James Franklin may not be Middlesex’s captain in NatWest T20 Blast cricket but, as the club’s four-day skipper and a natural leader in the dressing room, he has still suffered more than most as the team has endured a wretched South Group campaign, writes Mark Baldwin.

But tonight’s visit to Chelmsford gives Middlesex the chance to enjoy completing a notable double against Essex Eagles, who they trounced by six wickets at Richmond last Friday.

That win, set up by Steven Finn’s 4-28 as Essex were tumbled out for 109, was only Middlesex’s third in eleven T20 Blast games this season.

They remain bottom of the South group table, but can finish the campaign on a positive note.

All-rounder Franklin, who took three for 12 with his left-arm seamers at Richmond, said: “To beat a team as strong as Essex are in Twenty20 cricket was very good for us. It was a real morale-booster, especially as we had gone so long without a win in the competition.

“But Essex will come back hard at us I’m sure. They will be scrapping hard to turn the tables on us, and Chelmsford under lights is a difficult place for a visiting team to go and be successful in T20 cricket.”

Franklin was at the crease with Eoin Morgan, Middlesex’s T20 captain, when victory was completed against Essex at Richmond last week.

But it was Finn’s exploits at the start of the match – and the Old Deer Park pitch – that set-up the victory.

“It was nice to pick up four wickets but the win was more important,” said England’s Finn.

“It was good to bowl my four overs at the top of the innings and to get the wickets and stem the flow or runs. “The pitch was OK to start with but then it got slower and harder to bat on as the game went on.”