Post by arf on May 19, 2013 6:53:20 GMT
With the onset of May the ECF Stage began in earnest for Middlesex. The Open and u180 had mixed fortunes in the SCCU Stage but both know the National Stage is an altogether different beast. To paraphrase a hackneyed cliché, ‘The Regional Stage is a marathon but the National Stage is a sprint, a winner takes all slugfest’ and boy did they take all last time out! The 2011-12 Cycle sees both teams make it all the way to the Finals and win their respective sections, would the 2012-13 Cycle see a repeat of the feat and with it the squads once again record another significant piece of Middlesex and County Championship history?
Match reports for the 2011-12 cycle mentioned that it is a rare feat for a county to win the Open and u180 titles, how much rarer a defence of both titles! The last time the teams defended their National titles were in 1986-87 (Open – the last of a hat-trick under R. Jennings (1984-87)) and 1991-92 (2nd Team as was – incidentally also the last of a hat-trick – under the contiguous captaincy of A. Lawrence (1989-91) and M. Kobylka (1991-92)). For the record in the current cycle Middlesex have three teams competing in National Stages – Open, u180 and u140 (congratulations to u140 who also enter the National Stage as Regional Champions). The u160 missed out this year the slow start to their campaign hindered their chances but a strong finish to the cycle bodes well for the 2013-14 Cycle. It is hoped the u120 and u100 teams can sort themselves out so that Middlesex have a full complement of teams competing in inter-county events.
The draw was kind to the 3 teams as all enter the QF Stage of the National Stage and if successfully negotiated there were high hopes (as always!) that all would make it to Warwick for Finals Day (ok the announcement on the SCCU and ECF websites on 1st April (!!!) is acknowledged as an April Fool’s Joke and your author has no problem admitting he fell for it hook, line and sinker! ) Anyhow, the QF pairings are: Open vs. Warwickshire; u180 vs. Devon and u140 vs. Yorkshire. All matches played on 18th May with Open team travelling to Oxford; u180 to Salisbury and u140 to Leicestershire.
Unlike the 2011-12 campaign where the Open and u180 teams had a pleasant sojourn to Bicester for their QF matches, the 2012-13 campaign sees your author having to make a decision – which team to travel with? When considering what is in the best interest of the county the decision is made for him as with Middlesex seen as overwhelming favourites against Warwickshire in the Open match and the u180 squad being smaller than in previous cycles your author has to travel with the u180 because at the very least he has to play for the team. This is a novelty as recent cycles he has had the pleasure of being an occasional playing captain. The captaincy reins of Open team are therefore passed onto Nevil.
Wishing all the teams well in the QF.
Go on the Middlesex!
Match reports for the 2011-12 cycle mentioned that it is a rare feat for a county to win the Open and u180 titles, how much rarer a defence of both titles! The last time the teams defended their National titles were in 1986-87 (Open – the last of a hat-trick under R. Jennings (1984-87)) and 1991-92 (2nd Team as was – incidentally also the last of a hat-trick – under the contiguous captaincy of A. Lawrence (1989-91) and M. Kobylka (1991-92)). For the record in the current cycle Middlesex have three teams competing in National Stages – Open, u180 and u140 (congratulations to u140 who also enter the National Stage as Regional Champions). The u160 missed out this year the slow start to their campaign hindered their chances but a strong finish to the cycle bodes well for the 2013-14 Cycle. It is hoped the u120 and u100 teams can sort themselves out so that Middlesex have a full complement of teams competing in inter-county events.
The draw was kind to the 3 teams as all enter the QF Stage of the National Stage and if successfully negotiated there were high hopes (as always!) that all would make it to Warwick for Finals Day (ok the announcement on the SCCU and ECF websites on 1st April (!!!) is acknowledged as an April Fool’s Joke and your author has no problem admitting he fell for it hook, line and sinker! ) Anyhow, the QF pairings are: Open vs. Warwickshire; u180 vs. Devon and u140 vs. Yorkshire. All matches played on 18th May with Open team travelling to Oxford; u180 to Salisbury and u140 to Leicestershire.
Unlike the 2011-12 campaign where the Open and u180 teams had a pleasant sojourn to Bicester for their QF matches, the 2012-13 campaign sees your author having to make a decision – which team to travel with? When considering what is in the best interest of the county the decision is made for him as with Middlesex seen as overwhelming favourites against Warwickshire in the Open match and the u180 squad being smaller than in previous cycles your author has to travel with the u180 because at the very least he has to play for the team. This is a novelty as recent cycles he has had the pleasure of being an occasional playing captain. The captaincy reins of Open team are therefore passed onto Nevil.
Wishing all the teams well in the QF.
Go on the Middlesex!