Middlesex's First Team Coach Richard Johnson has named a thirteen-man squad to face Nottinghamshire in the LV= County Championship this week as the side return to Lord's for their fifth four-day clash of the season.
The Seaxes head into the game unbeaten in their opening four matches, having won three consecutive games against Glamorgan, Leicestershire, and Sussex most recently, after starting their campaign with a draw against Derbyshire in the opening round of the competition.
Middlesex proudly sit on top of the Division Two table, one point clear of Glamorgan with a game in hand, whose only defeat came at the hands of Johnson's side in round two - by an innings and 82 runs.
This week's opponents Nottinghamshire lie in third, trailing Middlesex by nine points, also having played four games.
Last time out Middlesex came out on top of a closely fought encounter in Hove, where a seven wicket win belied the closeness of the contest.
Middlesex were made to work extremely hard for their win, on a batting friendly deck, with the Seaxe's batting unit showing plenty of resolve and solidity, as they chased down a target of 370 to win in the dying stages of the final day, to record the eighth highest winning fourth innings run chase in their history.
For the Nottinghamshire clash, Johnson has recalled Tim Murtagh to the squad, with the veteran seamer now recovered from a hamstring injury, and Toby Roland-Jones returns having been rested for the Sussex trip. Shaheen Shah Afridi is rested for this match, having played in each of the last three games, whilst Martin Andersson, Ethan Bamber and Blake Cullen retain their places, as does Luke Hollman who will lead the spin attack.
With Sam Robson, Max Holden, Martin Andersson, Luke Hollman, John Simpson and Peter Handscomb all in amongst the runs against Sussex, the Club now has nine of its batters averaging forty or over this season, and they'll heading into this week's clash high in confidence and looking to build on recent performances to keep the winning run going.
Robbie White will miss out against Notts and will face a spell on the sidelines, having dislocated his left shoulder against Sussex when fielding, so this opens the door for either Josh De Caires or Jack Davies to step into the side, with the former having not played since hitting 80 against Derbyshire in the first Championship game of the season, and the latter having hit 146 for the seconds this week against Lancashire.
Middlesex name the following thirteen-man squad for this week's clash:
Information for members’ and spectators attending the game will be published on the Middlesex website shortly after this squad announcement.
Middlesex
Nottinghamshire
