Middlesex begin their T20 campaign against Hampshire at Uxbridge on Friday night and newly installed skipper Dawid Malan is looking for an improved tournament.
The shortest form of the game has been a problem for the county since they triumphed in the 2008 edition as Middlesex have not emerged from the group stage since then.
And for Malan, who was ‘honoured’ to be named as skipper, hopes the club’s signings, including Brendon McCullum and Mitchell McClenaghan, will inspire a change in fortunes.
He said: “It’s obviously going to be a big ask to try and improve us – since 2008 we’ve been pretty poor. I think we as a club we know that.
“We’ve made some bigger signings for our Twenty20 cricket and hopefully it all clicks.
“As a team, on paper, we have the players that can win a tournament, we just don’t seem to put those performances together.”
The signing of McCullum, one of the best hitters in the game, has excited Middlesex supporters, but Malan knows every player must step up to impress.
He added: “Hopefully Brendon can change a few games but we can’t rely on him, or [Eoin] Morgan, or [Steven] Finn or [Mitchell] McClenaghan every year.
“The other players in the team have to put their hands up and for us to do that we have to improve our skills.
“The guys are finding the time to work on their white ball skills in the lead up to the tournament, so hopefully when the time comes we can hit the ground running.”
Malan will also benefit from the eventual return of England T20 captain Eoin Morgan, but made it clear that he would be the man in charge.
The captain said: “He’s a great captain, he’s one of the best I’ve played under. With him, McCullum and Frankie around, there’s guys I can feed off.
“But ultimately it’s my ideas, and it’s going to be my stamp and my authority on it. For me to get the best out of the guys, in the way I want to, it has to be the way I want to go about it.”
