Middlesex (H)

[nat]

Our players are mostly not suited to one day cricket and have over performed in winning seven games. I have watched 4 games at Chelmsford - Hampshire, Somerset, Kent and Middlesex - lost the lot and weren’t even competitive or even at the races in the first three. Shame last night that our early batsmen could not show the same altitude as the Middlesex numbers 9 and 10. Championship principal bowlers Harmer and Cook usually far less effective and comparatively expensive, I.e. Harmer costing 45 runs in 2 overs last night.

Let's face it the ground is unsuitable for bish-bash-bosh cricket. Miss-hits go for 6, the games are a boundary fest.

[Niel01]

Sadly the prospect of us beating Surrey at The Oval to qualify for QF’s looks pretty remote !!

[dazedpenguin]

Surrey need a win to secure a home quarter final, so no chance of them resting key players.

But on their day I think this Essex team can beat anyone else in the group. They can also lose to anyone else. Somerset also need to beat Kent. So it would be very Essex to beat Surrey while Kent beat Somerset.

[Reddevil]

That is exactly why we should never write off our beloved team. Anything is possible especially T20, witness Middlesex’s most unlikely win against Surrey recently.

Essex must be one of the most consistently inconsistent teams ever.

Come on you Eagles, surprise us all.

[Mog]

Our players are mostly not suited to one day cricket and have over performed in winning seven games. I have watched 4 games at Chelmsford - Hampshire, Somerset, Kent and Middlesex - lost the lot and weren’t even competitive or even at the races in the first three. Shame last night that our early batsmen could not show the same altitude as the Middlesex numbers 9 and 10. Championship principal bowlers Harmer and Cook usually far less effective and comparatively expensive, I.e. Harmer costing 45 runs in 2 overs last night.

Let's face it the ground is unsuitable for bish-bash-bosh cricket. Miss-hits go for 6, the games are a boundary fest.

Indeed. I'd further suggest the ground is unsuitable for professional cricket.
Frankly, the abysmal and seemingly abandoned Baron Park would perhaps be a better venue for all T20 home matches.

[bwildered]

 Surprised we got that total after a stuttering start, thanks to the middle order. Ground is hard to defend, but the same for both sides, so full credit to them in chasing it down. These games are literally based on getting results on fine margins eg one boundary or catch, which proved to be the case.
 You still have to be in it to win it though .
 

[Andy]

Our players are mostly not suited to one day cricket and have over performed in winning seven games. I have watched 4 games at Chelmsford - Hampshire, Somerset, Kent and Middlesex - lost the lot and weren’t even competitive or even at the races in the first three. Shame last night that our early batsmen could not show the same altitude as the Middlesex numbers 9 and 10. Championship principal bowlers Harmer and Cook usually far less effective and comparatively expensive, I.e. Harmer costing 45 runs in 2 overs last night.

Let's face it the ground is unsuitable for bish-bash-bosh cricket. Miss-hits go for 6, the games are a boundary fest.

Indeed. I'd further suggest the ground is unsuitable for professional cricket.
Frankly, the abysmal and seemingly abandoned Baron Park would perhaps be a better venue for all T20 home matches.

Surely it’s perfect? Short boundaries, big mishits going for six!

[Perov]

In the Cricinfo most valuable player list for T20 this season, of all the counties , we have TWO in the top four. Top of the list is Sams  at number 4 is Critchley. 

[Crisp]

In the Cricinfo most valuable player list for T20 this season, of all the counties , we have TWO in the top four. Top of the list is Sams  at number 4 is Critchley.

Most on here were sending Sams back to convict land before he had started, if I was JS I would be signing him up for next season as well, cos if we don't Surrey will.

For me Critchley has been the player of the year by a country mile.

[spirali]

get to finals day. You never know what could happen

Yes. Worth remembering that when we won the trophy in 2019, we'd only just scraped through the group stage.

[Andy]

In the Cricinfo most valuable player list for T20 this season, of all the counties , we have TWO in the top four. Top of the list is Sams  at number 4 is Critchley.

For me Critchley has been the player of the year by a country mile.

To think some people couldn't understand why we brought him in.

[SirChef26]

get to finals day. You never know what could happen

Yes. Worth remembering that when we won the trophy in 2019, we'd only just scraped through the group stage.

I maintain and always will that we weren’t a great team when we won it.

It’s incredible when you look back at everything that went our way. Glamorgan won their first game of the competition in the last round to send us through and dump out Hampshire. Playing the quarter final in Durham instead of Old Trafford due to the Ashes. Edgbaston being a rank turner on finals day which suited our skill set perfectly. Drawing Derbyshire in the semi finals. Winning both tosses on the day. You’ll honestly never see the likes of it again.

As for Chelmsford. Ultimately both teams have to bowl on it so the excuse about the ground doesn’t wash for me. You can’t lose three wickets in the powerplay and expect to win games of T20 cricket. Plus our fielding has gone to pieces in the last few games which again suggests that we’ve a team who can’t handle pressure. Feroze Khushi is the obvious example. Dropped a crucial catch vs Hampshire under pressure and misfielded last night for the winning run.

[essexspur]

Hopefully we win the toss for a change, bowl first and Surrey hit us for 300. I don't want to see this lot embarrass the standard and reputation of the Blast by calling themselves quarter-finalists.

So We beat Surrey. I guess you’ll be rooting for Kent now