Nottinghamshire vs Middlesex, County Championship Division One, Today Match Prediction 26 September 2023

not vs mdx Match Prediction & Analysis

Notts will take on Middlesex in the return match at home. The last time these two teams locked horns, Middlesex came out on top with a 4-wicket in at the Lord’s in London.

Now it is Nottinghamshire’s turn to host Middlesex who are coming here with a poor run of form with their batting lineup suffering frequent collapses. As such, skipper Steve Mullaney will be hoping the Notts to gain the upper hand in this match by putting Middlesex on the back foot in the first innings. 

Though he hasn’t got bowlers who’ve picked a fifer or a 4-fer in recent outings, he’s got a variety in the Notts bowling attack which has always delivered a good team performance with everyone chipping in.

Middlesex also have variety in the bowling attack and some of their key players have been very impressive in recent outings. They should also consider getting their key batters back in the XI for this match.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Nottinghamshire Preview

While three Tests at this venue have been drawn this season, Notts have won 2 and lost 1. In their last outing at this venue, Nottinghamshire scored 300+ in both innings and with an exceptional bowling performance in the 4th innings, secured a 321-run win over Kent.

While Will Young may not be seen in the side for this match, Notts still have a solid top and middle order with the likes of Haseeb Hameed and Ben Slater at the top followed by Steve Mullaney and Joe Clarke in the middle order.

And while wicket-keeper batsman Tom Moores was out for a duck in both innings in his last outing, Joe Clarke’s performance was a huge positive for Nottinghamshire.

Playing against Kent in Canterbury, Clarke scored 62 in the 1st innings and followed it up with an unbeaten 141-run knock in the second innings while following on. He had also scored a fifty in the second innings of the previous match against the same opposition.

Clarke is an in-form batter to watch out for at number 4. The batting lineup is deep with Lyndon James and Brett Hutton able to strike the ball well at number 7 and 9 respectively. The two are also crucial with the ball along with Steve Mullaney, Dane Paterson, and Asitha Fernando.

Nottinghamshire Predicted Playing XI:

Ben Slater, Haseeb Hameed, Steven Mullaney (c), Joe Clarke, Matthew Montgomery, Tom Moores (wk), Lyndon James, Calvin Harrison, Brett Hutton, Dane Paterson, Asitha Fernando

Middlesex Preview

Middlesex need to quickly turn things around before it's too late and they end up on the backfoot against the home team. Toby Roland-Jones needs to be back to lead the side and Middlesex should also consider getting back other players such as Max Holden and Stephen Eskinazi.

Middlesex are coming here to Trent Bridge on the back of a huge loss at Lord’s against Warwickshire. They were bowled out for 121 while batting first. And this wasn’t the first time they failed to cross the 200-run mark in the first innings.

For the last three matches, Middlesex have failed to reach 200 runs in their first innings. And they’ve lost two of these matches. And while they bounced back in the second innings against Warwickshire with a hundred from Sam Robson at the top and a fifty from Ryan Higgins at number 5, it just wasn’t enough to put the team in a winning position.

Sam Robson is a promising player at the top while Jack Davies and Joe Cracknell hold the key to a comeback in the middle order. A few partnerships from these two could change the fate of Middlesex’s batting department. 

While the bowling hasn’t been top-notch, there have been some impressive individual performances from the likes of Tim Murtagh, Jayant Yadav, and Josh de Caires. However, they’ve failed to perform as a unit when it comes to bowling, and as such the bowling attack doesn’t look quite threatening.

Middlesex Predicted Playing XI:

Mark Stoneman, Sam Robson, Max Holden, Joe Cracknell, Jack Davies, Ryan Higgins, John Simpson (wk), Josh De Caires, Luke Hollman, Toby Roland-Jones (c), Ethan Bamber

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

It is a hard surface at the Trent Bridge which allows the batters to play their shots with confidence as they can execute with best timing on this pitch. The weather forecast is for showers on the first day with a high of 18 degrees Celsius. There will be light right on day 2 and day 3 as well.

Venue Details

Trent Bridge in Nottingham will be the venue for this Test, the last match for both teams in the County Championship Division One. It is one of the most popular venues in England and has hosted 67 Test matches. The average 1st and 2nd innings score here is 300+ though it is quite difficult to chase on this ground in the fourth innings. 

Toss: To Bat

Teams batting first have won three matches at this venue this season. It is a good batting surface and if the team batting first can get past 320-320 runs in the 1st innings, they will be in a strong position to win the match from there.