Specsavers County Championship: Middlesex, Yorkshire and Somerset's key players in title fight
Tuesday 20 September 2016 09:55, UK
After a thrilling Specsavers County Championship season, the battle for the title comes down to the final round as three sides vie for the top spot.
Live County Championship Cricket
Current Division One leaders Middlesex welcome second-placed, and reigning champions, Yorkshire to Lord's on Tuesday, live on Sky Sports 1 from 10am, while the final challengers, Somerset, take on Nottinghamshire at Taunton.
But who is going to make the difference? Here's a handy guide to each team's potential match winners…
MIDDLESEX
Ollie Rayner
It took until August 15 for Middlesex to win their first Championship match of 2016 at Lord's, their sixth fixture at the ground. Crucial to that win was Rayner and his tricky right-arm spin, which took 9-102 against Durham. Repeat that feat this round and Middlesex will likely be county champions for the first time since 1993.
Snubbed by the England selectors for the tour of Bangladesh despite possessing the lowest economy rate (2.82) of any full-time English spinner, Rayner has enjoyed a fantastic year, taking 50 first-class wickets for the first time in his career. With the recent warm weather, expect the leggy off-spinner to have a large say on proceedings.
Nick Gubbins
Also missing out on an England call-up was Middlesex top-scorer Nick Gubbins. Still only 22-years-old, Gubbins has shown temperament beyond his years, producing big hundreds at home and providing determined innings when under pressure away.
This was best demonstrated in the recent clash with Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge when, following Jake Ball's hat-trick to have Middlesex teetering on 0-3, Gubbins struck a gritty 75 to ensure they surpassed Nottinghamshire's first innings score and went on to win.
YORKSHIRE
Jack Brooks
Lord's has been the 'Home of Batsmen', rather than Cricket in general this summer, with 13 centuries scored in six matches, including three double hundreds. So if Yorkshire are to secure the win they require to pick up their third Championship crown in a row, their bowlers will have to be at their best. Central to that plan is seamer Jack Brooks.
Despite an injury-hit season, fans' favourite Brooks continues to dominate Division One, taking 53 wickets going into the final match. A late-bloomer to professional cricket, he signed his first contract at 25, but Brooks has made up for lost time, with his full-pitched nagging line a constant foe for opposition batsmen.
Tim Bresnan
If Yorkshire do go on to lift the Championship trophy this year, much of that will be down to the efforts of Bresnan with both ball and bat. Constantly causing batsmen problems with his relentless accuracy, the 31-year-old recorded his career-best bowling figures of 8-51 against Nottinghamshire earlier this season.
Importantly for Yorkshire, at a time when injuries and absences of players to England hit them hardest, Bresnan became a vital cog in their batting line-up. Deployed in the middle order, he's the club's fifth highest run-scorer in 2016 with 525 runs at 37.50.
SOMERSET
Jack Leach
Another overlooked by England for the tour to Bangladesh, county cricket's leading wicket-taking spinner Leach will have a point to prove as Somerset look to beat the odds and claim the first County Championship title in the club's history. A local lad, Leach is all too aware of what finishing first would mean to the fans.
It has been a breakout year for Leach, who has 61 first-class wickets this summer, with the left-arm spinner performing well on the spinning deck at Taunton as well as away from home, most recently claiming 6-64 in a crucial win over reigning champs Yorkshire at Headingley.
Marcus Trescothick
Twenty-three years may have passed since Trescothick strode out for his Somerset debut, but the opening batsmen is still just as effective at gobbling up runs as he has ever been. The left-hander has more than 1,000 runs in Division One this summer - the third highest run-scorer in 2016, in fact, with 1,191.
In a match where Somerset will likely need to claim all eight bonus points if they're to overtake both Middlesex and Yorkshire for the title, a minimum score of 400 inside 110 overs of their first innings is a must, so Trescothick's experience to get them off to a good start will be crucial.
Watch the thrilling conclusion of the County Championship season with Middlesex, Yorkshire and Somerset fighting it out for the title, live on Sky Sports - coverage of the Middlesex v Yorkshire clash starts on Sky Sports 1 from 10am on Tuesday.
