Middlesex head to the south coast next for the second of their four matches in the divisional stage of the County Championship, where they’ll take on Sussex in Hove, looking to secure a third Championship win on the bounce.
An impressive performance last week against Derbyshire at Lord’s saw Middlesex run out winners by 112 runs, to finish the opening round of Division Three matches in second place in the table, just four and a half points behind leaders Worcestershire.
In a game that had all the ebb and flow that makes the four-day game so appealing, Middlesex and Derbyshire wrestled for control of the game for three days, before Middlesex ultimately grabbed the initiative on the final day to secure a well deserved win.
An Impressive knock of 120 from Robbie White, who celebrated his maiden first-class hundred after previously hitting three scores in the nineties, and a well constructed 53 from Martin Andersson in the first innings, were backed up by a fine 52 from opener Sam Robson, 44 from Max Holden, and another 42 from Andersson in the second, all hit in testing bowler-friendly conditions, will have given the batting unit plenty of encouragement and confidence ahead of the final three games of the season.
Opener Mark Stoneman, on his Middlesex first-class debut after switching clubs from Surrey, picked up a pair, although with over 16,000 career runs under his belt and over 30 hundreds to his name, he’ll have plenty of better days ahead of him in his new Middlesex colours.
The bowling unit were again right on their game, as both Tim Murtagh and Ethan Bamber continued their fight to finish the campaign as the Club’s leading wicket taker, with Murtagh picking up seven wickets in the game and Bamber five. Murtagh has edged his nose in front in the race, with three games remaining, with 44 victims compared to Bamber’s 41.
It was the return of Toby Roland-Jones to the pace attack that was cause for most celebration however, as having sat out the previous four months of the season with injury, he picked up a five wicket haul in his first Championship match back, to finish the game off for Middlesex, hopefully putting an end to what’s been a horribly frustrating season for the experienced quick.
Sensibly managing his return to competitive action will be at the forefront of the Middlesex medical teams’ minds, as his presence on the park made a huge difference to the side and added a different dimension to the attack. He is included in Middlesex’s squad for the encounter at Hove, but his selection will depend entirely upon his recovery from four days of action last week at Lord’s.
Sussex’s return to Championship action proved less fruitful, as they were undone by Worcestershire, going down by 6 wickets at New Road, and unable to build on just the one victory they’ve secured in the County Championship to date this season.
Much like at Middlesex, Sussex are going through something of a player transition, with plenty of first eleven opportunities being given to a number of their talented youngsters. Recent high profile departures from Hove and international call-ups have further stretched the Sussex squad, and they’ll be looking for their more experienced heads to step up and help them through the remainder of the season. On the surface, it’s looks like Middlesex’s rebuilding project is a little further down the pathway than Sussex’s, and based on their all-round performance this week against Derbyshire, Middlesex should head into the encounter as marginal favourites.
Middlesex have named the following fourteen-man squad for this week’s clash in Hove.
Tim Murtagh (capt)
Martin Andersson
Ethan Bamber
Blake Cullen
Stephen Eskinazi
Tom Helm
Max Holden
Luke Hollman
Sam Robson
Toby Roland-Jones
John Simpson (wk)
Mark Stoneman
Thilan Walallawita
Robbie White
Sussex
Middlesex
