Nottinghamshire are set to make three enforced changes to their LV= County Championship team ahead of the visit of Middlesex starting on Sunday.

James Taylor misses out with the leg injury that saw him bat with a runner in the 113-run victory over Worcestershire.

The England batsman is replaced in the squad by the returning Steven Mullaney who scored 119 not out in the Second XI’s victory over Derbyshire.

“Going away and getting runs is what I needed to do,” the all-rounder said. “I’ve done that so hopefully I can kick-on from that bit of form and get a big one against Middlesex.

“It’s been a disappointing season so far, but I do feel in-form because I’ve been getting a lot of starts. 

“It’s been a mixture of everything and there have been some decent balls and one-or-two unfortunate decisions. But the stats don’t lie, it’s my own fault, I’ve got to concentrate for longer and bat for a long period of time.

“I’ve got 420 runs, only at just below 27, and I do believe a big score is around the corner.

“It’s nice to see the new ball off, but I’ve got to cash-in after that and really go big. It’s about putting big scores on for the team that the big lads can go out and defend.”

Fast bowlers Luke Fletcher and Andrew Carter are both unavailable due to the injuries they sustained in last week’s fixture. Luke Wood, who was rested against Worcestershire, returns to the 12-man party alongside Harry Gurney and Jake Ball.

Ben Hilfenhaus and Brett Hutton, who bowled 89 overs between them in the previous match, are likely to backup their marathon efforts as Trent Bridge hosts its second four day fixture in successive weeks.

Nottinghamshire’s LV= County Championship season began against tomorrow’s opposition at Lord’s, a game that was dominated by Mick Newell’s men before a late rearguard action secured a draw for the home side.

Middlesex have since gone on to win four, draw three and lose one of their subsequent eight fixtures to occupy third place in the table.

“They gutsed-out a draw against us down at Lord’s and now they’re playing some good cricket,” said Mullaney.

“They’ve got some world class players, they’ve had some good results and we’ll have to play well to compete. 

“But we’re looking up and not down. If we can get another win this week against Middlesex, it’s tight all over the table and we can comtinue to climb.”

 

Nottinghamshire squad to face Middlesex (from): Jake Ball, Harry Gurney, Alex Hales, Ben Hilfenhaus, Brett Hutton, Michael Lumb, Steven Mullaney, Samit Patel, Chris Read, Brendan Taylor, Riki Wessels and Luke Wood.

 

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