Middlesex First Team Coach, Richard Johnson, has named an unchanged squad of thirteen to head to Cardiff tomorrow to take on Glamorgan in their latest Vitality Blast South Group encounter, in what looks to be another must win encounter.
Johnson's side head to Wales off the back of a much needed and confidence boosting victory over the Kent Spitfires at Lord's yesterday afternoon, where they ran out winners by seven wickets to keep their hopes of qualification for the knockout stages of the competition alive.
It was a disciplined bowling performance by Middlesex that set the tone for yesterday's victory, which coming off the back of six straight defeats in the format is testament to the mental strength and belief the squad has within it. Coming into yesterday's game, knowing that nothing less than a win was required may have helped focus the minds, and the Middlesex bowlers were right on it from ball one.
A tight opening spell by the seamers, Jason Behrendorff, Tom Helm and Martin Andersson saw Kent reach 46 for 2 at the end of the seventh over, with the dangerous Zak Crawley and Joe Denly sent back to the Pavilion cheaply. It was then that Middlesex turned the screw, with the spin trio of Luke Hollman, Thilan Walallawita and Chris Green bowling tightly through the middle overs to take control, with Kent only able to double their score by the end of the fifteenth to reach 92 for 5. A late rally from the visitors was the only joy they got in their innings which took them to 141 for the loss of nine wickets, which never looked enough in truth.
Middlesex's reply, whilst not always flowing, did enough to get the job done! 28 from Stephen Eskinazi up top, was followed by a top-scoring knock of 46 from the experienced John Simpson and an unbeaten 43 from youngster Joe Cracknell, which saw their side over the line to a much needed victory and another two well deserved points.
Tomorrow, in what is relentless playing schedule, the side head to Cardiff to take on Glamorgan, who themselves have also struggled to find any consistency in their own Blast campaign this year.
Glamorgan will however come into tomorrow's game off the back of a victory themselves, having beaten Sussex by four wickets down in Cardiff yesterday, however that was the first win they'd recorded in their previous five games, in a recent record that almost mirrored Middlesex's own.
Middlesex have four wins under their belt now, to Glamorgan's three, however both sides sit on eight points by virtue of tomorrow's hosts benefitting from two rained off earlier encounters, with the Welshmen ahead on net run rate. Sitting in sixth and seventh position in the table, tomorrow's game is another must win for both sides, and a win for either side would take them to ten points, level currently on points with both Gloucestershire and Hampshire who are tied in fourth place.
In such a tightly packed South Group there is still a huge amount to play for and qualification is by no means out of reach! Middlesex will be hoping that the momentum they gained from yesterday's victory over Kent will stand them in good stead in Cardiff, as they look to do the double over Glamorgan and back up the four wicket win they secured at Radlett in late May.
Anything like the kind of bowling performance they delivered yesterday could get the job done, however with both sides scrapping for all their worth to stay in contention, it promises to be a thrilling encounter.
Middlesex's thirteen man squad for tomorrow's crucial clash is as follows:
Glamorgan
Middlesex
