Rayner on raising the bar
The Middlesex spinner reflects on last year's memorable Championship victory and even tougher challenges ahead
ESPNcricinfo staff
01-Apr-2017
Speaking to Ali Martin in the Observer, Middlesex's Ollie Rayner talks about defending their Championship title, his improvements as a spinner... and trying to break into his own house after celebrating dramatic victory on the final day of the season at Lord's:
"We are the bar now," says Rayner. "It's not about who won back-to-back titles before us [Yorkshire] - we are the holders and the target. People have not backed us in recent years - despite being a big club at Lord's - and that has worked in our favour. But now we won't be taken lightly. The trick is to be unaffected by the pressures of that.
"And I know batsmen will work harder against me. Before they may have spent their preparation working out how to negate Roland-Jones, Steve Finn, Tim Murtagh and think Rayner just bowls a bit of spin. But now they will have plans and I will need to counter that."