Two of the favoured teams in Division Two meet at Lord’s in the opening round
Lancashire will be keen to stamp their authority on Division Two as they look to bounce straight back up, but an away trip to Lord’s will put them to the test. Middlesex also have realistic promotion hopes, especially now that their improved finances have allowed them to recruit a couple of overseas players this season.
Middlesex were in the hunt for promotion last summer, until they were finally pipped by Yorkshire. They were let down by a failure to capture enough bonus points and they will be looking to post bigger first innings totals. This should be aided by the signing of New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, who is currently ranked as the third best Test batter. However he is not available until the second half of the season. Mark Stoneman has moved to Hampshire, so it looks like Nathan Fernandes will be joining Sam Robson at the top of the order. Steve Eskinazi has had a tough few seasons against the red ball, but made a century in a practice game against Hampshire last week. He will join Max Holden and Leus du Plooy in the middle order and then there is the ever reliable Ryan Higgins. He topped the county’s Championship run scoring last season with 1133 runs at 70.81, not to mention his 30 wickets. Jack Davies also made a steady start to his first class career, having replaced club stalwart John Simpson and the hope will be he can kick on this summer.
Toby Roland-Jones continues to take wickets, ably supported by Higgins, Henry Brookes and Tom Helm, but Middlesex will need to fill the gap left by Ethan Bamber’s departure to Warwickshire. That will be done by Dane Paterson until the end of May, having moved from Nottinghamshire. The Middlesex website states that he will be available for this opening game, although it will mean him missing Western Province’s final match. A notable signing has been Zafar Gohar from Gloucestershire. The Pakistan left arm spinner is now qualified as a home player and has shown his ability to take wickets in English conditions, although he has been hampered by injuries in recent seasons.
The visitors have been enjoying the sun in India, Dubai and most recently Spain in preparation for the season. Keaton Jennings remains at the helm after an impressive 2024 with the bat, often in a losing cause. He will be hoping new overseas signing, Marcus Harris will give him support at the top of the order, as well as the likes of Josh Bohannon, Matty Hurst and Luke Wells being more productive than last summer. It will be interesting to see where new-signing Michael Jones fits into Dale Benkenstein’s plans.
West Indies pace man Anderson Phillip reinforces the attack which will likely include George Balderson, Tom Bailey and Luke Wells. James Anderson has suffered a calf injury in pre season training so will not be available until May at the earliest, while Tom Hartley will likely provide the spin option.
Both sides will want to start the season positively, but a draw is probably the most likely outcome as neither side will want to give anything away at this point in the season.
Key players:
Ryan Higgins has been mister reliable since his return from Gloucestershire. Middlesex will be hoping early season conditions will favour his medium pace, while runs from Higgins’ bat are a given.
Marcus Harris was at Leicestershire last year having previously enjoyed stints at Gloucestershire and the Foxes back in 2021. He averages 39.64 from 172 first-class games and has a track record in county cricket, averaging 48. The last of his 14 Tests was against England back in January 2022 and at 32, he will not think his Test career is over. He will be keen to put on a strong showing with Lancashire.
Team News:
Tom Helm has been absent from the preseason games.
Middlesex squad (probable): Toby Roland-Jones (c), Henry Brookes, Noah Cornwell, Blake Cullen, Jack Davies (wk), Leus du Plooy, Stephen Eskinazi, Nathan Fernandes, Ben Geddes, Zafar Gohar, Ryan Higgins, Max Holden, Dane Paterson, Sam Robson
It is assumed that Harris will be playing for Lancashire, while Anderson is injured.
Lancashire squad (from): Keaton Jennings (c),Tom Aspinwall, Tom Bailey, George Balderson, George Bell, Jack Blatherwick, Josh Bohannon, Marcus Harris, Tom Hartley, Matty Hurst (wk), Michael Jones, Anderson Phillip, Luke Wells
Weather and Conditions
The weather is set fair for London over the four days, although there may be a few sweaters needed, particularly first thing.
Last year’s opener at Lord’s between Glamorgan and Middlesex produced first innings totals of 620/3 declared and 655 respectively. It might be a tough four days for the bowlers if those conditions are replicated.
Date: 4th April 2025
Time: 11:00
Ground: Lord’s
