Middlesex Preview: Compton back, Muyeye still sidelined

If you want the historical background on this there are a number of articles on the club website, written by Jonathan Rice and Jonathan Hanbury, that we can’t better here: we’ll just point out that when this event first took place in 1842, Queen Victoria was five years into her reign, British troops were being massacred in Afghanistan and, in happier news, nobody would know who Simon Jordan was for at least another century and a half.*

There’s one change to the squad that beat Blackpool in three days, with Ben Compton back after recovering from the compound finger dislocation he suffered during the defeat at Worcestershire, a game that already feels like a lifetime ago. Tawanda Muyeye remains unavailable, however, after suffering a concussion during the Blast defeat at home to Essex.

Under the ECB’s protocols Muyeye had to be clear of symptoms for at least ten days and every time these symptoms recur the clock goes back to zero. The only upside of these recurring headaches, is that there’s one less of the selection variety for the management. It would be a surprise if Compton doesn’t come in and there’s no guarantee Kent will stick with two spinners, although the forecast is for four days of hot, dry weather.