2010...
WEEK ONE: APRIL 15
We journalists are often black and white in our judgements. On Tuesday
morning the headlines read: 'Surrey crash to opening defeat' and 'Brave
new Surrey go meekly in second innings'. Why not credit Derbyshire for
putting in a thoroughly commanding performance? Nothing changes, sports
journalists have little time for cricket and cricket journos have even
less time for Surrey. Surrey only mustered 165 in their second dig, but
they were never going to make 374. It was all about whether they could bat
for 76 overs. In the end, Derbyshire won with just 35 balls to spare.
Given that they had Surrey seven down with 27 overs to go, you could say
the visitors made heavy weather of things. Talking about the weather, I
did find it satisfying that, despite the ECB's latest efforts to
marginalise the County Championship, not an over of play was lost to the
elements. Indeed, there was the rare sight on the opening day of the
championship season of male torsos being bared in the Peter May Enclosure.
It would have been interesting to see how things would have turned out had
Surrey been in a position to field their first choice eleven. With Michael
Brown sidelined, Matthew Spriegel got the nod. Other than Mark Ramprakash,
Spriegs was the pick of Surrey's top order. In both innings the efforts of
new signings Steven Davies and Gareth Batty suggested they should both be
going in higher up. Despite the absence of Iftikhar, Tremlett and Jordan,
I thought the seamers stuck to their task manfully. At the end of day one
Derbyshire were 306-5. Last season that would have been more like 406-5. A
number of people have asked me what is meant by Surrey's official line on
Chris Tremlett - that his workload is being managed. For me, the decision
to give Tremlett a three-year contract was a bigger gamble than appointing
Rory Hamilton-Brown as captain. There is absolutely no doubt that Tremlett
has the potential to be a destructive fast bowler, but you only have to
look at his stats in recent years to see that he misses more than his fair
share of games because of injury. The word is that he will make his debut
for Surrey at Whitgift, a place where spectators are allowed to come on to
the pitch during lunch and tea. During the Derbyshire game it was pleasing
to see it is now possible to do so at the Brit Oval - an isolated example
of common sense prevailing over concerns about health and safety. The
members did have something to grumble about, though. The Oval no longer
has a betting shop, which didn't go down well on the day of the Grand
National. I should point out that this development is in no way linked to
the betting scandal currently brewing at Essex!
WEEK TWO: APRIL 22
Some people are wondering if there's a reason, other than "technical
difficulties", why Surrey have stopped putting match highlights on
their website. With a record of played two, lost two, it's probably not
advisable to see what's been going on if you suffer from high blood
pressure. Last weekend's defeat to Sussex prompted some scathing comments
on the messageboards and in blogs, but there's a heck of a lot more
cricket to come. Unlike the period from 1873 to 1887, the County
Championship isn't decided on the basis of 'least matches lost'. In the
last three years, six wins have been enough for promotion and there are
still fourteen games to play in the champo. Judging by his body language
on Surrey TV, Chris Adams was dissatisfied with the performance at Hove,
but, as he said, everyone needs to keep things in perspective. Having won
just one championship game in two seasons, I was amazed to see Surrey
installed as joint favourites for Division Two going into the campaign.
Adams referred more than once to the missed chance off Martin-Jenkins
early on day three. As so often seems to be the case, the unlucky bowler
was Jade Dernbach, who would probably have over a hundred first-class
wickets to his name by now, rather than 88, had he been playing for
another county in recent seasons. I fully expect the Lions to be a tougher
proposition in limited-overs cricket this summer. This Sunday sees the
start of the 40-over League and, with Andrew Symonds on board, even bigger
things are expected of Surrey in the Twenty20 Cup. Recently, there have
been a number of stories linking Brian Lara with the Lions' Twenty20
campaign. Personally, I think it would be a big gamble to sign Lara, who
has only made one hundred since the end of 2006. Surrey should take a leaf
out of Hampshire's book. The Rose Bowl outfit have gone for Shahid Afridi
and are close to signing Brett Lee. When Kabir Ali joined Hampshire in
January he described them as the "Manchester United of cricket",
which, not that long ago, was the label given to Surrey. If it's a
question of putting bums on seats then Lara would be a huge draw, but true
fans want to see the Surrey Lions not the Harlem Globetrotters.
WEEK THREE: APRIL 29
My mum doesn't watch Surrey very often, but as Whitgift School is just
down the road and as there was every chance of seeing Snake Hips (that's
Mark Ramprakash to you and me), she came along to see the final day of the
championship match against Worcestershire and the 40-League contest with
Lancashire. In terms of county cricket at its best, I don't think she
could have picked two better days. Both were enlivened by Rory
Hamilton-Brown - maybe he'll appear on Strictly Come Dancing one day.
