Match times, streaming information, tickets and travel, team news, head-to-head record, weather forecast, prediction, and everything else you need to know ahead of the latest round of the County Championship...
Fixture: Middlesex v Surrey
Venue: Lord's
Dates: Thursday, April 22, 2021 - Sunday, April 25, 2021
Start time: 11am
What's the lowdown?
Middlesex have had a troubling start to the season: having conspired to throw away a 141-run first-innings lead to lose by four wickets to Somerset in their opener, they fell to a 249-run defeat in their second game at Southampton.
Stuart Law's side beat their London rivals in their own backyard last season by a 190-run margin and will be hoping for a similar performance at Lord’s to kickstart their campaign.
For Surrey, a thumping eight-wicket loss to Gloucestershire in the opening round of fixtures was followed by a high-scoring draw with Leicestershire on a flat Oval pitch.
Their batters made hay, racking up a total of 672 for 8, Surrey’s 10th-highest in first-class cricket. Surrey’s bowlers have been less effective, taking only five second-innings wickets between them across the two rounds of fixtures.
Who's in form?
England tyro Ollie Pope dominated Leicestershire’s attack compiling a stunning 245, six runs short of his career highest score. He shared in partnerships of 234 with 20-year-old Jamie Smith, who registered his first Championship century, and 239 with Ben Foakes, who has 246 runs at 82.00 this term.
With nine wickets at 25.77, 22-year-old seamer Ethan Bamber has been a rare positive amid Middlesex’s torrid start and was a handful at Lord’s against Somerset in the opening week, with match figures of 6 for 101.
Last five first-class matches (most recent first)
Middlesex: LLLWD
Surrey: DLWLL
Head-to-head first-class record
Total matches: 209
Middlesex wins: 56
Surrey wins: 65
Draws: 88
What's the team news?
Middlesex: The big news for Middlesex is that 18 months after signing for the club as four-day and 50-over captain Peter Handscomb will make his debut. With the start of his premiership delayed by one season due to the pandemic, Handscomb arrives in fine form having averaged 46.45 in this season's Sheffield Shield and is taking steps to adapt his game for early spring, English conditions.
Middlesex squad: Peter Handscomb (c), Martin Andersson, Ethan Bamber, Jack Davies, Steven Finn, Nick Gubbins, Tom Helm, Max Holden, Luke Hollman, Tim Murtagh, Sam Robson, Toby Roland-Jones, John Simpson, Robbie White
Surrey: Meanwhile, Surrey continue with a rest and rotation policy for their quicks with Gus Atkinson and Reece Topley switching in for Matt Dunn and Jamie Overton. Rikki Clarke, who has proved his fitness in the second XI, makes his first Championship squad of the summer.
Surrey squad: Rory Burns (c), Hashim Amla, Gus Atkinson, Jordan Clark, Rikki Clarke, Ben Foakes, Will Jacks, Daniel Moriarty, Ollie Pope, Kemar Roach, Jamie Smith, Mark Stoneman, Reece Topley, Amar Virdi
Latest Middlesex news: Click here
Latest Surrey news: Click here
Who's said what?
Reflecting on a tough start to the season Handscomb is encouraged by the mood in the dressing room.
"I think they understand that they were two tough games. We probably lost in a session or two of play and it was then hard to get back from there."
Middlesex's new skipper was particularly impressed by two of his new charges.
"Bamber looks like he's doing some special things with the ball, so he's going to be an exciting prospect to watch this season. And obviously, Robbo (Sam Robson) up the top with the bat was great in that first game."
The controversy surrounding whether Surrey had altered the state of the ball mired the final day’s play against Leicestershire, with play delayed as the umpires called for a change of ball just as it was reversing.
Head coach Vikram Solanki acknowledged that Surrey spoke about "the possibility of getting the ball to reverse by trying to bowl some cross-seamers" but was "adamant that nothing untoward had gone on". He described the umpire’s decision to change the ball as "frustrating".
Surrey have not yet been contacted by the ECB or the match officials in respect of the incident.
What's the weather forecast?
The weather gods have gone all-in on the London derby with no rain scheduled for the four days. Days three and four are likely to come with some cloud cover, but there are unlikely to be any significant delays over the course of the fixture.
Keep up to date with the MetOffice’s rolling forecast for Lord's: Click here
How do I follow the match?
TV/stream: Hampshire will offer live coverage of the match via their website: Click here
All County Championship matches are also available via the ECB's central hub: Click here
The matches can also be viewed on mobile via the ECB app.
Radio: BBC Local Radio and the BBC Sport website will carry ball-by-ball radio commentary of the game.
Digital: The Cricketer will carry live scorecards and daily updates from every County Championship match in 2021, as well as the latest breaking news from around the counties and exclusive features. Visit our County Hub for more.
Going to the game?
Tickets: This match is to be played behind closed doors owing to Covid-19 restrictions.
Travel: Not applicable owing to Covid-19 restrictions.
Prediction?
With an in-form batting unit and a settled Kemar Roach, Surrey will provide sterner opposition to their capital rivals than they did last season. However, Middlesex were in the box-seat for the majority of their opening home fixture and with Surrey's bowling arsenal lacking penetration you'd back their batters to have an easier time of it than they did against Mohammad Abbas and co. Home win.
OTHER MATCH PREVIEWS
Group 1
Worcestershire v Nottinghamshire
Group 2
Group 3
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