Match Preview - Middlesex 27/5/21

The Running Foxes welcome fans into the Uptonsteel County Ground for the first time tomorrow, along with the visiting Middlesex CCC team who make the trip up from the capital.

This will be the first clash between the teams in Group Two of the LV= County Championship this season, with both teams looking for a win with the loser ending the tie at the foot of the table.

County head into the fixture on the back of a hard-fought draw against a high-class Hampshire CCC bowling outfit which was made all the more difficult due to the conditions.

The visitors, similarly, come into the fixture off the back of a well-earned draw following Nick Gubbins’ second innings score of 124.

Watch the Running Foxes Live Through Our Online Streaming Service

As confirmed by Leicestershire County Cricket Club last month, every LV= County Championship fixture played at the Uptonsteel County Ground will be available to watch via our live streaming service, free of charge.

This season, the Club has worked tirelessly to enhance its live streaming service for all Running Foxes Members and fans that want to tune in and follow Leicestershire throughout the 2021 season.

This year’s live streaming service will include up to five cameras, BBC commentary, graphic overlays and will be available to watch on PC, mobile, tablet, games consoles and TVs via the Club’s social media channels.

The Season So Far

An improving campaign saw the Running Foxes draw their second consecutive rain-affected match in a row, this time against Hampshire. We bowled out our hosts for 233, with Chris Wright and Ed Barnes taking four wickets each - Barnes’ 4-61 was his career-best figures in just his fourth first-class match.

On a pitch which turned into a ‘bowlers paradise’, we struggled in our first innings, scoring just 84 all out. Rishi Patel impressed with a gutsy 27 to top score for us, while Barnes’ 17 not out helped see us past the follow-on target and continued a strong performance in just his second match for Leicestershire.

Our batters fought admirably in the second innings to draw the match, with Hampshire unable to put any pressure on the resolute Hassan Azad, who faced 55 of the 102 balls bowled to help steer us to that draw.

Middlesex also drew their match last week, against our previous opponents, Surrey. At The Oval, they dismissed their hosts for 190, with Tom Helm, Martin Andersson and Blake Cullen equally sharing nine wickets. John Simpson’s 68 helped Middlesex to 160 all out in their first innings, before an unbeaten ton from Surrey captain Rory Burns saw them set Middlesex a target of 290 to chase. Despite a strong start, led by Nick Gubbins’ 124, Middlesex ended on 250-6 to draw the match.

In Group Two of the LV= Insurance County Championship, Middlesex are currently just four points ahead of the Running Foxes having played a game more, so there is plenty to play for at the Uptonsteel County Ground this week as we welcome back supporters into the ground for the first time since 2019. Middlesex have won one, drawn one and lost five in their seven matches.

Last Time We Met

The two teams met twice in Division Two of the 2019 County Championship, with rain ruining the match at the Uptonsteel County Ground, which saw just 11 overs bowled across four days.

Following this, we travelled to Lord’s to face Middlesex in May 2019, bowling out our hosts for 349 with Mohammad Abbas taking 4-72. Ben Mike, Colin Ackermann and Chris Wright took five wickets between them. We conceded a first innings lead of 81, as we accumulated 268 all out in our first innings - Ackermann making 63 while Harry Dearden was our other half-centurion, scoring 61. A better bowling effort in the second innings saw us skittle Middlesex for 223, and this could have been much better when we had them 114-8. A fighting display from Simpson (59no) and Tom Helm (46) helped Middlesex set us 305 to win - Wright taking 3-51 in their second innings.

Another half-century from Ackermann (70no) gave us a chance of victory, but the captains shook hands on a draw with our second innings on 226-5.

The Running Foxes

Lewis Hill broke the 500-run barrier last week against Hampshire, and our number five is averaging 55.77 for the season with one century and four fifties. This ranks him equal 10th in the tournament’s run-scoring charts, and the fifth-highest of the teams who have played six matches.

Ed Barnes produced career-best figures of 4-61 in our draw against Hampshire and the former England Under-19 seamer will be looking to continue the fine start to his Leicestershire career with further wickets against Middlesex. In four first-class matches so far in his young career, Barnes averages 27.12 and has taken wickets every 45.62 balls.

Chris Wright has been superb for Leicestershire in recent weeks and is our leading wicket-taker with 21 at an average of 25.47. He didn’t quite manage a third consecutive five-wicket haul this season in the Hampshire match, taking 4-71, but those four wickets put Wright equal 15th on the wicket-taking charts so far in the County Championship in what has been an impressive season so far. 

Opposition Players to Watch

Nick Gubbins has been mentioned as a potential England batter in recent years and he’s Middlesex’s top run-scorer this season, scoring 455 runs at an average of 35.00. With one century and four fifties to his name already, Gubbins will be a key wicket for the Running Foxes.

Middlesex’s veteran pace bowler, Tim Murtagh, is showing that he is as good as ever for our opponents at the age of 39. He’s already taken 26 wickets this year at a cost of just 20.69 runs per wicket, and with an impressive economy rate of 2.75 runs per over as well.

Ethan Bamber is 17 years younger than his teammate Murtagh but is a young player with high potential. So far this season, Bamber has taken 23 wickets at 22.60, at an economy rate of 2.83. The former England Under-19 player has had a strong start to the 2021 season and our batters will have to be on their best form to negate the likes of Murtagh and Bamber this week.

Leicestershire Squad

Paul Nixon has named a 14-man squad for the visit of Middlesex.

Ben Mike returns to the squad after missing out last week due to injury.

Will Davis comes into the matchday squad for the first time this season after recovering from an injury sustained in pre-season.

Louis Kimber is the man to miss out.

Leicestershire CCC from 14: Colin Ackermann (C), Hassan Azad, Ed Barnes, Will Davis, Alex Evans, Sam Evans, Gavin Griffiths, Marcus Harris, Lewis Hill, Ben Mike, Callum Parkinson, Rishi Patel, Harry Swindells (wk), Chris Wright.

Match Sponsor

We would like to thank Knight Frank for being our match sponsor.