County Championship preview: Middlesex

2009 in a nutshell The only thing they were battling for in the championship was the wooden spoon, which they narrowly avoided. And their Twenty20 title defence was a disaster as they finished bottom of their group. The only ray of light was in the Pro40, where they finished as runners-up in division two. LV County Championship Division 2 8th Pro 40 Division 2 2nd Friends Provident Trophy Knocked out at group stage Twenty20 Cup Knocked out at group stage What they'll be playing in this season LV County Championship Division 2 Clydesdale Bank Pro40 Group B Friends Provident Twenty20 – South Captain Shaun Udal. Now in his 21st year of county cricket, surely you don't need another introduction? Middlesex extended his contract, so they must feel he is doing something right. Coach Richard Scott. Formerly an all-rounder with Gloucestershire and Hampshire, Scott was promoted from coaching the Second XI by the director of cricket, Angus Fraser, who is very much the dominant character in the club's management set-up. Ins and outs In Iain O'Brien (Leicestershire), Paul Stirling (Ireland), Scott Newman (Surrey), Tom Smith (Sussex), Josh Davey (youth), Toby Roland-Jones, Pedro Collins (Surrey), Adam Gilchrist, David Warner Out Nick Compton (Somerset), Billy Godleman (Essex), David Nash (retire), Alan Richardson (Worcestershire), Chris Silverwood (retired to join Essex as bowling coach), Murali Kartik (Somerset), Ben Scott (Worcestershire, loan starting on 3 April for minimum of four weeks) Overseas players Priorities for the season become pretty clear when you look at their summer signings. Australia's Adam Gilchrist and Twenty20 hotshot David Warner are two of the Indian Premier League's most successful players. Both join Middlesex for the Twenty20 Trophy. Sachin Tendulkar withdrew from negotiations, while his India team-mate Yuvraj Singh was signed but became unavailable. Key player Owais Shah. Even with new signing Scott Newman on board and young star Dawid Malan in the middle order, Middlesex's batting looks a little light. Shah is capable of dominating in all forms of the game, it just depends how he cares to react to being dropped by England. Ashes factor Steven Finn would only have seemed an outside bet at best until two months ago, but after a sound tour of Bangladesh there is no doubt he will be in England's thinking. Eoin Morgan will be looking to prove his worth in the four-day game with a view to cracking England's Test side, and of course Andrew Strauss will be playing at the start of the season. Prediction for 2010 Third in Division 2. Signing Collins and O'Brien has added experience to their bowling unit, if not necessarily much penetration. They would seemingly settle for a strong showing in the Twenty20 with a view to qualifying for the Champions League, and with Gilchrist and Warner on board their chances of doing that must be good.