Tuesday 23 September 2014 10:58, UK
Lancashire know only a win will do against relegation rivals Middlesex if they are to avoid the drop from Division One of the LV= County Championship.
In a quirk of the fixture list, the two counties still in danger of joining already-doomed Northamptonshire in the second tier next season face each other at Old Trafford in the final week of the domestic season.
The Red Rose county are currently 19 points behind their opponents and need to not only triumph on home soil but also gain four more bonus points than Middlesex if they are to overtake them in the table.
“At the end of the day, if we play good cricket and win, we’re going to be unlucky if we don’t pip them to the post," left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan told Lancashire's official website.
“If we do go down, it won’t be because of this game, it will be because of the other games we’ve played before that.
“You are where you are for a reason. It’s just not come together for us apart from a couple of games really. Northants at home when we got a big score was the one that stands out.
“We’ve not played really, really poor cricket at any stage of the season. There have been times when we’ve played some really good cricket."
Their hopes of pulling off a great escape in front of the Sky Sports cameras are boosted by the return of Junaid Khan; the Pakistan bowler will play in just his second first-class match for the county.
The left-arm seamer takes the place of fellow overseas player Usman Khawaja, the Australian batsman having gone home to play for Queensland, and his availability is a timely boost – the hosts are without injured duo Tom Smith and Kabir Ali, as well as England’s James Anderson.
Middlesex, who are also missing their own international strike bowler, Steven Finn, drew with Somerset at Taunton last week thanks to an unbeaten double century from captain Chris Rogers.
Eoin Morgan and Sam Robson are both named in a 14-man squad for the visitors.
Meanwhile, in Division Two, Hampshire and Essex are both still battling it out to decide who will follow Worcestershire in being promoted to the top flight.
Hampshire have a 10-point cushion in second place after hanging on for a draw at home to Kent last time out. They travel to Sophia Gardens to finish their campaign against Glamorgan.
Essex, meanwhile, host Worcestershire knowing a draw might be enough to see them go up, though only if Hampshire fail to secure four bonus points or more in Cardiff.
Watch all four days of Lancashire v Middlesex LIVE on Sky Sports 2 HD, starting from 10am on Tuesday
