Middlesex head coach Richard Scott paid tribute to Eoin Morgan and Paul Stirling after both hit centuries in their Royal London One-Day Cup win at Gloucestershire on Wednesday.

Having lost Dawid Malan and Nick Gubbins cheaply to slip to 48-2 inside 13 overs, Middlesex saw England’s limited-overs captain Morgan club five sixes and seven fours in his 100 from just 72 balls.

And he put on 158 for the third wicket with opener Stirling, who finished unbeaten on 126 after hitting a six and 10 fours in his 143-ball innings.

Hilton Cartwright blased an unbeaten 60 off 41 balls, with five sixes and two fours as Middlesex closed on 322-3.

And saw James Franklin (3-42) and Tom Helm (3-80) have most success with the ball as the hosts were dismissed for 289 at Bristol.

Scott said: “I thought Eoin Morgan and Paul Stirling were sublime. Morgan especially because he went out and timed the ball straight away to make a brilliant hundred.

“Stirling has been a real star for us in the competition, maturing greatly as a batsman and scoring more than 500 runs.”

The win provided little consolation, though, with Middlesex already out of the running for a quarter-final spot.

Having won three of their first four matches in a bright start to the competitoin, they lost the next three in the south group.

Scott added: “There is a lot of frustration in our dressing room at not qualifying from the group. We lost games from strong positions when, with a bit more composure, we would have got across the line.”