After a brilliant innings victory in Scarborough against Yorkshire in Division One of the Specsavers County Championship earlier this week, a win that took Middlesex to the top of the table, Middlesex return to white-ball action tonight when they head to Richmond Cricket Club\'s Old Deer Park ground in buoyant mood to take on high flying Glamorgan in the South Group of the NatWest T20 Blast.
Currently sitting fourth place in the South Group table, on nine points, Middlesex are nicely placed to launch a challenge to secure for one of the four quarter final places up for grabs, and a win at Richmond against Glamorgan, currently sitting in second place, will be a huge steps towards the club achieving that goal.
The Seaxes will be keen however to banish the disappointment of a defeat in their last twenty over encounter down at Hove against Sussex, in a performance that was far from in keeping with the impressive form that they have shown to date in this T20 Blast campaign. Middlesex's victories over Kent, Hampshire, Essex and Somerset have seen them at their best this season and another showing of this kind of form will make Friday's contest an absolute belter against an in-form and impressive looking Glamorgan T20 side,
Middlesex name a strong fifteen-man squad for the trip to Richmond, which includes England T20I Captain, Eoin Morgan, who is now free to return to Middlesex having led England to success against Sri Lanka in both white ball formats in recent weeks. Middlesex's squad also includes hard-hitting Australian George Bailey, fresh from the half century he hit on his Middlesex first-class debut at Scarborough, and in line to make his second T20 appearance for the club. Toby Roland-Jones is also included in the fifteen, who was named in the England Test squad to face Pakistan at Lord's next week and is Middlesex's leading wicket taker in the T20 Blast this term. Stephen Eskinazi also makes the squad, having this week hit a maiden first-class hundred and fifty at Scarborough, to back up the maiden hundred he hit at Lord's just last week.
Middlesex's leading T20 Blast run scorer Dawid Malan leads the side out as captain again, and will be hoping to marshal his troops to a victory at Old Deer Park, much like they did in their last outing at Richmond against Essex last year, which will see his side cement their position at the right end of the South Group table.
Middlesex's fifteen-man squad is as follows:
Malan (captain)
Bailey
Eskinazi
Franklin
Fuller
Gubbins
Harris
Higgins
Morgan
Podmore
Rayner
Roland-Jones
Simpson
Sowter
Stirling
Middlesex would like to inform anyone who is planning on attending this match who has yet to purchase a ticket, that ONLY 500 tickets will be available to purchase on the gate at Richmond, so we would recommend that you arrive as near to gates opening as possible to purchase your ticket and avoid disappointment.
Gates open at Richmond and tickets will be available to purchase from 4pm, with the game starting at 5.30pm.