13 named for London Derby

Chris Adams has made one enforced change to a 13 man squad to take on Middlesex in the Championship starting tomorrow at Lord’s.

A thigh injury, which kept Stuart Meaker out of last week’s draw against Sussex, has kept him out of the squad altogether this week, with veteran Jon Lewis named in the party for the first time this season.

Here is the squad in full:

G. Smith (C)

R. Burns

A. Harinath

V. Solanki

Z. de Bruyn

S. Davies

G. Wilson

G. Batty

C. Tremlett

J. Lewis

T. Linley

J. Dernbach

G. Keedy

I don’t expect Lewis to be named in the final X1 though, as Linley was our best bowler last week, so he

can’t be left out, and if fit I would presume Tremlett would play. However, after looking unplayable at times against Somerset, Jade Dernbach looked much less threatening last week, and there may be a case to play Lewis at a ground where he claimed his first Surrey five-fer last season. Therefore I expect that it will be either Jade or Lewis who are left out, alongside spinner Gary Keedy. Once again, good problems to have.

In terms of the batting, most of the lads have done well so far this season. Of those to have played both games , unsurprisingly Zander is the only one not to have reached 50, with Solanki and in particular Wilson having great games last week. You would have thought that after his performances last week, Wilson will have that number 3 spot for a few games yet, but Harinath is once again in the squad after missing out with a hand injury last week, replacing Jason Roy. It’s a tough one for the management, and I would presume that Wilson would want to carry on at number 3, but I can’t see another place in the side for Harinath. I would consider moving Zander down to 7, and putting Wilson at number 5, because a man in the form that he is in shouldn’t be left down the order to bat with the tail.

Middlesex have made a fine start to the season, winning both of their opening games comfortably, and are tipped by many to do well this season. And you can see why, with their settled batting line up headed by Chris Rogers, and 3 top seamers in Finn, Murtagh and Roland-Jones, with the last two especially always seemingly getting a bagful of wickets against us. We’ve had a dreadful record at Lord’s over the last few years, and just thinking of last year’s defeat makes me go cold. Requiring 4 to win and Jade skies a catch to mid-off; certainly not fond memories.

However, let’s hope the pitch is far better than it was last season, with Ramprakash calling it one of the worst he has played on at the ground, but tomorrow it will be the first time in 12 years that he will be on the opposition side, after taking up a role as Middlesex batting coach.

They are always feisty affairs, and as David Townsend loves to remind us, they are usually very one-sided, but under the captaincy of Graeme Smith, there is a new stubbornness in our squad, and let’s hope a first victory is just around the corner.