Match Analysis for CB40 match v Lancashire Lightning

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  17 July 2012

  It would be fair to say that not a lot went our way at Old Trafford on Monday evening. In rain reduced matches, the toss carries greater importance as batting second you have a better idea of what is required from you.

  The weather and umpiring decisions did not help us in our quest to post a significant total and the weather interferences and wet ball made it particularly hard for our bowlers to defend that total. Dawid Malan batted well for his 48 off 35 balls and Steven Crook bowled well with 1-9 off 3 overs, but there was little else to celebrate.

  The defeat means that we probably need to win our four remaining matches to qualify for the semi-finals of this competition.

  The late arrival of Eoin Morgan did not help matters. We were aware that Eoin intended to travel up by train on the morning of the match but unfortunately incidents on route delayed him considerably. Other players travelled up on the morning too but after this incident we need to examine our transport policy to try to ensure this does not happen again.

  Middlesex’s players often travel on the day to away fixtures when matches do not start until the late afternoon. For Twenty20 we travelled to Canterbury, Hove and the Ageas Bowl earlier in the day prior to the games. There will also be other occasions when players travel on the day e.g. Steven Finn returning from a Test match when he’s not required and this Sunday morning, Paul Stirling will return from Ireland after Ireland’s three T20 games against Bangladesh, the last of which finishes on Saturday, with the aim that he plays against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham.

  It has been suggested in some quarters that Eoin may be disciplined for his lateness but this will not be the case.

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