Royal London One-Day Cup Playoff 2, Middlesex vs Lancashire: Preview, likely XIs, predictions

On May 9, Middlesex will host Lancashire for the second Playoff of the Royal London One-Day Cup, at Lord’s. Middlesex have won the title just once, in 1992, though they have won the Gillette Cup four times and the Benson & Hedges Cup twice. Lancashire, on the other hand, have clinched the Royal London One-Day Cup five times, though never in this century.

Middlesex are coming into the match after winning 3 on a trot, against Somerset, Glamorgan, and Kent. They have crossed 360 thrice in the tournament, and have bowled out their opposition 5 times in 8 matches.

Lancashire’s run of 5 wins came to a halt with a 5-wicket defeat against Warwickshire on May 4. Their peak performance came at Old Trafford last month, when they bowled out Leicestershire for 80 and won by 9 wickets.

Head to head

Lancashire have beaten Middlesex 30 times in List A cricket and lost 20 times. Their last match, a league clash at Blackpool four years ago, was a tight one.

Lancashire had bowled out Middlesex for 161 that day, Tom Bailey taking 3/31. But Junaid Khan (3/32) hit back to reduce Lancashire to 93/6. Then James Faulkner (35) and Jordan Clark (29) had to fight hard to seal a 2-wicket win for Lancashire.

Key players

Nathan Sowter (Middlesex): There is little doubt over the fact that, with 24 wickets (3 more than anyone else), leg-spinner Sowter has been the bowler of the tournament so far. A whopping 17 of these have come in his last 5 matches; his finest show, 31 and 4/37, came in the London derby against Surrey.

Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire): Mahmood’s 21 wickets in the tournament are just behind are just behind Sowter’s 24. His last 3 matches have been ordinary (though he slammed 45 against Warwickshire). However, his finest show came in consecutive matches in end-April, when he scythed through Northamptonshire with 6/37, then Leicestershire with 5/14.

Likely XIs

Middlesex: Sam Robson, Max Holden, Nick Gubbins, Ross Taylor, Stevie Eskinazi (c), George Scott, John Simpson (wk), Toby Roland-Jones, James Harris, Nathan Sowter, Tom Helm.

Lancashire: Keaton Jennings, Haseeb Hameed, Brooke Guest (wk), Jake Lehmann, Rob Jones, Dane Vilas (c), Josh Bohannon, Steven Croft, Saqib Mahmood, James Anderson, Matt Parkinson.

Prediction

Middlesex to make the most of their home advantage and win.