Middlesex bowling coach Richard Johnson has been delighted with the progress the attack has made through the season.

The Londoners are outsiders for the County Championship but are much improved on last season, where they nearly went down having topped the table in May.

And much of Middlesex's success has been down to the bowling attack, who have taken 160 out of a possible 180 wickets this season.

And Johnson believes that having a settled attack has helped the county climb the championship table.

He said: “We've had this group for three years now so we know Murts will pick up 60-80 wickets. Toby will pick up a high level of wickets.

“It's taken a couple of years to get the results with James and when you add Finny into the pot and I don't think there's a better four bowlers in the country. It's great when they all bowl well together which has been happening recently.”

Harris has been the star of the attack this season and was the first in the country to 50 wickets, including an astonishing nine wicket haul against Durham.

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It is the first season since his move from Glamorgan that the paceman has felt at home at Lord's and Johnson, who was the last man to take 10 wickets in an innings for the county, is delighted with Harris.

He said: James came as a young fast bowler looking to play for England. He was a fantastic signing for us.

“He bowled beautifully in his first game. He came back and then got injured so the first season was affected by that.

“When you move to a new county you feel under pressure to put a performance in. I don't think he found that in his first season because of injuries and it meant that he didn't get the bowling.

“He went away with the Lions and did some great work with Kevin Shine.

“He turns up last year and wants to put performances in. It didn't click. He had a couple of niggles and the process starts again.

“This winter, it was about looking at what he does well and what he's comfortable doing. There's one slight change we did with him and that clicked.

“We knew we were getting a quality performer when we signed him and you'll never find a harder working player than him.”

Harris' wickets should have put him on the England radar and Johnson has no doubt that the paceman has the tools to perform at international level.

He added: “There's been a lot of talk about Australia's bowlers. One thing is pace but you need the skillset.

“James Anderson has shown that as well. With great control you still have a chance. James Harris attacks the off stump every ball. He's got some skiddy pace and he's skilful.”

Tim Murtagh and Toby Roland-Jones have been consistent, although have yet to enjoy the big rewards with the ball at this moment, not that this concerns Johnson.

Consistent: Tim Murtagh

He explained: “If you talk to Tim and Toby they'd say they haven't taken as many wickets as they're used to. They add value as they don't go for runs.

“This season is the best I've seen of Toby Roland-Jones. I don't think I've seen anybody beat the bat as much as he has this year.

“They'd like to see more wickets as he picked up wickets for fun. He picked up more wickets then than now and he's a better bowler. They are a close knit bunch and enjoy each other's successes.”

Steven Finn has been much-talked about after his nightmare 2013/14 but, thanks to Johnson, he is bounced back even stronger this time around.

The coach enthused: "I think the best I've seen Finny bowl. I think he's better than he's ever been. If he gets his opportunity in Test cricket, I don't think he'll look back. He's as good as I've ever seen him.”

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The right armers are backed up by the left arm swingers of James Franklin and the spin of Ollie Rayner, with Ravi Patel waiting in the wings.

Johnson added: “Ravi had a broken finger and it's taken time to get back from that. Ollie keeps it tight and picks up wickets which gives us good variety.”

Tom Helm was a debutant at the start of the season before picking up a back injury and the bowling coach is excited by his potential.

Johnson said: “He's coming back from a back injury so he's started to gently bowl. We may get him back for the last few games of the season.

“He got in the first team at the start of the year on merit. He's an exceptionally young fast bowler who's got a lot of potential.”

Tom Helm

Coming up through the ranks and applying pressure to the regulars are Harry Podmore and Gurjit Sandhu. Both have featured in the Twenty20 Blast but are yet to appear in the County Championship this season.

But Johnson believes that, if they are thrown the ball, they are ready to compete.

He said: “We've got two others at the moment who aren't getting much of a look in. Harry Podmore has bowled a bit in one day cricket.

“He's got some good skills in the white ball. There's so much quality ahead of him in the red ball.

“Gurjit Sandhu, left armer, can swing the ball consistently to off stump. That's quite exciting. We're happy with our bowling resources.

“It's a squad where there's so much cricket and they're bowling an awful lot of overs so the young guys may get their opportunities in white ball games.

“It gives the team, coaches and captain a chance to see you. In this side, if a Podmore, a Helm or a Sandhu play in the first team they've earnt it through hard work and they're not being given an opportunities through others not performing.”

There is always room for improvement, whether you are a Finn or a Sandhu, and Johnson is keen for all of them to iron out the small kinks in their games.

He explained: “There's always room in consistency. Why did you have that poor spell or day, you try and minimise that. Your good percentages can be better. It's all small margins, rather than anything major.”