Middlesex head to The SSE SWALEC in Cardiff tomorrow to take on South Group table toppers Glamorgan in the Royal London One-Day Cup (2pm start of play).
With only two points on the board from three games played, Middlesex will be urgently looking to turn things around in Wales, to get back to winnings ways and get their 50-over campaign back on track.
At a wet and dreary 1st Central County Ground at the weekend, in a contest reduced to 32 overs per side and after winning the toss, Middlesex skipper James Franklin, would have been disappointed to see Sussex pile on 222 for 7 after he'd inserted them. Whilst Toby Roland-Jones again bowled with accuracy and pace to pick up fine figures of 3 for 47, Middlesex's cause was not helped by the injury to former Glamorgan loanee Tom Helm, with the young seamer having to leave the field with an ankle injury, sustained whilst fielding, after bowling just three of his allotted overs.
Chasing an above par target, the early loss of both Dawid Malan and Paul Stirling saw Middlesex immediately drop onto the back foot as the required run rate started to climb. With Brendon McCullum and Eoin Morgan at the crease, both needing to consolidate and solidify the innings, rather than build momentum aggressively, the task at hand grew in difficulty. After they were both dismissed in quick succession to leave Middlesex on 87 for 4 in the 16th over, both having got good starts, the run chase became an extremely tall order. Despite some late resilience from Nick Gubbins (37), James Franklin (28) and James Fuller (19), it proved too much for Middlesex as they went down by 31 runs.
Although without Helm, Middlesex led by former Glamorgan player James Franklin also include Brendon McCullum and James Harris in their squad and will need to be at their very best to upset Glamorgan's charge. Eoin Morgan is available again within a strong squad that are more than capable of delivering the goods down in Cardiff.
Middlesex (14-man) squad: James Franklin (c), James Fuller, Nick Gubbins, James Harris, Ryan Higgins, Dawid Malan, Brendon McCullum, Eoin Morgan, Tim Murtagh, Ollie Rayner, Toby Roland-Jones, John Simpson, Nathan Sowter, Paul Stirling.