Middlesex head into our second Vitality Blast clash of the season tomorrow, when we take of Essex in Chelmsford.
We have named an unchanged squad of fourteen for the clash, which will be played on a used wicket, on the same strip as Middlesex played on last night.
That encounter, our opening match of the 2024 Blast campaign, ended in defeat for Middlesex at the hands of Kent Spitfires, who secured a comprehensive win by a margin of 98 runs.
The night was a special occasion for young Middlesex seamer, Noah Cornwell, who made his professional debut for the Club, however he and the rest of the pace attack had a difficult evening, as they were put to the sword early by the Kent top order, as Zac Crawley, Daniel Bell-Drummond and Tawana Muyeye piled on 70 for 1 in the opening six powerplay overs, before the spin of Luke Hollman dragged things back for Middlesex in the middle overs.
Some late order hitting added to Kent's total and took them to an imposing score of 205 for 8 from their twenty overs, with the leggie Hollman finishing the innings as the standout bowler, with impressive figures of 3 for 27, in what proved to be an otherwise disappointing night for the Seaxes with the ball.
Kent's total was big, but on a relatively small ground, it looked gettable, however with the floodlights now on, the ball not coming onto the bat as well, and with Kent's bowlers clearly bowling to a pace-off plan, batting in the second innings looked a very different proposition for the Middlesex line-up.
The loss of regular wickets and the failure to build any significant partnerships in the innings held back any onslaught from Middlesex, with few batters getting in, and three batters sharing the top score of just 23 - Hollman, skipper Stephen Eskinazi, and Jack Davies.
With the innings disappointingly ending in the fifteenth over of our reply, as we were bowled out for just 107, there is work to be done to address a denting to the net run rate so early in the competition, however the Middlesex players will have learned plenty from the opening run out on this deck that they can take into tomorrow's clash against Essex and use to their advantage
Last year's finalists Essex, have themselves suffered back to back defeats in their opening two Blast matches this summer, and will be looking to get their campaign up and running back on home turf.
Away losses at Gloucestershire on Thursday, where Essex posted just 141 for 9 in their twenty overs, and again last night in Taunton against Somerset, sees Essex needing a win tomorrow, and they'll come into the clash with their sights set on turning their early disappointing form around.
A stunning run chase in this fixture last year saw Middlesex chase down Essex's target of 225, with two balls to spare, with Ryan Higgins leading the way with 61 off just 24 balls. Others chipped in too, with Joe Cracknell hitting 36 off 22, Jack Davies 22 off 12 and Martin Andersson 24 off 15, as the Middlesex batters smashed 12 sixes in the innings to secure the win and the points, with eight batters going at a strike rate of 150 or above.
Oh what we'd do for a repeat of that one tomorrow, which is the way the coaches are trying to get the side to play, so it should be an entertaining match to watch, with both sides battling it out for the first win of their campaigns.
Middlesex have named the following squad of fourteen for the clash tomorrow:
Essex
Middlesex