Hardly anyone arriving at the ground on Saturday did so expecting to see
an enthralling final day against Worcestershire, but RHB's sporting
declaration, not to mention his superb catch to dismiss Phil Jaques for a
pair, meant that you couldn't take your eyes off the action for a moment.
On Sunday, whites gave way to blacks - the Lions' new one-day shirt is
black with traces of green and white - but the entertainment level was
just as high. Surrey's fielding display was out of the top draw and if the
Lions had been set more than seven an over last season, they would have
crumpled. With Hamilton-Brown opening the batting alongside Steven Davies
it's not just a new-look Surrey, but a Surrey capable, in one-day cricket,
of beating the best. Lancashire were daunting 40-League opening game
opponents, but the skipper's transcendent 92 off 64 balls, which contained
five sixes and 8 fours, seemed to transmit a new found confidence to the
rest of the team. Although the Lions scraped home with one ball to spare,
the result will have not gone unnoticed around the county circuit.
WEEK FOUR: MAY 6
When I got hold of a copy of the ECB's proposals for the County
Championship last week I had to check it wasn't dated April the first.
Furthermore, there was no indication of who put the document together. We
all know Thomas Edison invented the light bulb and that Sir Alexander
Fleming discovered Penicillin. Those were discoveries to be celebrated.
Conversely, the reason why nobody knows who invented the speed camera is
because it hasn't made our roads safer. I can therefore guarantee that no
one at the ECB will own up to the five proposals put forward for next
season's championship, three of which are complete non-starters. Unlike
any other case for change it doesn't even list a "do nothing"
option. Why? Because the ECB want to cut the amount of championship
cricket - not so that we can start the season later or finish it earlier,
but because they want to convert eight days of four-day cricket into eight
more one-day matches. I suspect a lot of the players are keen to see a top
division of eight sides playing each other twice and a second tier of ten
playing 13 instead of 16 four-dayers. But what the ECB has failed to let
on is that they want to resurrect plans to introduce a second Twenty20
competition. I gather Surrey will be lobbying the ECB to include a sixth
option that preserves the status quo - two divisions of nine playing each
other home and away, with promotion and relegation. Any other format will
just not produce the England internationals of tomorrow. That, after all,
is the whole point of the County Championship in the first place.
WEEK FIVE: MAY 13
Having witnessed two Surrey batting collapses in the Gloucestershire
match, there was a worrying sense of déjà vu last Sunday when Surrey
slumped to 135-6 against the Bangladeshis. But, thankfully, Matthew
Spriegel came to the rescue, abetted by Stuart Meaker, who followed up his
career best 5-48 against Gloucestershire with his highest score to date.
However, let's focus on Spriegel, who, don't forget, made his unbeaten 108
against an international attack. In 2008, Alan Butcher's final term as
Surrey's manager, Spriegs appeared in nine out the last ten championship
matches. Since then he has only been handed a further eight championship
starts and, on occasions, has been forced to bat out of position. Given
the frailty shown by Surrey's middle order in three of the opening four
championship matches this summer, the case for batting Spriegel at seven
is growing. Steven Davies has started the season in superb form, but in
the Gloucestershire match he ran out of partners in the first innings and
resorted to hitting out in the second dig to avoid the same thing
happening again. That is not how Surrey should be employing their second
best batsman. Far be it for me to tell Chris Adams his job, but swapping
Spriegel for Schofield at number seven for the Middlesex match has to be
the way to go.
WEEK SIX: MAY 20
My overwhelming feeling following the Members' Cricket Forum, which took
place before the start of play on Tuesday, was that you can please some of
the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time. Chris
Adams gave the members a frank assessment of Surrey's season to date
before disclosing that Younis Khan was set to join the Lions as overseas
player - in time for this Sunday's 40League clash against Lancashire all
being well. But the reaction to the Younis's signing was surprisingly
lukewarm. It wasn't because the Pakistan Cricket Board have been banned
him indefinitely from playing international cricket, owing to Pakistan's
disastrous winter down under, or that despite being a middle order batsman
he could well be pressed into action as an opener. It was because the view
of the gathering was that Surrey are more in need of a wicket-taking
bowler. As Adams pointed out, Surrey's batting hasn't exactly fired this
summer and Younis Khan is someone who not only averages over fifty in
first-class cricket, but in Test cricket as well. Adams said it was
becoming harder and harder to identify overseas players who are not only
available, but who are likely to make the right sort of impact. He said of
the outgoing Rao Iftikhar Anjum: "He was a smashing guy and a decent
bowler, but he didn't live up to his statistics." Adams also admitted
that losing out on Piyush Chawla, who will not now joining the Lions after
the Twenty20 Cup, was a big blow. Adams told the members it was still his
hope that a world-class spinner can be found to fulfil his plan of
fielding two frontline spinners; but, if I'm honest, he didn't sound
optimistic. Daniel Vettori's name has been mentioned, but, as a Press Box
colleague put it to me, after his stint in the IPL and of captaining New
Zealand in the World Twenty20, what would Vettori get out of playing seven
championship games for Surrey? The next Members' Forum is due to take
place on July 21. It will be interesting to see if Adams is any closer to
pleasing all of the Surrey members all of the time.
