Last Match of the Season Starting XI Competition

For the first time, we're going to try a starting XI prediction competition for the last match of the season. See if you can predict Middlesex’s starting XI for the last County Chamionship of the year, before the second half of the County Championship campaign begins. And of course the winning entry will win one of those famously puny MTWD prizes.

See if you can predict Middlesex’s starting XI for the last County Chamionship of the year, before the second half of the County Championship campaign begins.

Who will take the field on 24 September 2008 at Wantage Road? Perhaps the latest start date for the final match in living memory. And what will the Middlesex batting line up be for the first innings of that match?

The person who gets closest wins one of our famous microscopically small prizes.

“Closest” is firstly determined by “correct number of players in the team”. If that “score” is equal, the correct choice of captain and wicketkeeper comes into play. If the “score” is still equal, the tie breaker is based on position in the batting order, with one unwanted point allocated for each error in placement in the batting order. Twelfth man counts for nothing in this game.

It’s easy peasy - all you need to do is come up your chosen XI and e-mail that predicted team to:

mtwdadmin@googlemail.com

Please use the subject line “Middlesex Final Match of 2008 Starting XI”.

Stumps for this competition will be drawn at 23:59:59 GMT on Tuesday 15 July 2008.

To help inspire people – and allow you all to have a good laugh when it goes horribly wrong - here is Ged Ladd’s prediction.

Strauss

Godleman

Smith (capt)

Joyce

Morgan

Malan

Scott (Wkt)

Murtagh

Udal

Finn

Richardson

Lots to think about for this one: form, injuries and where we stand in the County Championship at that stage will all be factors.

You can change your entry at any point up until the deadline, 15 July 2008, but only your last entry will qualify for the competition. So put in your joke entry before you put in your serious one!

The best and worst entries will be praised/vilified on MTWD in late September.

And of course the winning entry will win one of those famously puny MTWD prizes.