Middlesex travel to Beckenham on Sunday to face seventh-placed Kent and third-placed Birmingham Bears.
Despite two washouts in Wales last Sunday, Middlesex appear to have settled on the opening T20 duo of Cordelia Griffith and Amara Carr. The pair run well between the wickets and are both in form. Opening quick Lauren Bell will look to make early in-roads into the batting line-ups and returned good figures against Lancashire of 3-0-7-1. Katie Wolfe will likely bowl in tandem as she looks to continue her successful season which has seen her claim an impressive 17 wickets at 14.12. Allrounder Sophia Dunkley looks set to come in at three and has found the boundary with regularity this year. With ball in hand Dunkley has taken 14 wickets and provides an attacking option for skipper Natasha Miles. Hard-hitting Dattani, Miles and the experienced Beth Morgan will form the Middlesex middle-order. Emma Albery, Bell, and Olivia Rae will seek to add late-order runs by running quick singles, looking for twos and punishing the bad balls. Miles will also call on the off-spinning duo of Albery and Bhavika Gajipra to deliver some tidy overs as well as seamers Gayatri Gole and Dattani.
Kent will be looking to England batters Alice Davidson-Richards and Fran Wilson to post a competitive score or hit the bulk of the runs if required to chase. Leading run-scorer Wilson has enjoyed a good County season, striking 257 runs at 64.25. She can be expected also to play a key role in the field for the hosts, likely at point or cover; Middlesex will know not to risk a quick single to their former teammate. With ball in hand skipper Tash Farrant will look to pick up early wickets and get into the middle-order who have not had a lot of opportunity this season. Farrant has claimed 12 at 15.25 to date this summer for the Horses. Fellow opener Megan Belt is also in form, with 15 wickets at an average of 16.87.
Birmingham Bears will be looking to opening quick Issy Wong to strike early and break the important partnership of Carr and Griffith. In Wong’s first season she has picked up 11 scalps including best figures of 4-25. Middlesex will aim to keep captain and opener Marie Kelly quiet as she comes into the match off the back of 32 against Nottinghamshire, which followed 68 not out the previous weekend.
Middlesex face Birmingham Bears at 1:30pm, followed by Kent at 4:30pm. Entry is £5 for the day.
Contributed by Georgia Isaac, Middlesex Women’s Media Assistant
Middlesex squad
Natasha Miles (C)
Emma Albery
Lauren Bell
Amara Carr
Naomi Dattani
Sophia Dunkley
Bhavika Gajipra
Gayatri Gole
Cordelia Griffith
Beth Morgan
Olivia Rae
Katie Wolfe
