Paul Stirling wants to bounce back after Middlesex's defeat to Surrey

The Panthers were beaten by Surrey in their first Twenty20 game of the season

Middlesex batsman Paul Stirling is looking to bounce back from the Panthers’ crushing defeat to Surrey on Thursday night with three straight wins next week.

The Londoners host Sussex at Lord’s on Sunday before making the trip to the Ageas Bowl to face Hampshire the following day with a trip to Essex as well on Thursday.

“I think it’s vital [to bounce back],” Stirling said. “There’s less games this year so we’ve got to win two more games and get it rolling really.

“I think with us doing so well in the Championship and being placed second in the CB40 it gives us more reason to concentrate on the Twenty20 and make sure we make steps each year.

“There’s no reason at all why we’ll take it lightly.

Middlesex, twice, had fierce rivals Surrey on the ropes after the powerplay overs, with the south Londoners on 32-4 in their innings and the Panthers were cruising towards their target of 150 and they’d reached 53 for the loss of one wicket after their first six overs, but let them off the hook on both occasions to come up short by 28 runs on the Duckworth/Lewis method.

“I think we started off quite well,” Stirling said. “For the first 12-14 overs, we were well on top and looked as if we were going to win the game.

“But there were those two periods where we hit well at the end of their innings and whenever we lost wickets it was crucial.

“Momentum is quite a big thing in Twenty20. That does happen. We’ve got to learn from it.”