Middlesex return to Specsavers County Championship action on Sunday at Lord’s where they’ll take on Division Two league leaders Warwickshire.
Middlesex head into the clash on the back of a disappointing defeat under the floodlights of Canterbury almost a month ago, where a strong Kent performance combined with the pink ball in day/night conditions at dusk played their part in Middlesex’s demise, as they went down heavily by a margin of 342 runs.
The following week saw long-standing Head Coach Richard Scott part company with the club he’d led to the County Championship title in 2016, resulting in his Assistant Richard Johnson stepping up to the Head Coaches’ role for the remainder of this season - with Sunday’s clash against the Bears being his first game at the helm.
Johnson, when interviewed by the club this week, stated his intentions to work closely with the existing squad with a view to getting the best out of them as individuals and collectively as a side. With no shortage of quality within the Lord’s home dressing room, Johnson hopes to be able to galvanise a talented group of players that he has worked closely with for the last eight seasons.
It’s a tough start for Johnson and his Middlesex side, who need to turn their fortunes around quickly, as they’ll be taking on the leading side in Division Two, Warwickshire, who come to Lord’s having won five of their opening seven Championship matches and having only been beaten once this term.
Middlesex welcome back Dawid Malan for the fixture against Warwickshire, and he will slot straight back in as captain to lead the side, having finished his spell with the England Lions last week. Malan will be all the better for the Lions outing, having spent plenty of time at the crease with knocks of 74 and 56 against India-A.
Also making a welcome return to the Middlesex ranks will be England white ball captain Eoin Morgan, who makes only his second County Championship appearance since 2015. His last came against Gloucestershire earlier this season at Lord’s, when he showed all his class, hitting 76 in Middlesex’s first innings. With Morgan now free from England duty the Middlesex ranks will be hugely boosted by the addition of his experience and quality.
Steven Finn and Tom Helm miss this clash, with Finn still recovering from his recent knee injury and having not yet built up his bowling workload sufficiently for four-day cricket, whilst Tom Helm has some back soreness which the club’s medical team is monitoring. Helm remains available for T20 cricket although is precautionarily rested for the four-day game this week.
Sam Robson will also be on the side-lines against Warwickshire, as he has a fractured finger which has been splinted to allow it to heal over the next three weeks.
Like Malan, Nick Gubbins returns to Middlesex duty having completed his spell with the England Lions, and he too was in the runs against India A, hitting 73 in the Lions’ first innings.
Middlesex have named five seamers in their squad of thirteen, comprising Tom Barber, James Fuller, James Harris, Tim Murtagh and George Scott, although how many of this quintet will play on Sunday will be determined tomorrow morning.
There are also plenty of options for Malan to call upon in the spin department too, with Ollie Rayner leading the unit, with support coming from both Paul Stirling and Max Holden and of course the leg-spin of Malan himself.
The following thirteen-man squad has been named by Richard Johnson for the Warwickshire clash…
Dawid Malan (captain)
Tom Barber
Stephen Eskinazi
James Fuller
Nick Gubbins
James Harris
Max Holden
Eoin Morgan
Tim Murtagh
Ollie Rayner
George Scott
John Simpson (wicket-keeper)
Paul Stirling
Middlesex
Warwickshire
