Middlesex head to Trent Bridge this week for the final match of this 2023 season, and it couldn't be more crucial, as we take on Nottinghamshire, needing to better Kent's points haul in their final match of the season to avoid the drop into Division Two of the LV= Insurance County Championship. We have named an unchanged squad of fourteen for the vital encounter.
Whilst for the last few weeks we've managed to maintain our advantage over Kent, last week's draw for them down in Taunton, which saw them take six points from the game, combined with our loss to Warwickshire at Lord's, from which we took three points, saw them climb above us into eighth place, just one point ahead of us in the Division One table.
The equation is simple enough for Middlesex now heading into the final match of the season, in that we need to match Kent's result over the the next four days and take one more point from the fixture than they do. This would see both sides finishing level on points, with Middlesex surviving the drop by virtue of having won one more match than Kent. Anything on top of that scenario would merely be an added bonus.
Again, we can't affect what happens down in Canterbury, where Kent will be hosting Lancashire in their final encounter, so all we can control and concentrate on is what happens at Trent Bridge over the coming few days.
It promises to be a nail-biting and nerve jangling week ahead, with a close eye kept on how Kent's game progresses down in Canterbury, whilst making sure we get the job done ourselves up in Nottingham.
Middlesex's fourteen-man squad includes veteran Tim Murtagh, fresh from another eight wicket haul at Lord's, alongside Ethan Bamber, Tom Helm, Ryan Higgins and Toby Roland-Jones as the seam attack. With Murtagh playing his last game at Lord's last week, another appearance at Trent Bridge would be the final outing of a quite brilliant career, and it would be oh so fitting if he played a big hand in keeping Middlesex in Division One.
The Middlesex spin-attack will be led by Jayant Yadav, with Josh De Caires in support, with further options coming from the golden arm of Sam Robson if needed.
With the bat, we'll be hoping for more of the same from Robson, who carried his bat against Warwickshire at Lord's for a brilliant unbeaten hundred, however he'll be needing the support of those around him, who will be desperate to step up and deliver in this final crunch game of the season. If ever there was a time to do so, it is this coming week at Trent Bridge.
With weather potentially playing a hand in how proceedings evolve this week, it could well come down to a shoot-out for bonus points, and we'll be looking to secure maximum bowling points whilst also hoping that we can build a score with the bat in our first innings.
Middlesex have named the following fourteen-man squad:
Nottinghamshire
Middlesex
