Head Coach Stuart Law has named an unchanged thirteen man squad for this week’s trip to the Oval, where Middlesex take on London rivals Surrey in round seven of the Championship.
Middlesex head into the clash looking to turnaround a wretched run of three straight losses in the red-ball format, having been beaten by Hampshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset in the last three outings.
Middlesex’s only Championship success this term came against this week’s opponents, and Stuart Law will be hoping that his side can recover the form they showed in that clash, when they romped to a ten wicket victory in emphatic fashion, with over five sessions of the game to spare.
That victory was undoubtedly the bright moment in what’s been a disappointing season for the Seaxes to date, and Managing Director of Cricket, Angus Fraser, spoke openly and honestly to BBC London’s Kevin Hand this week, in an exclusive interview released by the Club today, when he talked about the challenges the Club are facing and what is being done to turn things around. Both he and Law will be hoping that their luck changes this week and the Club’s plans come together and things fall into place.
Against Hampshire last week it was a special match for Blake Cullen and Jack Davies, who were both making their maiden Championship appearances at Lord’s and both youngsters did enough to confirm the backing they'd been given by Law, although whether Middlesex’s Head Coach goes into the game with the same starting eleven this week remains to be seen.
Waiting in the wings, having missed out on the starting eleven against Hampshire are Tom Helm and Thilan Walallawita, and both have solid claims for a start, with Helm picking up wickets in Middlesex’s recent Second Eleven victory at Radlett, whilst Walallawita enjoyed success at the Oval last summer on debut.
Law names the following unchanged 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
