After securing a convincing win over Derbyshire earlier this week, Middlesex travel up the M1 to the Uptonsteel County Ground in confident mood, where we'll take on a Leicestershire side who so nearly upset the odds this week against table toppers Sussex.
First Team Coach Richard Johnson has named an unchanged squad of fourteen for this week's clash in round nine of the Vitality County Championship which starts tomorrow.
We head into the clash as the only side in the country that remains unbeaten at this stage of the four-day competition, across both divisions, and currently sit in second place in the Division Two table. We are just eight points adrift of Sussex at the top, with our aspirations of securing promotion very much intact and in our own hands at present.
We currently hold a 25-point lead over Yorkshire in third place, however in such a tightly packed Division Two table, where only seven points separate Yorkshire in third to Gloucestershire in seventh, we'll need to maintain the consistent form we've shown in the first half of the campaign right through to the end of September.
Just one slip up could prove costly, as it did for Leicestershire against Sussex this week, as the first defeat of the Foxes' red-ball campaign saw them drop to fifth place, being leapfrogged by both Yorkshire and Glamorgan.
We head to Leicestershire with our sights set on protecting our unbeaten record, and another win this week for Middlesex would be a huge step towards us cementing our position at the top end of the table.
Against Derbyshire this week, we saw a Middlesex performance that showed both resilience and strength, as after Derbyshire's bowlers had dominated the first two sessions of the opening day, we recovered well with the bat to not only regain a foothold in the game, but went on to post a total that looked significantly over par on a lively wicket at Lord's.
Again, after a disappointing day two with the ball, when we were well below our best, after Derbyshire had shown us just what could be got out of the wicket on day one, we crucially rallied again on the third day, and in some style, as we blew away the Derbyshire batting line-up, to secure a big first innings lead and once again take a firm grip on the game.
From that point on there only looked to be one winner, and so it proved, although Middlesex were made to work hard for the win on day four by a dogged and determined Derbyshire side.
Things will certainly be no easier this week against Leicestershire, who went into last week's match with Sussex also unbeaten from their opening seven games.
They were undoubtedly on the wrong end of a strong Sussex performance for large parts of the game, however the heroics of Louis Kimber on the final day of the game so nearly saw them turn the tables and secure what would have been a quite remarkable win.
The right hander came in with Leicestershire in trouble, staring defeat in the face, but showing no signs of nerves as he smashed an incredible 243 runs off just 127 deliveries, hitting 21 sixes in the process, and smashing Ollie Robinson for a record 43 runs off one over. His efforts saw Leicestershire fall an agonising 18 runs short and suffer their first defeat of their campaign.
To date, in Leicestershire's campaign, the Sussex game aside, Kimber has been overshadowed by others with the bat, with former Middlesex Captain Peter Handscomb leading the way. The Australian has amassed an impressive 641 runs this term, at an average of 64.10, with Rishi Patel's 492 runs coming next. Kimber's heroics in Hove now sees him on 476 runs, with Marcus Harris coming next with 388 at 43.11.
Leicestershire's key man with the ball has been right-arm quick Scott Currie, who has 25 wickets to his name, whilst Ben Mike is next in line with 17, although no other Leicestershire bowler has hit double figures this season.
For Middlesex, Ryan Higgins has been sensational this season, and is the Second Division's leading run-scorer by some margin, whilst Leus du Plooy (669) and Max Holden (639) have both surpassed the six hundred run mark. Both Sam Robson (467) and Mark Stoneman (414) come next, with Robson averaging 66.71 and Stoneman 34.50.
There is a marked difference in the bowling stats between the two sides, with no fewer than five Middlesex bowlers into double figures. Ethan Bamber leads the way, with 23, whilst Higgins (19), Roland-Jones (17), Tom Helm (15) and Henry Brookes (13) follow up.
Earlier this season at Lord's, Middlesex had the better of a severely rain affected encounter, which saw the entirety of the first and last days completely lost to rain. In the two days play that was possible, Middlesex dismissed Leicestershire for 303 in their first innings, with Bamber picking up a four-fer, before Middlesex replied with 407 for 8, with hundreds for Robson and du Plooy, before the weather put paid to any more involvement.
With so much to play for, as we enter the business end of the season, both sides will be looking for a win that will see them push towards the top, so it promises to be an enthralling four days of Championship cricket ahead.
Middlesex have named the following fourteen-man squad for the encounter this week in Leicester:
For those unable to make it up to Leicester to follow the side, a live stream of the game will be provided by our hosts, which will be available to watch on the Middlesex website.
Leicestershire
Middlesex
