The result of one match could make or break
a season for either side, as Middlesex travel to Lancashire to decide which of
these two teams will maintain Division One status in the County Championship.
The visitors enter this important fixture
with a 19-point lead over their relegation rivals and leaves them in a more
desirable position than Lancashire, who will suffer successive relegations from
the top-flight if they are unable to achieve a convincing victory.
Middlesex exhibited the conflicting extremes
of their Championship potential in their previous match against Somerset,
recovering to 223 all out after they had been reduced to 61/7. The Lancashire
faithful were left lamenting this recovery, as Middlesex earned themselves a
draw at Taunton to leave the Red Rose outfit with an uphill battle.
Lancashire’s search for success has been
negated by successive defeats in the Championship, firstly to title-winners,
Yorkshire, and more recently at the hands of Sussex and so their fortunes will
need to change sporadically if they are to avoid demotion to Division Two.
An injury-stricken Lancashire are boosted
by the return of Pakistan fast-bowler, Junaid Khan, who has travelled to
England to play in this vital match to bolster the bowling attack.
With Australian batsman, Usman Khawaja,
being recalled by Queensland, Khan is eligible to feature for the Red Rose due
to his role in the Lightning’s Natwest T20 Blast campaign.
His international prowess comes at a
crucial time for Lancashire after the retirement of last year’s Player of the
Season, Kyle Hogg, was compounded by injuries to Kabir Ali and leading
wicket-taker, Tom Smith.
James Anderson, who featured in
Lancashire’s trip to Hove, has also been made unavailable by the ECB, owing to
their desire to rest all England bowlers before the start of the One-Day series
against Sri Lanka.
If Lancashire achieve a full 24-point
victory and Middlesex earn five bonus points the team with the
most points from the two head-to-head matches will avoid the drop, which, in
this case, would be Lancashire by just one point.
Middlesex travel to Manchester with the
upper hand and carry a psychological advantage after their convincing display
in the reverse fixture back in May, where they cruised to a ten-wicket victory
at Lord’s.
Key Players:
With Lancashire needing to post a mammoth
first-innings total, leading run-scorer Ashwell Prince will be expected to
deliver in the final match of the season. The South-African batsman has been
under the spotlight recently for two reasons; his dispute with Yorkshire
captain, Andrew Gale, and the possibility that he may rescind his decision to
retire from all forms of cricket at the end of the season.
But, for now, Lancashire need to utilities
his talents to help them win this do or die fixture. Prince has made a total of
1,112 runs this season, scoring three centuries including a career-best 257
against Northamptonshire at Old Trafford.
Chris Rogers has led by example for
Middlesex this season and his recent performances have been crucial to his
side’s fortunes. The Middlesex captain scored a double-century in his last
Championship outing and his efforts with the bat make him the third-highest
run-scorer in the Division.
The Australian batsman has accrued a total
of 1,279 runs in 14 matches and his unbeaten 203 led Middlesex to a vital draw
on their visit to Somerset. Rogers has hit four fifties and as many centuries
this season and his highest score of 241* guided Middlesex to their highest
ever run-chase at Lord’s to defeat title-winners Yorkshire.
Team News:
Lancashire squad: Glen Chapple
(C), Tom Bailey, Karl Brown, Jos Buttler, Steven Croft, Paul Horton, Junaid Khan,
Simon Kerrigan, Arron Lilley, Liam Livingstone, Stephen Parry, Ashwell Prince,
Luke Procter, Luis Reece.
The return of Junaid Khan provides a
much-needed boost to Lancashire’s seam department, with leading wicket-taker
Smith continuing to suffer from a back-injury, which has prevented him from
playing after he was forced to retire hurt against Sussex.
Middlesex squad: Chris Rogers (C),
Joe Denly,
Neil
Dexter,
Nick Gubbins,
James Harris,
Dawid Malan,
Eoin Morgan,
Tim Murtagh,
Ravi
Patel,
Ollie Rayner,
Sam Robson,
Toby Roland-Jones,
Gurjit Sandhu,
John Simpson
The
visitors carry a strong squad and have a number of England internationals to
help their cause for survival. Eoin Morgan’s recent form with the bat has been
crucial and leading wicket-taker, Tim Murtagh is also set to feature.
Form:
Lancashire: LLWLD
Middlesex: DLDLD
Weather and conditions: Rain is not due to
intervene at this crucial stage of the season with dry weather expected for
most of the match. With Lancashire needing to post a big first-innings score
the pitch should offer some assistance for the batting side and spin should
play a part later in the game, although taking 20 wickets could be a tough
challenge, with only two results occurring at Old Trafford all season.
Date: Tuesday 23rd-Friday 26th
September
Time: 10:30am
Ground: Emirates Old Trafford
Umpires: tbc
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