WEEK SEVEN: MAY 27
Those Surrey members who poo-pooed the signing of Younis Khan as overseas
player at last week's Members Cricket Forum, arguing that the greater need
was a match-winning bowler, were vindicated when Middlesex went on to
secure a draw with ease. Not even Chris Tremlett, who, when fit, is
currently the pick of Surrey's attack, could trouble Strauss and Newman
with the new ball in the visitors' second dig. But, credit where it is
due, hopes of a victory only came about thanks to Jade Dernbach's 5-68 on
day three. It gave Rory Hamilton-Brown the option of enforcing the
follow-on. But, for some reason, he declined, which I found surprising for
a captain who has so far shown the inclination to be positive rather than
negative. His decision gave Mark Ramprakash another opportunity to punish
Middlesex, which he grabbed with both hands by following up his 223 with
an unbeaten 103. Ramprakash now holds the championship record for making
hundreds in both innings of a match. It is truly a privilege to watch a
master of trade at work. Not once in his nine and a bit seasons at the
Oval has Ramps's desire to make runs wavered. At the back of my mind,
however, is the main reason why he moved to Surrey in the first place -
because he couldn't face playing in Division Two of the County
Championship. With seven victories normally being enough for promotion,
Surrey need to win seven out of eleven. Given the way they started the
current match at Northampton, they'll probably travel to Cardiff looking
at an ask of seven out of ten. Not even the most optimistic Surrey
supporters - I'm told some do actually exist - can see them doing that. I
just hope the likelihood of another season in the basement doesn't push
Ramprakash into retirement.
WEEK EIGHT: JUNE 3
When I made the trip up to Northampton to watch days three and four, the
last thing I was expecting was a Surrey victory. But thanks to rousing
tenth wicket stand between Andre Nel and Jade Dernbach the game was turned
on its head. To have won without Chris Tremlett and Stuart Meaker augurs
well for the rest of the season. Nel's all-round display was deserving of
a man of the match award. But all he got instead was a two-match ban and a
£5,000 fine for losing his temper after a catch was dropped off his
bowling. Supporters want to see passion being shown and nobody shows it
more than Neller, so it worries me that the club have chosen to discipline
him. Next week sees the launch of Surrey's Twenty20 campaign. With the
competition being expanded from 97 to 151 matches, it's something of a
paradox, given that it's the most instant form of the game, to say that
this year's tournament will be a marathon rather than a sprint.
Qualification for the knockout stages will determined by two regional
groups of nine - a North and a South - instead of three divisions of six.
A good start is essential. I've got a feeling Surrey will do well. The
Lions' one-day form suggests they more than are capable of finishing in
the top four in their Group - Hampshire, Somerset and Sussex are the main
dangers - and after that all bets are off because the T20 can be a
lottery. One of the plusses for Surrey is that other than Steven Davies,
who is likely to be selected for the Triangular A Team series at the
beginning of July, the Lions will not be inconvenienced by England
call-ups. However, it remains to be seen whether Pakistan's Younis Khan
will be available. Barring injury, the presence of Andrew Symonds is
assured and if the Australian can repeat what he achieved for Kent in 2003
and 2004 and Lancashire in 2005 the Oval outfit should be a force to be
reckoned with. Spin, which is another area where Surrey are blessed, can
often be a factor. Chris Schofield was the leading T20 wicket-taker in
2008, Gareth Batty gives little away plus Afzaal, Hamilton-Brown and
Spriegel are also capable of springing a few surprises. The Lions' odds of
16-1 look like great each way value.
