Same opponents. Same venue. Same result. Middlesex captain Leus du Plooy really has started this County Championship season as he finished the last.
By a curious turn of fate and fixtures, it was against Gloucestershire at Lords late last September, that Middlesex closed the 2025 season with a thumping innings victory that was, alas, too late to elevate them from Division Two. It did however see new club captain Leus du Plooy smash 263*, the 7th highest First Class score at Lords, just behind one D. Bradman at 6th.
Wind forward to a damp chilly April 2026 and once again it was an innings victory for Middlesex against Gloucestershire. And yet again, captain Leus du Plooy led from the front with a superb knock of 182 from 274 balls to provide both foundation and acceleration for his team. 22 points on the board and topping the Division Two table after the first round of matches certainly represented a strong start for Middlesex and their captain.
Leus du Plooy has a clear sense of the mission ahead
After chatting to Leus du Plooy just ahead of the season opener, the performance against Gloucestershire did not come as a surprise. He has, it seems, a very clear sense of mission and sense of how to drive improvement for Middlesex.
Having enjoyed the sunshine of Gulf and then South Africa, Lords in April was not too big a shock for Leus who is now in his 7th season enjoying two summers around the world.
It may have been a combination of circumstances that cast the captaincy his way in July last year, but he clearly thrives on leadership and responsibility whether captain or not, although he was keen to stress the ‘great support’ from Rojo (Toby Roland Jones) and Eskie (Stephen Eskinazi). “Having someone of Rojo’s experience at mid- off or mid-on is a huge bonus” said Leus.
Has Rojo got him out in the past I wondered? Apparently not. “Do you know what, I don’t think he has, but we’ve had a few heated battles and we’ve found a few very funny photos of us squaring up to each other” said Leus.
“The man who did get me out a lot was the fellow standing right behind you (that fellow being one Tim Murtagh). I was his bunny”. But as if that thought potentially opened up old wounds, Luis was quick to get back the present and stress how much the opportunity of captaincy meant and to focus on exciting times ahead.
Unbeaten run under du Plooy‘s captaincy
Under his captaincy, Middlesex went on a five game unbeaten run last season (now six of course), with Leus himself contributing not just his double ton against Gloucestershire, but also an undefeated 105 against Northants, 105 again against Derbyshire at Lords and a 57 against Glous at Cheltenham.
Rain intervened heavily in the end of Middlesex’s season, at Cheltenham, Lords against Leus’ old Derby team mates and inevitably perhaps at Old Trafford. Ultimately with a full allocation of time, Leus was positive that Middlesex would have forced the wins needed for promotion. It was, he said factually, the three consecutive defeats against Leicestershire, Glamorgan and Northants, rather than the inevitable vagaries of late summer weather that punctuated the unbeaten run under his captaincy, that ultimately cost Middlesex.
Does captaincy change your game at all, I wondered. “Naturally, it does, but I feel the responsibility brings out the best in my game” was Leus’ reply.
There is no doubt in the mind of Leus du Plooy, that the target for Middlesex this season is consistency. They had, he said, shown on their good day’s last season that they could beat the best, including those teams that ultimately did achieve promotion, Leicestershire and Glamorgan. The C word (consistency) was a strong echo of the message from new coach Peter Fulton and if Leus can deliver it on the field, there is definite cause for optimism for Middlesex’s exciting blend of youth and experience.
Just behind Don Bradman is no bad place to be for Leus
This brought us to discussion of that 263* in the innings defeat of Gloucestershire. Did Leus know where that sat in the Lords and Middlesex record books? ‘Records’, he said modestly, “are pretty cool to have but there to be broken ultimately. There are better guys out there who’s records will be out there longer than mine will be”. It seemed that learning the answer would serve as further motivation, rather than cause for celebration for Leus, but there was a distinct smile of satisfaction present on hearing of his place hot on the heels of Don Bradman in the Lords first class records and for all the genuine modesty he was very keen to learn who was above him on the Middlesex list. Plenty of motivation there for the rest of the season!
So, what will it take this season, to convert last seasons all to frequent near misses in both formats to at least challenge in the Championship and the Blast? Here, Leus stressed progress made since his joining the club. ‘We have focused on our skills and we have definitely tightened things up in training and standards are higher, even more so under Peter (Fulton)”.
“The Blast is ‘an interesting one’ as it’s not always the best side on paper that wins every year”. The example set by Leicestershire, Northants, Derbyshire and Kent bears out that thought. Leus had specifically sought the council of Sam Billings at Kent who stressed that ‘every single game is an event and you have to be able to step up against the likes of Surrey or Somerset’. “On the day you just need somebody to stand up and it’s been proven so many times” stressed Leus.
Easier said than done perhaps, but he was realistic to say that Middlesex is not a team with star names, but does have an abundance of potential. “We are likely to be underdogs in many games, but it’s a great opportunity for us to step up and try to do something special” he said. Last season, though not delivering results had shown “improvements in performances against Somerset and the tie at Hampshire for example”. Having had a procession of star names that have not delivered results, this sense of determination and realism could stand Middlesex in good stead.
“If everyone can step up 3 – 5% then we can compete” said Leus who was keen to stress that “bravery in decision making and proactivity to take advantage of key moments” would see Middlesex more successful this season. Runs, we agreed, were always there last season. Defending totals in the field was the bigger challenge and it is here that Leus felt proactivity and bravery could turn the nearly results into wins.
Coach and Captain in lock step
If much of our discussion chimed strongly with the words of new coach Peter Fulton, this shouldn’t be a surprise. It seems captain and coach have struck up a strong rapport and Leus revealed that he had met Peter as part of the interview process. It was my words rather than those of Leus, but ‘laid back on top and steely underneath’ was a summary we agreed on to describe Peter.
What had impressed Middlesex’s captain was a characteristic of not just Peter, but of New Zealanders in general, to ‘make the most of limited resources’. I was left with the feeling that both captain and coach were in lock step in their potential to do just that for Middlesex this season. And in Leus du Plooy they have a man whose leadership should be a cause for optimism for Middlesex fans, despite recent disappointments both on and off the field.
Listen to full interview here:
