will not be able to swap these as all Pavilion Admission Tickets have SOLD OUT for the match on Thursday.
MEMBERS SEATING:
Members and their guests with Pavilion Admission Tickets can sit in the following stands...
The Lord’s Pavilion and Upper Allen Stand (this is classed as part of the Pavilion for this match)
Members and their guests with Rover Tickets can sit in the following stands...
Tavern StandGrand Stand (three sections of the Grand Stand will be reserved for Members and their guests, who have Rover Tickets, nearest to the Warner Stand – entry via Entrance A)
Middlesex COUNTY Members are reminded that they do not get free entry or members’ privileges for NatWest T20 Blast matches, so must purchase a general public ticket.
Gates open at 4.45pm and play is due to start at 6.15pm.
