After a break of 20months or so the County Championship is due to resume.
Middlesex have entered teams in all sections with the fixture dates being:
Open & u1850 & u1450
6/11/2021; 4/12/2021; 22/1/2022; 5/2/2022; 26/2/2022; 12/3/2022
u2050 & u1650
13/11/2021; 11/12/2021; 29/1/2022; 19/2/2022; 5/3/2022; 19/3/2022
The timetable is rough especially in the new year but this is due to the truncated nature of the cycle i.e. the month of October has not been able to be used to host matches.
The last Championship (2019-20) saw Middlesex lift the Open and u160 titles and finish 2nd in the u180, so all told a good return!
It goes without saying that the Open and u160 teams as defending Champions will want to retain their titles however as the fixtures list shows for the u160 (u1850) it will be under very different circumstances. In their wisdom the ECF have decided to adopt 4-digit grades (a move that many in the past have argued would help the Open as it would attract more players) and revise the grading boundaries. In 2009 it was decided to narrow the grading bands from 25 to 20 points which allowed the introduction of a 6th band. The move was welcomed by some, especially the SCCU, as it meant that more players could represent their county. Others though resented the change as it meant a reduction in the pool of players that could be selected from. The ECF decision is to effectively return to pre-2009 conditions. Thus under the new system the grading bands as indicated above are Open, u2050, u1850, u1650 and u1450. Middlesex would argue that that the banding grades are incorrect and that each should be at least 50pts higher. and that with only 5 bands it is probable that some dedicated county players may now not get a game.
Notwithstanding the changes this years county rules are stringent as they have an eye on the COVID world we currently live in. The rules do follow Government guidance regarding masks, sanitising and cleaning but does put a financial pressure on counties, namely, each county team is to have their own playing space, i.e. a bubble. Consequently, counties will have to either have a venue that is able to supply 2 rooms or alternatively use 2 venues. The outcome for Middlesex is that on the assumption we are able to continue using the Child's Hill venue another one will have to be found!
It is hoped that those who have previously represented the county in OTB play pre-COVID and those who joined the Online county teams in the successful 2020 Online County Championship campaigns are able and willing to represent the county in this and future cycles.