Joyce admits uneasy feeling

	Ed Joyce is hoping for a better showing than in the Stanford Super Series as he plays his final games for Middlesex in India © AFP

Middlesex batsman Ed Joyce has admitted he is finding it difficult preparing to represent the club in the Champions League after securing his move to Sussex for next season.

Joyce captained Middlesex to the domestic Twenty20 title in July while he was standing in for Ed Smith, but was replaced before the end of the season by Shaun Udal. It had been rumoured for much of the summer that Joyce was unsettled at Middlesex and keen for a move, and it was confirmed earlier this month that he would be joining Sussex.

Middlesex, though, are facing a shortage of top-order batsmen for the Champions League which starts on December 3 - Andrew Strauss and Owais Shah could be away with England and Smith is leaving the club - and have persuaded Joyce to stay around a little longer.

It could be a lucrative bonus for Joyce, with a significant pay-day looming if Middlesex are successful during the eight-team tournament. Even if they don't reach the final, Joyce's participation fee - along with the same from the Stanford Super Series - means he'll have enjoyed a nice little earner in his final few months with the club.

"It has been a bit strange hanging around the guys and some are my best friends as well," he said at a chilly, blustery Lord's, far removed from the heat of India. "Knowing that I'm leaving is not ideal really, you want a clean break, but hopefully we do well and it will be a good way to send me off."

He added that even when his move to Sussex was signed and sealed, Middlesex were fairly desperate to retain his services for a while longer. "They said that no matter what you do, we want you to go [to India]. Obviously we knew we would be struggling to get Andrew and Owais and Ed Smith isn't going either so it was looking like a team of 19-20 year-olds. They wanted me to go and I was happy to do that."

However, while Joyce knows he is on the plane to India next week he doesn't quite know what to expect when he gets there. "We know where we are staying, but not where we are training," he said. "We haven't got any practice games lined up. Hopefully we can get that sorted because we didn't have them in Antigua [for the Stanford Super Series] and really needed them. But it seems to be pretty well organised."

They will certainly need to hit the ground running, with their opening match against Victoria who will boast the big-hitting talents of David Hussey, Brad Hodge and Cameron White. Joyce said that the team have picked the brain of Dirk Nannes, who helped Middlesex to the Twenty20 but will play for Victoria, and hopes their strong spin attack will be crucial.

"We've had Dirk with us and he's told us about them. They have a simple game plan with four quick bowlers and some strong batting. But hopefully we can outdo them in the spin department which will be key on the wickets in India."

Joyce also sees the tournament as a chance to put the record straight after Middlesex disappointed during the Stanford Super Series. They had a chance to beat England and win their big-money match against Trinidad and Tobago, but in the end came away with three defeats.

"That was the annoying thing about Antigua," he said. "Our memories from it aren't particularly good in terms of the cricket. But it will have helped the younger guys to play in big matches and Eoin Morgan and Dawid Malan played pretty well. It sounds ridiculous to say two 20-year-olds are our best Twenty20 players, but they probably are."

High expectations are something Morgan and Malan will have to get used to. Joyce's departure will leave a big hole at the top of the order. First, though, he has one last duty for his old county.