Gubbins: Middlesex looking to replicate Notts blueprint in 2018

Middlesex have put last year behind them and are hoping to follow the lead of Peter Moores’ squad and secure promotion at the first attempt

Nick Gubbins says Middlesex are looking to replicate Nottinghamshire’s 2017 as they they seek to make an instant return to Division One.

Notts were relegated in 2016 but enjoyed a highly successful 2017, earning a return to Division One and winning both white-ball competitions last summer.

In contrast Middlesex's white-ball summer was far less impressive, winning just two One-Day Cup matches and finishing 8th in the South Group. The T20 Blast campaign was also disappointing with the club winning five of their 14 games on their way to a 7th-placed finish.

The batsman told The Cricketer that Middlesex have put last year behind them and are hoping to follow the lead of Peter Moores’ squad and secure promotion at the first attempt.

"We’ve brushed it under the carpet as a squad. It’s important that there’s no hangover going into the season," said Gubbins.

^{Gubbins hopes to be back in action for Middlesex before the end of April}

“We are trying to use everything as a springboard. We obviously want to gain promotion but also use some early-season momentum to springboard ourselves into the white-ball competitions, just like Notts did last year.

"I think they’ve shown the perfect way to react. We are going to try and do what they did, bounce straight back up and reach the knockout stages of the white-ball competitions, which is something we haven't done in recent years.”

Gubbins himself is currently sidelined with a grade two hamstring tear, but is hopeful of a return before the end of April.

That injury came during the North-South series, in which he hit back-to-hundreds before being unable to bat in the final match.

Reflecting on the off-season, Gubbins said his winter's work was positive despite trying conditions for the England Lions against West Indies.

"Rehab is going really well, I'm trying to get back for the end of April. I take plenty of confidence from that North-South series, knowing that I am going back into the English summer in good form.

"It was a long winter and it really tested you as a player. The West Indies series was very match intense in subcontinent conditions... low, slow turners against a strong side who played really well. It was trial by spin really.

"Leaving the West Indies, we are leaving as better players and we’ll be better for the experience, which is what the tours are about. It would have been nice to win a few matches but things went against us. I think if we were to go back there now we would put on a better showing.

^{Gubbins hit back-to-back centuries in the North-South series}

"It’s all about developing yourself as a batsman, that’s what the winter was about, ironing out a few technical things and developing my game in certain areas.

Gubbins has been with the Lions for a couple of years now and his performances in Barbados will not have escaped the attention of Andrew Strauss and the selectors, but he says he is not allowing England ambitions to become a distraction.

"I don’t really worry too much where I am [in terms of Test selection] because things change so quickly in cricket. As you’ve seen in a year we’ve gone from Champions to being relegated. 

"So it doesn’t really matter to me where I am on the scale of selection, it’s all about getting back and being fit for Middlesex. For me I just want to become the best I can be."