MIDDLESEX V HAMPSHIRE PREVIEW & SQUAD
Middlesex Head Coach Stuart Law has named a squad of thirteen for this week’s LV= Insurance County Championship encounter with Hampshire at Lord’s.
Another disappointing result in Middlesex’s last First-Class outing against Gloucestershire saw them go down by seven wickets with over a day to spare and drop to second bottom of the Group Two table, just a point ahead of Leicestershire at the foot. Law spoke after the Gloucestershire defeat of his frustration, and alluded to having to make possible changes to the side that faces Hampshire.
Law makes one of those changes in the batting ranks, with Max Holden dropping out of the squad for the first time this season, with the Head Coach looking for the left-handed youngster to rediscover the form he’s shown he is capable of previously, with a spell in the Second Eleven.
Jack Davies replaces him in the squad, having spent some time in the two’s himself, and he will be hopeful of making his maiden first eleven appearance of the season this week.
In the bowling ranks, Law also mixes things up, both Luke Hollman and Steven Finn also missing out on squad selection, with young seamer Blake Cullen returning to the fold, and like Davies, he’ll be hopeful of making his mark if given his first opportunity to impress in 2021.
Hampshire come to Lord’s on the back of two straight defeats, which has dented their early season aspirations at the top of the table, and on both occasions they’ve been dismissed cheaply – for 92 against Surrey a fortnight ago, and for 79 last week by Somerset.
Surrey also slayed the Hampshire bowlers at the Oval a fortnight ago, hitting them for 560 for 7 declared, whilst last week Somerset secured a ten wicket win over them with ease!
Hampshire, will of course be looking to bounce back to winning ways at Lord’s and with both Kyle Abbott and Mohammad Abbas in their side, who wreaked havoc on the Middlesex batsmen in Southampton, they’ll always pose a threat. Both sides will fancy their chances of returning to winning ways this week, in a game that promises to be a closely fought encounter.
As well as making changes to his squad, Law also spoke frankly after the Gloucestershire defeat, asking for his players to stand up and be counted, stating that the time for talk was long gone and that he now needed to see them delivering out in the middle. With the group stages of the competition half-way done already, he'll be desperately hoping that his players listen and can act upon it this coming week.
Law names the following thirteen-man squad for this week’s game.
Peter Handscomb (c)
Martin Andersson
Ethan Bamber
Blake Cullen
Jack Davies
Nick Gubbins
James Harris
Tom Helm
Tim Murtagh
Sam Robson
John Simpson (wk)
Thilan Walallawita
Robbie White
The match will again be played behind closed doors, with no spectators admitted, however you can catch all the action on Middlesex's enhanced live streaming service, available on the website in the match centre, or broadcast on the Club's YouTube channel.
Middlesex
Hampshire
