Can things get any worse for Middlesex in Twenty20 cricket? writes Mark Baldwin.

They finished rock bottom of the NatWest T20 Blast’s South Group last season – and this season it is no better, with eight losses from their ten games so far.

They are five points adrift at the foot of the South Group again ahead of tomorrow’s clash with third-placed Essex at Old Deer Park in Richmond.

Eoin Morgan, the Middlesex and England one-day captain, has found it difficult to explain his side’s lamentable – and long-term – form in the T20 Blast arena.

“I can’t put my finger on why things have been so tough,” said Morgan, who is relishing the visits of New Zealand star Jesse Ryder and former Australian international Shaun Tait.

Teddington batsman Dawid Malan’s return from injury – he scored 182 not out in a County Championship Division draw with Nottinghamshire this week – should help boost the batting, while John Simpson has also responded well to being promoted in the T20 order.

Paul Stirling, however, remains – with Morgan – Middlesex’s most potent weapon, and the Ireland international still has much to work on with his own game.

Stirling, 24, has scored 343 runs from eight innings at the top of Middlesex’s T20 batting line-up, but it is his off spin bowling which he is hoping to develop during this year’s competition.

“I’m regarded as the number two spinner to George Dockrell with Ireland now,” said the Ulsterman.

“It’s important that I get a few overs under my belt with Middlesex. In the past I’ve bowled a few more overs than I’ve done so far, but hopefully I can get a few more spells in before the end of the group stages.

“I’ve been working on my variations, but the way you bowl does tend to differ between Lord’s and our outgrounds like Richmond and Uxbridge.”