Middlesex vs Essex, County Championship Divison One, Today Match Prediction 06 April 2023

mdx vs ess Match Prediction & Analysis

The top flight of English cricket is back and the top English teams are here to fight it out to win the County Championship. Both teams in this contest have had really good seasons last here, and as Essex will want to build on what they did last year, Middlesex would want to show that they belong in the top flight.

Middlesex was in the County Division 2 last season and got promoted after a magnificent season in which they finished second. They will want to show that last season was not a fluke and they can survive in the 1st Division.

Essex has been an extremely good season in 2023. Finishing in the top 4 of County Divison 1 with 202 points, they will be raring to go in the new season and hopefully win it this time around.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Middlesex Preview

Going into the 1st match of the new season, Middlesex will be raring to go and make a mark in the first division this season. After a mighty impressive season in the 2nd Division, they will hope they can replicate the same form that they had last season.

The batting department will be heavily reliant on John Simpson and Mark Stoneman. They were the leading runscorers for the Middlesex team last year. John Simpson scored 1039 runs whilst Stoneman scored 1025 runs, to propel them to the first division. They will expect a similar season from the 2 if they want to go big in Divison 1.

The bowling department was on fire last season. Tobias Roland-Jones and Tim Murtagh were the stars with the ball last season for Middlesex. Tobias Roland Jones was the top wicket-taker in the second division with 67 wickets, while Tim Murtagh picked up 30 wickets.

Key Players: John Simpson, Mark Stoneman, Tobias Roland-Jones, Tim Murtagh

Middlesex Predicted Playing XI:

Martin Anderson, Ethan Bamber, Joe Cracknell, Blake Cullen, Jack Davies, Josh De Caires, Stephen Eskinazi, Nathan Fernandes, Toby Greatwood, Max Harris, Tom Helm, Ryan Higgins, Max Holden, Luke Hollman, Ishaan Kushal, Pieter Malan, Tim Murtagh, Daniel O’Driscoll, Sam Robson, Toby Roland - Jones, John Simpson, Mark Stoneman, Thilan Wallalawita, Robbie White

Essex Preview

This season will be quite interesting for Essex. Finished 4th in the last season, and they will want to go and win the Division this time around. If last season was any indication, Essex will go all guns blazing from game 1.

The batting department was carried by Sir Alastair Cook and Nicholas Browne last season. Scoring Alastair Cook scored 966 runs whilst Nicholas Browne scored 797 runs in the previous edition. They would want either one of the batsmen to have a 1000-run season which will definitely boost their chances to win the Championship.

One of the main reasons, Essex ended up 4th in the points table was their bowling. Simon Harmer and Sam Cook were the stand-out bowlers for Essex. Simon Harmer was the top wicket taker in the division with 59 wickets, while Sam Cook picked up 51 wickets. A lot will be dependent on them if Essex wants to have a successful season.

Key Players: Sir Alastair Cook, Nicholas Browne, Simon Harmer, Sam Cook

Essex Predicted Playing XI:

Sir Alister Cook, Nick Browne, Robin Das, Feroze Khushi, Dan Lawrence, Josh Rymell, Tom Westley, Luc Benkenstein, Matt Critchley, Simon Harmer, Paul Walter, Will Buttlemen, Michael Pepper, Adam Rossington, Ben Allison, Aaron Beard, Sam Cook, Eshun Kalley, Aron Nijjar, Jamie Porter, Shane Snater, Jamal Richards

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The weather forecast seems to be quite overcast with a high possibility of rain. The maximum and minimum temperatures will be in the 28°C - 16°C range.

Venue Details

Lord’s is located in London, England. It is also known as the home of cricket and has a capacity of 30000.

The pitch is a batsman-friendly wicket and has a history of staying good through the 4 innings. Batting in the 4th innings is quite a task, but still, teams usually bat first after winning the toss.

Toss: To Bat

Out of the 143 games played, matches won by teams batting first have been 51, whilst the team bowling first has won just 41 games. Teams will look to win the toss and bat first.