With the final round of fixtures played on Tuesday, only one county are sure to be playing in the quarter-finals
Middlesex, having lost just one of seven matches to date, cannot be caught for a top three slot in Group B and will play in the knockout phase on Friday or Sunday or both – it’s complicated. The better of their two wins last week came at Chester-le-Street and proved another fine advert for retaining the 50 overs format, providing a thoroughgoing test for all 22 players and a fine day out for the public.
After all the batting unit (bar Emilio Gay, who retired hurt), had contributed to Durham’s 303/7, the match was set up perfectly for a tight chase. Though none of the visitors could match Alex Lees’ century, there were solid contributions through the Middlesex XI but when Zafar Gohar was seventh man out with 30 still to get in 16 balls, it looked like a long trip back to London.
