Middlesex are in the pink in more ways than just their flamboyant Twenty20 outfits. The county have won their past seven matches - two LV County Championship games, a Friends Provident Trophy match and four in the Twenty20 Cup - with four wins in three weeks over Essex, their local rivals.

There may be some red faces in the crowd for tomorrow's match against Sussex, which would clash horribly with the shirts, because it was not so long ago that 100 disgruntled members signed a petition protesting about the lack of success. Barely had the petition been handed in than Middlesex started winning.

One reason for their success is a renewed sense of pride in playing at Lord's. Ed Smith says that his aim when he became captain last year was to turn Middlesex's headquarters into a stronghold again. They won only five County Championship matches at Lord's between 2000 and 2006, but three last season. “I told the team that this was a special place to play and we should turn it into a strength,” Smith said. Thorough analysis, Moneyball-style, of their opponents' strengths and weaknesses has helped, too.

Middlesex are also winning the battle with injuries. Alan Richardson, the seam bowler, played for the second XI yesterday for the first time this season, David Nash, the wicketkeeper who has a hamstring injury, played for Malvern Wanderers in the Cricketer Cup on Sunday, making 98 not out to rescue his side from 120 for seven against Eton Ramblers, and Smith, who twisted his ankle last week, is also on the mend.

Australian stars come to the party for Bedser

Surrey have invited four Australians to spend a fortnight with them next month, but rather than callow Kolpak players, these four have 174 Test matches between them. No need to get worried, though. They also have a combined age of 324. The four - Neil Harvey, Alan Davidson, Arthur Morris and Ken Archer - have been invited by the county to help Sir Alec Bedser to celebrate his 90th birthday. Bedser played in the debut Tests of all four Australians. His birthday celebrations will include a Twenty20 match at the Brit Oval.

Youthful Caddick's wasted trip

Andrew Caddick has been so short of cricket this season that Somerset asked MCC if he could play for its Young Cricketers, whose players are about half his 39 years, in a second XI match against Glamorgan yesterday in Radlett, Hertfordshire. Caddick set off, keen to take the new ball after a shoulder injury, but no sooner had he arrived than the ECB declared he could not play, having not been registered. One wasted 400-mile round trip and, as Richard Gould, the Somerset chief executive, put it, “there were a few expletives”.

Gould makes a stand

Bobby Gould, the former Arsenal forward and FA Cup-winning manager with Wimbledon, came out of retirement on Sunday. Not to play football, but to participate, at the age of 62, in Marcus Trescothick's benefit match against Nailsea. Trescothick insisted that Gould, a keen cricket fan, bat at first wicket down and he shared in a century partnership with the beneficiary himself. His share? 14.

Diamond touch

Star attraction at the Rose Bowl last night was nothing as piffling as a Twenty20 match, but the great crooner, Neil Diamond, in concert. Next year the Rolling Stones are rumoured to be undertaking their final farewell tour (until the farewell after that) and Hampshire are trying to book the cricket-mad Mick Jagger to play there. After Rod Bransgrove, the Hampshire chairman, found himself out of pocket on a Billy Joel concert, only the biggest names will do.