'A complete mess': Middlesex face dilemmas at every turn

Poor performances, financial difficulties and uncertainty over Lord's mean the club face an existential threat

- Matt Hughes

There have been worse seasons in the 160-year history of Middlesex but Martin Williamson, a member for almost 50 years, cannot recall any. "Speaking to other members the mood is one of apathy and resignation," he says.

"It's just really sad." Richard Sykes, the Middlesex chairman, made little attempt to sugarcoat matters in a summary of their accounts at the end of last year, writing that "2023 has been one of the toughest years in the club's history".

A cursory health check of Middlesex's recent performances reveals more red flags than the People's Republic of China.

Failure to win promotion to the first division of the county championship last season was compounded by a dismal white-ball campaign, which brought six victories in the T20 Blast and One-Day Cup combined.

The runs and wickets of the former England players Sam Robson and Toby Roland-Jones were not enough to carry a squad comprising talented youngsters such as Josh de Caires over the line, a position unlikely to improved by the decision to release the veteran opener Mark Stoneman due to the club's stretched finances.

Middlesex are awaiting the verdict of a second disrepute charge in less than 12 months, have lost Tier One status for their women's team (and with it considerable central funding), and ended the summer with doubts raised over how long the club will continue playing at Lord's. As the Guardian revealed last month, its landlord, the MCC, has granted Middlesex a 12-month extension to their lease that will ensure the majority of their matches take place at the Home of Cricket next season, but the long-term outlook is uncertain.

The changes taking place at the other side of Lord's, which has been Middlesex's home since 1864, are rather more dramatic.