Middlesex head to Cardiff for the final match of this season's Vitality Blast campaign to take on Glamorgan off the back of a thrilling victory in Chelmsford last night against the Essex Eagles.
We have named an unchanged squad for the clash, as we look to build on all the positives from last night's performance and finish the campaign with another good result..
It was a gripping encounter last night, which showed all the ups and downs of T20 cricket at its finest, on a night when the umpires deserve much credit for keeping the players out on the park in drizzly, dank conditions.
Both bowling units struggled to control the greasy white ball at times, with an uncharacteristic amount of full tosses being thrown down at the batters, although having elected to bowl, the Middlesex seamers started well, picking up three Essex wickets in the opening six power play overs..
From there however, with drizzle in the air, and conditions worsening, the home side fought back, and piled on the runs towards the end of their innings, hitting 81 from their final 5 overs, to post a total of 225 for 6 in their twenty overs. All this made Tom Helm's figures of 1 for 25 off his four overs all the more remarkable, on a night when plenty of others on both sides struggled for control.
in reply, Middlesex showed exactly the brand of cricket they have been striving towards, batting with aggression and positivity throughout the whole of the run chase.
Having chased over 250 at the Oval just two games ago, we saw more of the same last night, and the confidence and belief within the group was clear to see, as no fewer than eight of the Middlesex batters struck the ball at a strike rate of over 150.
It got nervy towards the end, with Martin Andersson batting with great calmness at the death to get us over the line and secure what was a brilliant moral boosting victory. It was Middlesex's third highest ever run chase, and it was a performance that was vindication for everything the side are trying to achieve. There's little doubt that if the side continue to progress down this path, there'll be plenty more night's like this to look forward to in the future.
Middlesex's two wicket victory silenced the Chelmsford crowd, which is no mean feat in itself, and it left the home side needing victory in their final game of the campaign tomorrow at the Oval against Surrey and also needing results elsewhere to go their way to see them progress through to the knockout stages.
For Middlesex next, it's off to Cardiff for the final clash of the summer, and like us, Glamorgan won't be making it to finals day this year either, with defeat to Hampshire last night ending any slim hopes they still clung onto of reaching the knockout stages.
The return fixture at Merchant Taylors' School back at the end of May saw an absolute run fest of a match, with Glamorgan posting a massive 238 in their twenty overs. It was another game where Middlesex chased brilliantly for the first fifteen overs of their reply, with the target looking very much in our sights, only for the chase to tail off in the final few overs to leave the visitors victorious.
This Middlesex side have come a long way since then, and confidence is brimming after two brilliant wins in the last three games, and a performance tomorrow that comes anywhere near close to how they played in either of those two games will give them every chance of finishing the campaign on a high tomorrow.
Glamorgan head into the clash having won only one of their last eight Blast matches, and having lost their last four straight games, so they'll be looking to turn this around tomorrow to give their home fans something to cheer after a dismal end to their campaign.
Despite the result having no bearing on qualification, it's an important one for both sides' morale, and it promises to be an absolute thriller.
Middlesex's squad for the clash is as follows:
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Glamorgan
Middlesex
