Middlesex's First Team Coach, Richard Johnson, has named a thirteen-man squad for the trip to Cardiff to take on Glamorgan in the Club' s second match of this year's LV= Insurance County Championship campaign.
After a solid performance in the opening round of four-day matches, when Middlesex and Derbyshire played out a draw at Lord's, Johnson's squad goes through a number of significant changes for the trip to Wales - with two injured players returning to the squad, two injured players missing out, and three new additions coming in.
Firstly, both Sam Robson and Martin Andersson return to the squad having missed out against Derbyshire, with Robson recovering from a thumb injury and Andersson recovering from a side strain. Spinner Thilan Walallawita is also named and recalled to the squad, giving Johnson a frontline spin option, after Josh De Caires was heavily relied on against Derbyshire.
Whilst having Robson and Andersson back from injury is a massive positive, the squad receives a significant blow with two notable absentees. Firstly, Tim Murtagh misses out, as the veteran seamer sustained a grade one tear to his hamstring on the final day of the Derbyshire clash. Also missing out is Stephen Eskinazi, who fractured his thumb whilst fielding in the slips during the same game when taking a catch off Tom Helm. It's a big blow for Eskinazi, who would have loved the opportunity to have built on the hundred he scored at Lord's in the season opener.
Peter Handscomb returned to the Club this week from Australia, having led his state side Victoria to the Sheffield Shield final, and he will lead Middlesex out as Captain. Returning to the UK with an average approaching fifty, he returns in great form, and having worked closely with Victoria's coach Chris Rogers over the winter, Handscomb is keen to hit the ground running on his second year with the Club.
Also coming in to the squad to make his debut is ICC World Cricketer of the Year, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and he will slot straight into the Middlesex pace attack. The Pakistan ace arrived in London this week, trained with the squad this week at both Merchant Taylors' and Lord's, and is raring to go down in Cardiff on his Middlesex debut.
Middlesex have named the following thirteen man squad:
Peter Handscomb (captain)
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Martin Andersson
Ethan Bamber
Josh De Caires
Tom Helm
Max Holden
Sam Robson
Toby Roland-Jones
John Simpson (wk)
Mark Stoneman
Thilan Walallawita
Robbie White
Glamorgan
Middlesex
