The Pink Panther's a gem for Middlesex

It was very much a team effort, with vital contributions from all down the order, particularly from the talented young trio of left-handers, Eoin Morgan, Billy Godleman and Dawid Malan. But the spearhead of the bowling attack and the man who kept leading from the front was Murtagh.

His 22 wickets in those three championship matches, plus his contribution to the Twenty20 success story, have earned Murtagh the Evening Standard Cricketer of the Month award for June, for which he receives a bronze statuette plus a magnum of Veuve Clicquot champagne.

The 26-year-old, who crossed the river from Surrey last year, has stepped up to the plate as Middlesex's main strike bowler in the absence of the injured Chris Silverwood and Alan Richardson. The results have been spectacular.

Murtagh was awarded his County cap in May after taking a career-best seven for 95 against Glamorgan.

He began June with seven wickets in the victory over Derbyshire and followed that with six for 44 and four for 83 in the crushing innings victory over Essex - his first 10-wicket haul. Five more wickets in the draw against Northants took his June tally to 22.

Middlesex coach Toby Radford said: "Tim's done a great job for us. He always stays fit, he's very reliable and if there's anything in the wicket he will exploit it. He has taken over responsibility as the senior bowler and played a big part in turning our season round."

Ahead of this evening's trip back to The Oval, Murtagh said: "We had a difficult first month of the season. There were lots of injuries and confidence was low. But those two victories against Derbyshire and Essex put us back on track.
"The pressure was on me to step up and take over the senior bowling position, but I have really enjoyed it and taking the new ball has given me the opportunity to show what I can do.

"The Twenty20 has gone really well and been great fun. Our bowling has been our strong suit with five frontline bowlers all knowing exactly what to do and where to bowl, backed up brilliantly in the field." Middlesex have been forced to borrow The Oval because Lord's is being prepared for Test action on Thursday. Murtagh has mixed feelings about that.

"I started with Surrey when I was 11 and grew up with most of their players, so I obviously know the place well," he said. "Hopefully, we can fill the ground and make it as intimidating as possible. "However, winning our group will mean nothing unless we can repeat that form against Lancashire. To be honest, as a bowler I would prefer playing at Lord's where you can use the slope and it usually swings a bit more.

"We have won twice against Surrey at The Oval this year, in the Friends Provident Trophy and the Twenty20, but this will be my first time back in the home dressing room. That will feel a bit strange."