Middlesex's championship form world apart from one-day struggles

Middlesex this year were tipped for relegation by many aficionados. Shorn of the mainstay of their batting in Chris Rogers this year and having grimly preserved their Division One status in 2014 with a nail biting draw which sent Lancashire to the depths of Division Two instead, grey skies were looming over those whose daily grind is played out at Headquarters in 2015.

However, Middlesex sit proudly second in Division One, with only the might of Yorkshire above them in the table. Yet the natives of Lord's are restless and this is due to the North London side's form in one day cricket. How can a team who have performed with such distinction in the four day game struggle so much in the shorter format?

The nadir of the Middlesex season was a crushing ten-wicket loss a couple of weeks ago at the Rose Bowl to Hampshire in the Royal London Cup. In a game that meant that the après match show from Irish boy band Boyzone had to be moved forward to accommodate the waiting masses on the South Coast, those who had travelled to Southampton were fuming.

For another Irishman at the venue that day in Eoin Morgan, this led to him being rested by the county for a few weeks at a crucial time of the cricketing calendar, a move that has led to eyebrows being raised about a player who went to the IPL in the early season, following the poor showing by England in the World Cup. On top of an abysmal showing in the NatWest T20 Blast, a trend that has continued for several seasons now, the three Seaxes on the Middlesex badge were being sharpened for Angus Fraser.

Throw in the shock resignation of Vinny Codrington and overseas player Adam Voges being called up to the Australia side, despite the fantastic form in the four day game, it was crunch time. Life really has been a roller coaster for Middlesex fans this year, as an Irish boy band singer once told us.

It is not all doom and gloom though. A side with the nucleus in their mid twenties that should be around for years, shows plenty of promise. The likes of John Simpson, one of the finest glovemen in the country, Toby Roland-Jones, James Harris, Sam Robson, Dawid Malan and Steven Finn, England duties aside, this group of players should be there or thereabouts in the longer form of cricket. With the experience of skipper James Franklin and 2015 beneficiary Tim Murtagh who has just taken his 500th wicket for the county still going strong, and the emergence of younger home grown players such as Nick Gubbins, Ravi Patel, Gurjit Sandhu and Harry Podmore, the future looks bright in NW8.

Middlesex finally seem to be producing home grown English talent; a sort of cricketing Clause 4, nationalising the game which should please a certain Member of Parliament for Islington North, just a short journey from St John's Wood. They have even produced the goods without an outstanding overseas player following Voges departure and the average form of his replacement, Joe Burns.

Their only loss this year has been at the hands of a Jonny Bairstow inspired Yorkshire, and no Middlesex fan in their wildest dreams expected them to be sitting second. The county who have been consistently inconsistent, much to the chagrin of those who inhabit the Compton and Edrich stands, were expected to finish mid table, or even worse depending on whether the glass is half full or half empty.

The ability to beat the best a la Yorkshire last season, yet lose to the worst has made following Middlesex frustrating in recent years, but this year there seems to be more of a consistency to their results. They are finally winning the close battles as the results away at Somerset and the 20 run win last week at home to Sussex proved. The big players such as Eoin Morgan might not have performed so well, but the team spirit and a will to win have seen them looking down on most of the Division One table.

So why the civil unrest? For me, the county are moving in the right direction. Yes, the form in one day cricket isn't ideal but look back a few years when Middlesex were languishing in the depths of Division Two, and the fans should be careful what they wish for. A look across the muddy brown Thames, to the muddy brown colour of the caps of Surrey or even casting their eyes further around the South East to Kent or Essex, tells us that Middlesex are punching above their weight. Cricket might not be a catchweight contest, but financially the county are featherweights compared to some of the heavyweight financial clout of the sides in Division One.

For that, and where they sit at present, the county should be applauded.