It will be interesting to see what Middlesex’s line-up for this match will be, as we resume our County Championship campaign. Unless something suddenly changes, we will be without Nick Gubbins, Dawid Malan and Toby Roland-Jones, as Gubbo told Lower Mound at Uxbridge on Tuesday that the target is for him to return for the match v Yorkshire at Headingley beginning on Tuesday 5th September (Gubbo probably said the same when on commentary), while AC and TRJ’s places in England’s Test side appear not to be under any threat. Also, I am not sure whether Sam Robson, Ryan Higgins or Ollie Rayner will be available, as our last Championship match v Warwickshire at Lord’s two weeks ago saw Robbo bat with a runner in the second innings and Rayner miss out due to injury, while Higgo seemed to dislocate his bowling shoulder last night. Therefore, there must be a good chance that any combination of Max Holden, James Harris, Nathan Sowter and Ravi Patel will play, as Holden currently tops the batting averages of Northamptonshire (where he is their only Championship ever-present) with 629 runs @ 39.31 with 2 centuries and 2 fifties, and I am sure we will be allowed to recall him from his loan, Harris this week took six wickets and posted scores of 35 and 146 v Surrey 2nd XI, and the chances of Sowter retaining his place and Patel possibly coming in are increased due to The Oval having a reputation for taking late-season spin. If we feel the pitch will be conducive to spin, we will hope that Rayner will be back considering he took 15 wickets in this fixture in 2013, while it would also increase Holden’s chances of being selected considering he is a part-time spinner.

We are 20 points behind 2nd placed Lancashire and 20 ahead of the first relegation place which is currently occupied by Somerset, so the results of this round of matches could indicate whether we have a chance of finishing in the top four or whether we will find ourselves in a relegation scrap. We will certainly need to perform much better than we did v Warwickshire at Lord’s. There are only two other division one matches in this round, which are Essex v Somerset and Lancashire v Warwickshire. Surrey are eight points ahead of us, so they too will be hopeful of finishing in the top four, although I don’t know if they feel under threat of relegation.

The fact our Twenty20 campaign has ended means we have no reason not to turn our attention to this match. However, Surrey are still involved in that format, as they have a quarter-final v Warwickshire at The Oval on Friday. I am not sure how clubs are supposed to prepare a pitch for a match that may or may not take place. Just last night, it wasn’t certain whether Surrey would be in the quarter-finals, let alone have a home tie! I wouldn't have thought the quarter-final and the Middlesex match will be played on the same pitch, although doing that would reduce their groundstaff's workload.

As this match will begin on a bank holiday, Lower Mound and I intend to be at day one.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/09/2017 09:04 by BarmierKev.

Jonathan

The only team not in danger of relegation is Essex. Or, to put it another way, look how many teams have been deemed doomed at this time of the season and have survived or even ended up nearer the top than the bottom.

The last two matches saw one of our best and one of our worst performances and we should not forget the first in order to overindulge our pessimism.

Surrey's CC pitches have been pretty flat and their T20 pitches seem to have been slow, so if the same wicket is to be used for both matches, goodness knows how it will perform.


Adelaide

Last game at Somerset JW. So a rerun of the Lanky game a couple of years back is on the cards. Unless that is, we pick up significant points beforehand.

Current form, is very much up and down. The batting needs to put runs on the board at the Hacienda. And with the season moving on...worn pitches and all..some imagination in the bowling tactics would not go amiss...

Adam Voges, Paul Stirling and Sam Robson all expected to be fit for The Oval-

[www.middlesexccc.com]

Nick Gubbins not fit until 'early September' and Ryan Higgins 'mid September'

James Fuller out for rest of season.

I didn’t have much doubt that Adam Voges and Paul Stirling would be available for this match considering they played two Twenty20 matches for Middlesex last week. It is a relief that Sam Robson is expected to be available. It is a shame that Nick Gubbins and Ryan Higgins will miss this match, although it was something I anticipated. This news means that we could simply make two changes from our batting line-up from our previous County Championship match v Warwickshire at Lord's, with Voges and Stirlo replacing Gubbo and Higgo, although the batting order would have to be re-shuffled.

It is interesting that no mention has been made about Ollie Rayner, as the preview for the Warwickshire match simply said he was injured without mentioning the precise nature of the injury or his likely return date. For the last couple of weeks, Lower Mound has been speculating that Rayner isn’t really injured and that something has happened off the field, especially as he appears not to have played cricket of any sort since 24th July, so the lack of updates about his condition has made Lower Mound feel even more convinced, especially as we were given updates about Voges and Stirlo despite their fitness being less of a concern. Lower Mound feels that Rayner could have contributed more to our Twenty20 side than James Franklin.

