Defeat to Hampshire on Sunday in Andover saw Middlesex Women suffer relegation from Division One of the County Championship, whilst in contrast, their opponents Hampshire left the field knowing that they had won their first ever County Championship title.
In what was always going to a difficult away fixture, Sunday's 66 run defeat condemned Middlesex Women to at least a season in the second division, as they found the 211 run target set by hosts Hampshire too big an ask, managing just 144 in reply.
After losing their opening two County Championship clashes against strong Lancashire and Yorkshire outfits in early May, the side always faced an uphill battle, although following these losses up with back to back wins against Kent and Somerset saw them right back in the race, sat in a mid-table position just after the half-way stage of the campaign.
A rained off clash with Warwickshire and defeat to Nottinghamshire over the late May bank holiday weekend left Middlesex needing a positive result from their final clash of the campaign against Division One leaders Hampshire on Sunday - although disappointingly it was not to be.
Despite the disappointment of seeing the side relegated, Middlesex's Head of Women's Cricket, Danni Warren, was in reflective mood when looking at the positives to take forwards...
"It has obviously been a disappointing start to the season.
"After losing so many of our pre-season matches to the weather, it has been a challenge for our young squad to find much consistency. We have also had four players make their First Eleven debuts this year, whilst a number of the squad have only had T20 experience at this level. This has quite naturally posed plenty of challenges for us, but it definitely bodes well for the future, as the lessons we have taken out of this year will only make us a stronger team going forward.
"The quality of the competition this year has been the highest it has been for a while, and we have welcomed the opportunity to test ourselves against the best players in the country. These experiences have allowed us all to learn about our game and about how we approach fifty over matches. Whilst it was far from our minds as we started the season, relegation to Division Two will give the team plenty of opportunity to develop the consistency and skills that are required at the top level.
"We now move immediately in to the T20 competition, a format that we have felt more comfortable in over the last year or so, and are looking forward to proving what we are really capable of."
