MIDDLESEX V SURREY at Lord's (Royal London One-Day Cup), 3 JUNE 2018

Sixth plays host to eighth in the South Group in what is, for both, a make-or-break contest. Yes, there's a lot more than pride at stake for Surrey, which seems astonishing given the nature of their losses to Somerset (which the Cidermen clinched with 28.3 overs to spare) and Kent (with almost 20 overs still in the bank). But, if Gloucestershire were to lose their clashes with Kent and Middlesex and Surrey were to follow up a victory over their London rivals, tomorrow, with a win over Glamorgan on Wednesday, there's still hope of progressing to the eliminators for the Oval outfit.

The dangers Surrey need to be wary of at Lord's are, with the bat, Paul Stirling (321 Royal London runs at an average of 53.50) and the returning Eoin Morgan, who averages 62.50 against them in List A cricket. Looking at the Middlesex attack, the key has been the form of spinners Ravi Patel (14 victims at 21.14) and Nathan Sowter, backed up by James Franklin's intelligent left-arm seam and Steve Finn's ability to grab wickets. As an England fan, it's great to see Finn back in action again.

Looking at the List A career records of Surrey's players against Middlesex, one stat stands out - only two players have clocked up more than 100 one-day runs against the North Londoners (Rikki Clarke 108 at an average of 27.00 and Ben Foakes, who has made 100 in one completed innings).

Surrey v Middlesex - List A Records Sheet

If he plays, Scott Borthwick will be making his 100th List A appearance. Rikki Clarke (146) is approaching 150 one-day career wickets. From a Middlesex perspective, Steven Finn (196) is closing in on 200 List A wickets and Eoin Morgan (who is fit again after chipping a bone in a finger) could be given his 325th one-day career outing.

Surrey name an unchanged squad from the fourteen that travelled (albeit not very far) to Beckenham. I'm told Jason Roy's apparent injury to the right hand was just some jarring and that he will definitely play at Lord's tomorrow.

Batting second wins. All six of Surrey's most recent List A visits to Headquarters, to play Middlesex, have been won by the side chasing.

P.Stirling, N.Gubbins, S.Eskinazi, E.Morgan, M.Holden, J.Simpson (wk), J.Franklin, N.Sowter, T.Helm, S.Finn (capt) and R.Patel.

Mark Saggers and Billy Taylor.

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