MIDDLESEX MEN NAME UNCHANGED SQUAD OF FOURTEEN FOR TONIGHT’S VITALITY BLAST CLASH AGAINST LONDON RIVALS SURREY AT THE KIA OVAL
Following Middlesex’s thrilling last ball win against Essex at Lord’s last night, when the side grabbed another four points, which saw them close the gap to a qualifying spot in the knockout phase to just four points, Middlesex now head south of the Thames to take on London rivals Surrey tonight, knowing that another victory will put them right in the mix at the top end of the South Group table.
An unchanged squad of fourteen has been named for the crucial encounter, following a nail-biting performance at the Home of Cricket last night, which saw Middlesex hold their nerve to defend their total of 161 against Essex in front of a lively crowd in St John’s Wood.
It was a gripping match to fit a terrific atmosphere under the lights at Lord’s last night, as Kane Williamson’s first half-century in a Middlesex shirt saw the Seaxes get off to a flyer having been asked to bat first by Essex skipper Simon Harmer.
Williamson’s 53 from 31 deliveries and 37 from 30 from Max Holden gave Middlesex the perfect platform to build on, and at 104 for 1 after 11 overs, a big total looked on the cards! The loss of regular wickets however slammed on the brakes as Essex fought back, with Middlesex only managing to post 161 – dismissed in the final over of the innings.
In reply, Essex themselves got off to a solid start too and looked well on course to chase the target down, before Middlesex stemmed the flow of runs after the halfway stage of the chase.
Scores above 20 from each of the Essex top five gave them the ideal base to finish the chase, however some brilliant bowling from the Middlesex attack slowed things dramatically in the middle overs, led from the front by Zafar Gohar, who returned outstanding figures of 2 for 20 from his four overs.
A brilliant 17th over from Noah Cornwell went for just five runs, with only six coming from the artful variation of Tom Helm in the 18th, leaving Essex needing 23 from the final two overs with five wickets in hand.
13 came from Higgins 19th over, leaving Tom Helm to bowl the last, with just 10 runs needed by the visitors.
Helm held his nerve, mixing it up, to concede just 8 runs, seeing Middlesex run out winners by the tightest of margins!
It was an outstanding display of how to bowl under pressure and Middlesex can head to the Kia Oval with confidence high, having secured another important win in what was a must win clash last night!
Tonight, they’ll face a Surrey side who sit just one place off the top of the South Group table, having won five of their opening seven matches in this year’s campaign and victorious in their last four Blast matches.
Their campaign got off to a shaky start, losing to Somerset by five wickets in their opener, before then securing a narrow win against Glamorgan by seven runs, before losing out again, this time to Hampshire by 15 runs via the DLS method.
Their campaign then kicked into life, and back-to-back victories over Kent twice, Hampshire next, and then Sussex last time out have seen them jump up the table to second spot, on 20 points, with only Somerset ahead of them, on 24!
With the bat they’ve been reliant on the performances of four experienced batters to deliver the goods, with Jason Roy leading the way with 265 runs already to his name – which puts him joint fourth at this stage of the competition’s leading run-scorers list. Roy is followed by Dom Sibley with 198, Sam Curran with 175, and Laurie Evans with 167.
With the ball they’re no less dangerous, with both Mitchell Santner and the experienced Chris Jordan leading the way on the wickets front! Both have ten wickets to their name already, with Sam Curran (8), Nathan Smith (6) and Reece Topley (5) following behind.
With the Kia Oval derby washed out last year, the last time the two sides went head to head in Kennington was that incredible night in 2023 when new records were set with that unbelievable run chase.
After Surrey had blasted their way to a massive total of 252 for 7 in their 20 overs, few gave Middlesex any chance of getting close, however a stunning run chase, led by Middlesex skipper Stephen Eskinazi (73 off 39), supported by an unbeaten 68 off 35 balls from Max Holden, 48 off 24 from Ryan Higgins, and 36 off 16 from Joe Cracknell kept them right in it. It all came down to that memorable scoop over fine leg for a maximum from Jack Davies and then a crunching off drive for four to get us over the line and set a new record for the competition’s highest ever run chase.
What Middlesex fans would do for another night like that in 2023 tonight, however they’ll happily forego such excitement and drama if Middlesex can simply get over the line and secure another important victory at the Oval to keep their campaign for qualification very much in full swing!
Middlesex have named the following fourteen-man squad for tomorrow’s clash at Lord’s:
- Stephen Eskinazi (captain)
- Noah Cornwell
- Joe Cracknell
- Jack Davies
- Josh De Caires
- Leus du Plooy
- Ben Geddes
- Zafar Gohar
- Tom Helm
- Ryan Higgins
- Max Holden
- Luke Hollman
- Naavya Sharma
- Kane Williamson