Now I know the injury update. This would be my selection for the surrey match.
1 Robson
2 Compton
3 Eskanazi
4 Stirling
5 Voges
6 Simpson
7 Harris
8 Rayner
9 Helm
10Murtagh
11 Finn
I have left out Franklin I think we might have to bowl a of overs. You might say that is a long tail and maybe Nathan Sowter deserves a place let's see what the coaches think.

I can't see Franklin being left out, so as above with Franklin for Harris, and possibly Sowter for Rayner (if latter unfit)

I suppose Morgan could play..... no, don't be silly, Chunky.

I assume his Middlesex season is over.

It seems that there is no problem with Ollie Rayner, as Middlesex have written on Twitter that he is available for selection after a knee complaint.

I would like James Harris to play in this match as a reward for his performance for the 2nd XI last week, although I can't see it happening unless one of the fast bowlers due to play becomes unavailable. His ability with the bat suggests he could do the role usually performed by James Franklin and/or Ryan Higgins, but I don't know if he is seen as an all-rounder.

Does anyone know if there are bike racks at the Oval?

Might have TRJ back as it has already been announced that Chris Woakes is taking Toby's place.

Don't know about bike racks but I expect Gould and Thompson would tray and charge for any they exist. Especially for members. Especially for T20.


Adelaide

I don’t see what harm it would do if Toby Roland-Jones plays in this match, as he only bowled 12.4 overs in England’s first Test v West Indies (yet still took 4 wickets), and the third and final Test is 14 days away. However, I am uncertain whether England’s management share my view that it would do little harm, as not only do previous regimes have a reputation for restricting how often England players are allowed to represent their county, but the present regime made Mason Crane unavailable for Hampshire’s Twenty20 match last Friday despite his omission from the line-up for the first (and now second) Test. I would like to think that the fact the County Championship is the same format as Test matches mean TRJ will be made available. If that happens, then I am not sure who out of Steven Finn, Tim Murtagh or Tom Helm would miss out. Of course, it would be more complicated if Middlesex select two spinners.

As it was expected that Eoin Morgan has made his final Middlesex appearance for about 10 months, it is probably no great loss to the club that he has signed for the remainder of Barbados Tridents’ Caribbean Premier League campaign. Another player to have found employment in an overseas Twenty20 league is Dawid Malan, who has signed for Khulna Titans in the Bangladesh Premier League, although that won’t start until November.

Middlesex have written on Twitter that they hope Toby Roland-Jones can play in this match.

Richard Scott has spoken to the Hampstead & Highgate Express about this match.

14 man squad (which does include James Harris and TRJ).

[www.middlesexccc.com]

Franklin(c) Compton, Eskinazi, Finn, Harris, Holden, Murtagh, Rayner, Robson, Roland-Jones, Simson(wk) Sowter, Stirling, Voges.

Max Holden recalled from Northants. Will he make his debut?

No Helm?

Nope.

And no explanation- so presumably just rotation, as we have 5 games in 5 weeks.

I expect Harris Holden and one of Ollie and the Rabbit to miss out. This game crucial.

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Barmy Kev
I'm only here for the tele

I'd be very surprised if Ollie were omitted, given his record there.

I suggest his record there is his saviour

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Barmy Kev
I'm only here for the tele

Apart from the surprise omission of Tom Helm, Middlesex’s squad is as strong as I anticipated it would be. I am glad that Toby Roland-Jones is not being wrapped up in cotton wool and that James Harris and Max Holden have made the squad.

It would be nice if Holden makes his Middlesex debut, especially as his recall from his loan at Northamptonshire deprives him of being guaranteed some cricket this week, but the fact injury worries Sam Robson, Adam Voges and Paul Stirling are all fit reduces the likelihood of this.

I have checked social media, and there still doesn’t seem to be any explanation about Helm’s omission. However, as I have previously written, our fast bowling stock is likely to be strong enough for this match, plus we may feel the need to only select two fast bowlers and two spinners, so there is little need to get more cricket out of Helm than is healthy for him.

The fact Ravi Patel is not one of the two spinners in the squad confirms the fear that he has slipped down the pecking order.

Surrey have named a 13-man squad for this match consisting of Gareth Batty (captain), Scott Borthwick, Rory Burns, Rikki Clarke, Sam Curran, Jade Dernbach, Ben Foakes, Conor McKerr, Stuart Meaker, Ryan Patel, Ollie Pope, Jason Roy and Amar Virdi.

When I watched coverage of the Twenty20 quarter-final at The Oval on Friday, it looked like there were a few pitches prepared, so I assume this match will be played on a fresh pitch.

I imagine that a lot of supporters will be excited about the beer festival which will take place throughout this match.