England fast bowler Olly Stone has made a short-term move from Nottinghamshire to Middlesex on loan for two County Championship rounds, in search of game time.
Olly Stone moves to Division Two side Middlesex
On Sunday (September 7), Middlesex announced the signing of Stone on loan from Nottinghamshire. Stone has played five Test matches, 10 ODIs, and one T20I for England, but his last international appearance came in September 2024, exactly one year back.
Always in and around the England Test setup without actually getting many games, Stone is once again in line for being a part of the pace group that travels to Australia for the away Ashes later this year.
Having missed the start of the summer due to a knee injury, the move to the Division Two will allow him to get some much-needed first-class game time under his belt ahead of the Ashes - a chance he might not have got at Nottinghamshire, who boast a settled seam attack with Mohammad Abbas, Brett Hutton and Josh Tongue. On the other hand, Middlesex have only had two seamers who have taken more than 11 wickets for them this season - Toby Roland-Jones (31) and Ryan Higgins (35).
“As we reach the end of the season, the rigors of the season inevitably take their toll on the fast-bowling unit, so to be able to bring someone in of Olly’s proven international quality to freshen things up ahead of the County Championship run-in is a huge bonus for us," Middlesex director of cricket, Alan Coleman said in a statement.
“He will add not only quality, but vast amounts of experience too at the highest level, which the younger players in our group can really benefit from as we look to finish the season strong.
“We are really looking forward to welcoming Olly to the Club and are excited to see what he will bring over the next fortnight.”
Middlesex are currently fourth on the Division Two points table with 138 points, trailing third-placed Derbyshire by three points. Leicestershire, with 193 points, are leading the group.
Middlesex's remaining County Championship fixtures
September 8-11: vs Derbyshire, Lord's
September 15-18: vs Lancashire, Manchester
September 24-27: vs Gloucestershire, Lord's
Stone has only played T20 cricket since his return from injury in July. He appeared in four T20 Blast games for Nottinghamshire and two Hundred matches for London Spirit, taking four wickets across the six games.
His overall first-class record reads 174 wickets from 54 matches at 27.16. From five Tests, he has taken 17 wickets at 23.52. If he makes it to the England squad for the Ashes, it would be his first Test tour to Australia. He was part of the squad for the first home Ashes Test in 2019, but didn't make the XI.
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