SQUAD AND PREVIEW FOR ESSEX ONE-DAY CUP CLASH AT RADLETT

Middlesex Head Coach Richard Scott has named a thirteen-man squad for tomorrow’s opening Royal London One-Day Cup clash of the season against Essex at Radlett Cricket Club.

Following Dawid Malan’s call-up to the England Test side yesterday for the opening Test match of the summer against Pakistan at Lord’s next week, Steven Finn will captain the Middlesex side at Cobden Hill, returning to the ground he played his first ever game at, at the age of just eight.

Finn will have John Simpson to turn to as his vice-captain throughout the campaign, with the pair also having the invaluable experience of Eoin Morgan to call upon, when needed, with the England skipper also named in the Middlesex squad.

With Finn taking his captaincy lead from positive influences like Brendon McCullum and Morgan himself, Middlesex fans could be treated to a new ‘brand’ of white-ball cricket with Finn at the helm, as he looks for the side to play with a positive approach and attacking mentality. Middlesex will be looking to find the one thing that has eluded them in recent fifty over campaigns – consistency! Two home games at Radlett this week will give Middlesex every chance of kicking the campaign off positively,

Middlesex will rely upon runs from the top order, with Nick Gubbins, Stephen Eskinazi, Paul Stirling, Eoin Morgan, Max Holden, Hilton Cartwright and John Simpson all in contention, and with a varied seam attack consisting of James Franklin, Tom Helm, Ravi Patel, Tom Barber, and Finn himself, there are plenty of options for the skipper to turn to with the ball.

Essex have named the following thirteen-man squad for the clash, with Ryan ten Doeschate leading out the visitors…

Ryan Ten Doeschate (captain), Aaron Beard, Ravi Bopara, Varun Chopra, Sam Cook, James Foster (wicket-keeper), Simon Harmer, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Porter, Neil Wagner, Tom Westley, Adam Wheater, Ashar Zaidi.

Middlesex’s squad for tomorrow’s clash is as follows…

Steven Finn (captain)

Tom Barber

Hilton Cartwright

Stephen Eskinazi

Nick Gubbins

James Harris

Tom Helm

Max Holden

James Franklin

Eoin Morgan

Ravi Patel

John Simpson (wicket-keeper)

Paul Stirling