Middlesex's First Team Coach Richard Johnson has named a squad of thirteen for our Royal London Cup clash against Warwickshire tomorrow, making just one change to the squad that secured victories at Grantham against Nottinghamshire and at Taunton against Somerset last week.
The man dropping out is Ethan Bamber, who, whilst named in the squad for Middlesex's two recent wins, played no part in either game, as he was rested precautionarily after feeling a niggle in his groin.
That niggle remains, and he is withdrawn from the squad to give his groin time to rest ahead of what promises to be a crucial last two matches in Middlesex's Group A campaign.
With just three games remaining, and five matches played, Middlesex's record of four wins and one loss, sees them currently sat on 8 points and in third place in the Group A table, level on points with Sussex in second although behind them on net run rate, and just two points behind Leicestershire, although both sides ahead of Middlesex have now completed six matches.
Warwickshire lie in fourth place in the table, a solitary point behind Middlesex having also played five games, and with the two sides going head to head at Radlett tomorrow, there's a huge amount riding on this crucial encounter.
Outside of the top four, realistically, only Nottinghamshire and Gloucestershire have hopes of securing qualification, both currently sat on six points in the group, although with each having played six games they'll need to win both matches to give themselves any chance of pushing on to the knockout stages of the competition.
After a disappointing white-ball competition in the Vitality Blast, Middlesex's run of recent results in the fifty-over format has seen them turn the form guide upside down, as for the last four matches they've found ways to win that looked beyond them in the shorter form of the game.
An opening defeat to Leicestershire, when in all fairness they should have won, could still come back to haunt Middlesex, however since then they've shaken off the disappointment of that result and won four straight games in the competition, and have looked a match for anyone they've faced in the group.
In the first win against Durham it was a case of men against boys, as with both ball initially and then with bat, Middlesex dominated the game to secure a nine wicket win. Next up against Surrey they were made to work harder for the win, posting a big total with the bat initially, before a disciplined bowling performance saw them dismiss Surrey relatively cheaply on a fast scoring deck and quick outfield to win by 102 runs.
In Grantham next time out in similar fast-scoring conditions, they held their nerve to defend another big total, as Nottinghamshire batted deep and threatened to reach their target when replying to Middlesex's 355, before eventually being dismissed 27 runs short of their target. Finally, last time out, against Somerset, Middlesex again had their nerves tested when chasing a target this time, coasting to victory at one point, before a late flurry of wickets saw the pressure mount, with numbers ten and eleven eventually at the crease to see Middlesex over the line in the final over of the match.
Middlesex can look back on each of those five games played and take a huge amount of learnings from them in the manner in which they recovered from the loss to Leicestershire and are now securing victories from different positions, are reacting positively when placed under pressure at different times in games, and are showing the resilience and doggedness they need to stay in games and get over the winning line when it counts.
With three Group A games remaining every game counts, and two further wins would almost be certain to guarantee Middlesex a place in the knockouts, although at this stage of the competition and in the form they are currently in, Middlesex will be targeting top spot in the Group to guarantee themselves a home-semi final.
A lot of cricket is still to be played however, and Coach Johnson is always keen to point out his demands for the team to stay focussed on the game in front of them rather than looking too far ahead. With each of the three sides Middlesex are still to play also in the hunt for qualification themselves, this could very well prove to be solid advice.
Tomorrow's opponent's Warwickshire won their last outing, yesterday against Nottinghamshire, in a closely fought encounter at Trent Bridge, however were beaten convincingly by Leicestershire in their previous outing. Prior to that they beat Sussex by four runs in a nail-biter at Edgbaston, tied with Surrey at the Oval, and hammered Gloucestershire in the opening match of their campaign at Cheltenham College.
Their leading run-scorer in the competition this year is Rob Yates, with 326 runs at 65.20 and their leading wicket-takers are Oliver Hannon-Dalby and Krunal Pandya, both with 9 wickets.
The last time the two sides went head to head in a List-A encounter was in 2014, when the visitors to Lord's ran out winners in a closely-fought game, beating Middlesex by 4 runs. Warwickshire batted first and posted 240 in their 50 overs, with Middlesex only managing to reach 246 in reply, 8 wickets down.
Middlesex have named the following thirteen-man squad for tomorrow's clash with Warwickshire:
Middlesex
Warwickshire
