Andrew Gale: Treble looks impossible for any side to achieve
From the outset, you want to win three trophies. But I believe that with the way cricket is going now that no-one will ever win all three because you almost need two squads of players.
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Hide AdAnd with the injuries that we have had over the course of the year and the call-ups, players have played a lot more cricket than they originally would have.
It gets to this time of year when there are a few tired bodies around. But I guess it is the same for everyone and this is why you do all the hard yards in winter in making sure your fitness levels are good.
Looking at the County Championship title race, there is always a twist and it is in black and white now that we have to go to Lord’s and win, which we are more than capable of doing.
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Hide AdTwo weeks ago, people would not have given Somerset a chance. But look at what they have done after coming here and turning us over.
But there is no reason why we cannot go to Lord’s and win the game there.
In my opinion, the pressure is on them (Middlesex) and they have not won a Championship for a long time and they have been top of the table for the past two or three months.
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Hide AdWe have just got to go there and play our attacking brand of cricket and see where it takes us. Obviously, we will have to play better than against Somerset. We did not play anywhere near the way we wanted to with our home record and did not see that coming at all.
Ultimately, the first two sessions cost us the game and we were always trying to chase our way back into it.
We were bitterly disappointed with the way we performed and had we got a win, we would have been somewhere near now.
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Hide AdIt was not great coming off after losing to Somerset. But even if Middlesex had won, we probably would have had to go to Lord’s chasing a victory and keeping them down to bonus points as well.
It does not really change things that much. We have to go there and win.
Looking back to the Somerset game, from the outset you ask yourself the same questions.
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Hide AdWe were switched on and did we prepare right? To be honest, we did nothing different to what we have done for the last few years.
The preparation was good and the lads were fired up during the morning of the game and we spoke about how we wanted to play.
But we just found ourselves four down at lunch and bowled out by tea and if you have a bad couple of sessions in first-class cricket, it costs you the game and we ended up chasing the game from there.
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Hide AdIt was a lot flatter pitch than it has been at Headingley for a while and had we scrapped our way to 250-plus, I would have backed us to be right in the game. But it was just one of those things; there were a few tired bodies around with the bowlers and maybe, looking back, we could have freshened things up.
But ultimately, it was not the bowling that cost us the game.
It is frustrating that Jake Lehmann won’t be around after his century for the final game of the season at Middlesex next week.
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Hide AdIt is just another annoyance with the situation with overseas players.
It happened with Kane Williamson early this year. When we got him here, he was absolutely mentally shot and then he had to go back early and Travis Head couldn’t get his visa in time and now Lehmann has to leave early.
It is just one of those things with overseas players and you end up banging your head against a brick wall and it is becoming harder and harder to get someone for a long period of time.