Adam Rossington batting for Middlesex

Teenage batsman Adam Rossington is targeting a regular place in the Middlesex side after making his first competitive appearance for the county at Lord’s.

Rossington caught the eye as he filled the number three slot vacated by Paul Stirling in last week’s narrow t20 defeat by Essex Eagles, playing some confident shots in an innings of 22.

The 19-year-old, who also keeps wicket for the second XI, retained his place in the Panthers team for their subsequent t20 match at Sussex, and is aiming to feature more frequently at senior level from now on.

“Obviously it was disappointing we lost, but it was an exciting experience for me, playing in front of a packed house at Lord’s, and one I’d like to be looking forward to more often,” Rossington told london24.com.

“It helped that [coach] Richard Scott and [captain] Neil Dexter said to me before the game ‘play your way, back yourself and no-one’s going to complain if you get out playing a shot’.

“I have confidence in my own ability but it was good that they had confidence in me too. I was excited about the chance to go out there and show what I could do, and I batted the way I generally bat.

“Long-term I want to play in all formats for Middlesex, that’s my main goal, to break through and take the opportunities when I get them.”

Rossington, who has represented England at under-19 level, appeared in four t20 games for the Panthers last season and also played in the 50-over friendly against the West Indies earlier this month.

Although he has yet to feature in Middlesex’s four-day or CB40 sides, Rossington is just one of a group of young prospects steadily building up their reputations in the county’s second XI.

Those include all-rounder Josh Davey, left-arm seamer Gurjit Sandhu and spinner Ravi Patel, and Rossington added: “It’s great when you have people your own age there and you’re all competing with each other.”

“It makes you work that little bit harder and that’s something that bodes well for Middlesex in years to come, with youngsters knocking on the door.

“I think it all depends on the amount of runs I score in the second team – to put pressure on the first team I’ve got to be scoring runs every week and hopefully I’ll be there or thereabouts.

“I’ve still got to work on my keeping – my goal is to be a keeper-batsman but at the moment I’m trying to force my way in on volume of runs. To be a wicketkeeper these days you have to have runs behind you.”