Kent on 99....we are on 98!
All to play for.... Will weather intervene, will our top order finally get first innings runs, will Murts play or Rojo return, will Yadav become an all rounder, will Higgins recover from his side strain.....tune in to find out
It goes without saying that Middlesex could do with recording as many bonus points as possible from this match in case our result proves to be identical to Kent’s result v Lancashire at Canterbury and Kent achieve lots of bonus points themselves.
In our pursuit of bonus points, I feel very much inclined to ask our batters to improve their output, although I could request this of our seam bowlers too, as they haven’t been particularly prolific in our three most recent matches, even though the records show that we didn’t drop any bowling points in that time.
I can see Tim Murtagh retaining his place after taking eight wickets v Warwickshire at Lord’s. It is always great when a player comes in, does well, and gives Richard Johnson a rare selection headache. I have no idea of the likelihood of Toby Roland-Jones returning.
It will be interesting to see whether we heed the suggestions of those advocating that we bring in batters with experience (e.g. Stevie Eskinazi, or to a lesser extent, Max Holden or Robbie White), or whether we stick with Jack Davies and Joe Cracknell.
In reverse chronological order, Kent’s last seven first innings scores have been 235, 446, 316, 171, 621, 301 and 278, so you know what, maybe we should forget about getting into a batting points contest with Kent and simply beat Nottinghamshire! It is a testament to our difficulties in the batting department that Kent’s 235 v Somerset at Taunton today, despite not earning them any batting points, compares favourably with our first innings totals. It was in jest that I wrote that we should focus on beating Notts and forget about achieving batting points, as there is generally a correlation between a team’s tally of bonus points in a match and their position in the match, meaning that a lack of bonus points generally results in an impaired chance of winning or avoiding defeat.
The 14 usual suspects named for the decider at The Bridge tomorrow.
For the final push i would go with experience and leave out Cracknell Davies and Yadav as none of them performed well in the last match but will have to watch the over rate
I notice Surrey who play four seamers do not have a problem with the over rate so nor should we
I would not expect any sensible selection decisions from the current management, I fear the usual failures will be chosen.
We don't have any problem with the bowling rate and as for failures, apart from a few ALL would admit to having had a failed season,especially the senior batters, Rocky, Eski, and Max. We didn't sign a potential match-winning bowler in Jayant to leave him out for the most important game of the season. Toby will definitely play, unsure who he will replace.
Yet we had a point deducted for a slow over rate in the match against Somerset at Lord's on 18 May (the only county in division 1 to have such a deduction). Maybe it's not a problem now but let's hope we aren't relegated by a point.Originally Posted by MIDDLE EXILE
Well, I've explained the circumstances surrounding that on numerous occasions, not entirely our bowler's fault, and as it happened over four months ago, I think it fair to 'the problem has been sorted out. Far more serious things to worry about than that, like two batting points out of a possible sixty-five if you really want something to moan about, suggest you pick on the batters rather than our bowlers.
I wasn't blaming the bowlers, the captain is responsible for over management.
I agree. Handscombe was very good at keeping the energy up and the field moving. They are big aimless periods and it's all quite ponderous with TRJ. The weird thing being he is so formulaic that it shouldn't take very long at all.
With weather involved this week I think it's a fair shout to wonder if they'll do something daft and not get a chance to rectify it! We've seen plenty of surreal stuff this summer....
I hope Yadav is a match winning bowler but think it was a duff decision to grab a spinner for late September....although it might come in handy if it becomes a shootout
Robson, Stoneman, Eski, Holden, Higgins, Simmo, JDC, Yadav, TRJ, Bamber, Murtagh.....
The inclusion in the squad of Stevie Eskinazi and Max Holden suggests that Middlesex are at least considering bringing them in, although I would be surprised if we do. Mind you, whatever happens with our line-up is bound to be a surprise, as a return for Toby Roland-Jones could result in Tim Murtagh or Tom Helm losing their places despite coming out of the match v Warwickshire at Lord’s with credit, or it could result in Ethan Bamber missing out despite being our top wicket-taker in the County Championship this season. I cannot see Jayant Yadav ending up playing just two of the four matches for which he was signed, although you never know.
If we get relegated, then the loss of one point v Somerset at Lord’s would certainly be one factor, as would the fact that scoring one more run or conceding one fewer run v Northamptonshire at Merchant Taylors’ school would have earned us eight more points (although scoring one fewer run or conceding one more run would have earned us five fewer points). If I was to blame a failure on just one factor, that would require me to break the habit of a lifetime, as believe this to be too simplistic, although I am willing to break this habit by blaming the fact we are about to either just about survive or be relegated on our lack of batting points on the basis that more batting points would have bound to have also translated into draws being converted into wins, and defeats being converted into draws or maybe even wins. Had we scored 75 more first innings runs v Somerset at Lord’s, we would have achieved a batting point and, one way or another (i.e. regardless of whether or not we followed-on), would have forced Somerset to bat a second time, which may not actually had resulted in us avoiding defeat, but it would have surely given us an opportunity to avoid a points deduction, in which scenario we would have been at least two points better off.
Nottinghamshire have name a 13-man squad for this match consisting of Jake Ball, Matthew Carton, Joe Clarke, Asitha Fernando, Haseeb Hameed, Calvin Harrison, Brett Hutton, Lyndon James, Matthew Montgomery, Tom Moores, Steven Mullaney, Dane Paterson and Ben Slater.
The sun is out at Trent Bridge and drying up is carrying on, A further inspection is due at 2 pm and it's hopeful that play will be possible soon after.At Canterbury, Lancashire chose to bat first on a worn pitch and are 106-4 at lunch.
Last edited by MIDDLE EXILE; 26-09-2023 at 01:23 PM. Reason: updating
Play is due to start at 3pm at Trent Bridge. Middlesex won the toss and bat 42 overs left in the day, Eski, Max, and Toby replace Crackers, Jack, and Tim.
Last edited by MIDDLE EXILE; 26-09-2023 at 02:46 PM.
I'm not particularly religious, but I hope to God we know what we are doing in opting to bat first.
I don't want us 100-5 or 6 after 30 overs.
Dropping a bloke who got eight wickets. They be must preplanned. That's daft
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