Middlesex have the squad to challenge for the County Championship, according to county legend Andrew Strauss.
The Lord’s county just scraped survival last season with only an excellent start, prior to the limited overs campaign starting, saving them from the relegation trapdoor.
The former England and Middlesex captain is now targeting an upturn in one day cricket and is hopeful of seeing more silverware under lock and key at Lord’s.
He told GetWestLondon : “I’m really excited about the squad they’ve got and their prospects for the season.
“We’ve always been pretty strong in Championship cricket over the past four or five years and we should be challenging for a top three position and there’s no reason why we can’t win it.
“We want to see an upturn in our one-day fortunes so the Twenty20 and one-day competitions are important. Hopefully we will get up a good head of steam and bring home some silverware.”
Middlesex added Adam Voges in the off-season, although they will lose him after four matches to join up with the Australia squad, while James Franklin will provide some all-round experience, with Strauss excited by the prospects for the forthcoming campaign.
He added: “I really feel positive about the squad at the moment. Adam Voges has had a fantastic season in Australia and Franklin is going to provide a lot of steel in one day cricket so we’ve got an exciting season ahead of us.”
Strauss has been working with the Middlesex academy in recent weeks and he is enthused by the potential of stars to come. He explained: “I’ve worked with some much younger players. There’s a lot of talent there.
“The challenge for them from 16 and 17 to making it to professional cricket is a massive step, so they need to work as hard as they can.
Middlesex open their County Championship campaign against Nottinghamshire at Lord’s with the game running from April 12 to 15.
