Middlesex maintained the push for qualification to the knockout stages of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup on Thursday, when we comfortably defeated Lancashire up at Emirates Old Trafford in a match that was marginally rain reduced to 48 overs per side. That win took us into real contention for reaching the knockout stages ahead of two massive games coming up in the competition this week.
First up we face Somerset at Lord's tomorrow, before we bring the group stage to a close next Wednesday with what could prove to be a winner takes all clash at Merchant Taylors' School against Hampshire.
For tomorrow's encounter we have named a squad of 15, with the experienced Toby Roland-Jones coming into the group to bolster the pace bowling ranks for the first of these two huge games.
Other than Roland-Jones' addition, the squad remains the same, as First Team Coach Richard Johnson puts his faith into a group of players who have really hit their straps in recent games, shaking off the disappointment of heavy losses in our opening two games to pull us right back to the brink of qualification, with seven points coming from our last four matches.
Against Lancashire, the winning margin of 5 runs, via the DLS method, didn't tell the whole story of a one-sided game, as having restricted Lancashire to just 233 for 9 in their 48 overs, we were chasing the winning target down at an absolute canter, as we took our reply to 210 for 1 in the 42nd over.
Our desire to chase an early victory with a few overs to spare to positively impact on our net run rate was the only blemish on an otherwise brilliant performance, as in the hunt for quick runs we lost four wickets in the space of four overs, before we settled down and got the job done, getting over the winning line in the 47th over.
There were plenty of positives to take from the game, ahead of the Somerset clash, most notably another brilliant knock from Joe Cracknell, who hit a career best List-A score of 98, a calm and composed unbeaten 87 from Sam Robson that took us to victory, and career best List-A figures of 4 for 43 from Henry Brookes, who stood out as the pick of the Middlesex bowlers.
At the end of Thursday, the two points we earned from that victory took us to seven points from six matches, just one point behind Somerset, Hampshire, Worcestershire and Derbyshire, all who sat on eight points, with only net run rate separating the four counties.
In such a tightly congested group, the logic for chasing an early win to improve our net run rate was sound up in Manchester, however we finished the day in fifth place, but knowing that we head into the final two group games with our destiny firmly in our own hands.
Since Middlesex's win on Thursday's, each of the four sides above us, and the two below us, played again yesterday, and the table took an interesting turn ahead of tomorrow's crucial encounter for Middlesex at Lord's.
Hampshire, who started the day in second place, lost to Durham, Worcestershire, who started the day in third place, lost to Somerset, whilst Derbyshire, who started the day in fourth place, lost to Kent. Somerset's victory saw them move two points clear at the top of the table, and the victories for Durham and Kent saw them keep their hopes of qualification alive.
With yesterday's results taken into account, the Group A table looks as follows, with all of the top seven not out of the running yet for qualification:
| TEAM | P | W | L | NR | PTS | NRR |
| Somerset | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1.018 |
| Worcestershire Rapids | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0.518 |
| Hampshire | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0.395 |
| Derbyshire | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0.026 |
| Durham | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | -0.062 |
| Middlesex | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | -0.413 |
| Kent Spitfires | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | -0.151 |
| Northamptonshire Steelbacks | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | -0.343 |
| Lancashire | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -1.164 |
Tomorrow's opponents Somerset have once again proved to be a resilient white-ball side, shaking off the loss of 11 squad players to the Hundred, to still be the team to beat in this year's Metro Bank One-Day Cup competition.
Their campaign began with a three-wicket win over Kent in Taunton, which they weren't able to back up, as two days later they tasted defeat at the hands of Hampshire by five wickets in Southampton. It was back to winning ways next, with a comprehensive thumping of Durham by 133 runs at Seat Unique Riverside, before they secured another big win, by eight wickets over Lancashire in Taunton. Their second loss of the group stage came next, when Derbyshire narrowly got one over them, winning by just one wicket in Taunton, however they again bounced back from defeat to beat Northants heavily by seven wickets before securing yesterday's massive victory over Worcestershire.
With the table as close as it is, Middlesex know that a win against Somerset tomorrow at Lord's will give them a massive boost in their quest towards the next stage of the competition.
The last time these two sides met in the List-A format of the game was two years ago, in 2022, when Middlesex had the better of the game to secure a narrow one wicket win down in Taunton. Batting first, the home side had centuries from both James Rew (114) and Matt Renshaw (120) to thank for taking them to a total of 335 for 6 in their 50 overs, whilst in reply, a ton from Pieter Malan, and scores in the seventies from Max Holden (76) and Sam Robson (71) took Middlesex to victory with just four balls of the game remaining.
Middlesex have named the following fifteen-man squad for tomorrow's game at Lord's
For those not attending the game tomorrow, a live stream of the match will be provided by Middlesex, which is available to watch on the Club's website in the Match Centre, or directly via the Club's YouTube channel.
Here's to another Middlesex win tomorrow. Come on lads!
Middlesex
Somerset
