North Middlesex youngster Luke Hollman and team-mate Joe Cracknell missed out on club action this week as they both had the honour of being selected in the Middlesex squad for their Vitality Blast T20 clashes at Lord’s.
Middlesex suffered a three-wicket defeat to Sussex in their latest clash on Tuesday, but the positive note was 19-year-old Hollman who impressed by picking up two wickets.
He received huge praise from captain and former England star Steven Finn for his performance.
“Luke (Hollman) is an exciting young player who has been doing very well in league cricket,” Finn said.
“He’d have been nervous coming here to play T20 against a very good Sussex team, so for him to take a couple of wickets is a big confidence booster for everyone.”
Hollman (2-33) claimed the scalps of Delray Rawlins and Ravi Bopara – who won the Double with Essex in 2019 – and proved to be a huge loss for North Middlesex as they suffered a seven-wicket defeat to title challenging Ealing at the weekend.
Captain James Parslow saw his side bowled out for just 115 after winning the toss and electing to bat first.
Gareth James top scored with 27, but Midd could not prevent Ealing reaching their target in 34 overs with the only positive being young Ethan Bamber (3-12) picking up the wickets that did fall in a tight 10-over spell.
Defeat saw Midd drop to fifth, but there was better news on Bank Holiday Monday as they sealed their place in the Middlesex Cup final with a 76-run victory over Brondesbury.
North Midd were bowled out for 175 with Will Vanderspar (69) leading the way with the bat before they dismissed James Overy’s men out for just 99 thanks to a superb effort from Hugh Teesdale who had a four-wicket haul in the match.
They will now face Ealing in the cup final which will be played a week after the league season comes to an end on Saturday, September 19.
But prior to that they still have two more league fixtures, including a home match against Finchley on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the North Middlesex under-21s will be hoping to bag some silverware this weekend as they battle for the Middlesex Cricket Board Development League Shield with Teddington on Sunday.
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