Full Name

Nicholas Richard Trail Gubbins

Born

December 31, 1993, Richmond, Surrey

Age

30y 79d

Batting Style

Left hand Bat

Bowling Style

Legbreak

Playing Role

Top order Batter

Education

Radley College; Leeds University

Nick Gubbins' heavy run-scoring was instrumental in Middlesex's 2016 Championship triumph. At 22, he hit 1,409 first-class runs at an average of 61.26 as Middlesex took the title for the first time in 23 years, showing a sound technique and the most enviable of temperaments.

England Lions opportunities followed. But as Middlesex suffered a shock relegation the following summer, Gubbins was one of many whose form deteriorated. When Nasser Hussain proposed him as a solution to England's top-order problems, a hamstring injury meant that there would not be too much study of an average in the mid-20s.

Two hundreds in the North v South series in the Caribbean meant that he approached 2018 with confidence but he suffered further hamstring trouble and made only one hundred in his nine Championship matches to miss the chance to press for England recognition at a time when they were crying out for reliable top-order batsmen.

A lean Lions tour to the UAE in late 2018 was followed by a horror show in the following Championship season, with an average in the low 20s despite a successful 50-over season. By this point in his mid-20s, Gubbins appeared to be treading water, but hundreds against Surrey at The Oval in the Bob Willis Trophy and the 2021 Championship reflected a player of high calibre. Frustrated by playing on the now-standard green seamers at Lord's, he opted for a fresh start with Hampshire, signing on loan in mid-2021 as a precursor to a permanent deal.

Gubbins, a compact left-hander, has gradually broadened his game since making his debut in 2014. He struck four Championship hundreds, including a career-best unbeaten 201 against Lancashire on the sort of unresponsive Lord's pitch that made the title win so creditable. England considered him for the Test party to Bangladesh and India but their surfeit of left-handers was not in his favour and instead he joined up with England Lions.

He made an outstanding start to his Championship career, with three half-centuries in his first four innings in 2014. His game, initially, was built on accumulation rather than domination, but his ability to strike the ball cleanly contributed to a successful Royal London Cup campaign in 2015 which included a maiden Middlesex century against Sussex at Hove, brought up with a six over midwicket. He has also become accustomed to comparisons with another left-handed Middlesex opener from Radley College - Andrew Strauss.


ESPNcricinfo staff

Nick Gubbins Career Stats

Batting & Fielding

FormatMatInnsNORunsHSAveBFSR100s50s4s6sCtSt
FC122215107272201*35.471482949.03163897237460
List A81803317514141.23352190.1781834044270
T20s4641162657*15.65523119.69026216170

Bowling

FormatMatInnsBallsRunsWktsBBIBBMAveEconSR4w5w10w
FC1221429914764/414/4124.502.9449.8100
List A8117486455104/384/3845.505.6148.6100
T20s468162212103/273/2721.207.8516.2000

Recent Matches of Nick Gubbins

MatchBatBowlDateGroundFormat
Hampshire vs Surrey8 & 30--26-Sep-2023SouthamptonFC
Hampshire vs Essex1 & 90/1419-Sep-2023ChelmsfordFC
Hampshire vs Leics20--16-Sep-2023NottinghamList A
Hampshire vs Somerset49 & 139*0/103-Sep-2023SouthamptonFC
Hampshire vs Warwickshire9--29-Aug-2023BirminghamList A

Photos of Nick Gubbins

Lewis Hill and Nick Gubbins pose with the trophy
Nick Gubbins was in the runs for Hampshire
Nick Gubbins roars after bringing up his hundred
Nick Gubbins made back-to-back centuries
Nick Gubbins made a battling hundred
Nick Gubbins drives during a productive third-wicket stand