WEEK NINE: JUNE 10
It seems that one week everything's looking rosy and the next week it's
doom and gloom again. Surrey's loss to Leicestershire, which didn't even
go to a fourth day, was bitterly disappointing. Given the belief and
determination they showed to turn things around at Northampton, I really
felt good about Surrey's chances of turning over the Foxes. But other than
Jade Dernbach's outstanding performance with the ball, there weren't any
real positives for Chris Adams to take out of the Leicester game. If the
Lions do poorly in the T20, the Surrey manager could well find himself
under pressure, even though he's only 18 months into what he has always
said is a five-year plan. The T20 will set the tone for the rest of
Surrey's season. But, as I wrote in last week's Hook Report, I simply
cannot understand why the Lions are 16-1 to lift the T20 trophy. Don't get
me wrong, I don't see the Lions winning it, but I'd be surprised if they
didn't make the last eight.
WEEK TEN: JUNE 17
Given the start Surrey have made to the T20, one suspects their confidence
level is a just notch above that of Robert Green, the England goalkeeper.
But, as in the World Cup, it's not how you start the competition, but how
you finish it that matters. With twelve group games to come and a top four
place in the South Group still very much up for grabs, it would be
premature for anyone to write off the Lions. As I have said before, the
T20 could well set the tone for the rest of Surrey's season. So, this
week's clashes against Middlesex at Lord's then at home to Kent and Sussex
take on added significance. Having been booed off after each of their
opening two games, few would have given the Lions much of a chance at
Taunton last Saturday; especially with Somerset coming off an incredible
victory against Hampshire; in which they became the first team in Twenty20
history to successfully defend a total of 104. But thanks to
half-centuries from Mark Ramprakash and Younus Khan, and a brilliant
effort in the field, Rory Hamilton-Brown's men made relatively short work
of the Sabres. Although Surrey fell short a day later against Hampshire,
you have to take your hat off to Jimmy Adams, who became only the second
batsman ever to make a hundred against the Lions in the Twenty20. Looking
on the positive side it was a bad toss to lose - the toss in the opening
match against Gloucestershire being another - so, to an extent, things
just aren't going Surrey's way at the moment. It's also worth noting that
the Lions' 191-9 at the Rose Bowl was their second highest T20 total ever
batting second. Hopefully, with a few tweaks to their game plan, Surrey
can start silencing the boo boys. So far, Andrew Symonds has been a big
disappointment, particularly with the ball. Unlike the rest of the Lions'
attack, he doesn't seem to have any variations. Therefore, the first
change I'd make would be to employ him just as a batter and to give more
overs to the likes of Matthew Spriegel, who, despite being Surrey's most
economical bowler, has only sent down five overs in four matches. I also
think Symonds should be pushed up the order to number three, where Gareth
Batty has been given a go. If and when Symonds comes good it's crucial
that he's in for as many overs as possible.
WEEK ELEVEN: JUNE 24
Last week, I'm sure some of you thought I was being overly loyal to my
team when I suggested it was premature to write off Surrey's chances in
this season's FPT20. The phrase "you win some, you lose some"
could not apply more to the Twenty20, which is no respecter of form or
reputation. What the T20 does reward, however, is positive cricket. So,
after starting with three defeats in their first four games, the Lions
have now won three out of their last four to occupy third spot in the
South Group. If it stays that way, Surrey will be progress to the knockout
phase. Clearly, there's a long way to go before it gets to that stage, but
if the Lions could go into the T20 break with victories over Kent and
Essex they would surely fancy their chances of reaching the last eight,
even in spite of the absence of Jade Dernbach, who is likely to be
sidelined for the next month, and Steven Davies, whose impressive form
with the bat in all competitions this summer has been rewarded with a
call-up for the England A team. As someone who is still adjusting to the
razzamatazz of the Twenty20, even though it's been going seven years,
there are times when silence at a cricket match is golden. Never is this
more fitting than when Surrey are playing away to Kent and Essex, whose
fans are without doubt the most partisan you will come across. So, let's
hope Rory Hamilton-Brown's men, who have already managed to silence the
boo boys, can round off the week in a quietly confident fashion. Finally,
I am amazed that Younus Khan hasn't been selected for Pakistan's tour of
England. The word coming out of the Surrey dressing room is that he has
been a breath of fresh air. With Usman Afzaal struggling for form and no
clear indication, yet, of when Michael Brown is going to be fit again,
having Younus around, hopefully for the rest of the season, can only be
good news for the Ovalites.
WEEK THIRTEEN: JULY 8
There's an adage that a batsman is only as good as his last innings, which
is only true to an extent - for instance Mark Ramprakash has made as many
ducks in first-class cricket as he has scores over 130. What the saying
really means is that if a batsman hits a hundred one day and gets a blob
the next, chances are you'll remember what he did last. Driving home from
the Oval after the Glamorgan defeat, all I could think about was Surrey's
inability to convert 68-1 after six overs into a total up near 200. A
plethora of injuries aside, it had been a great week for Rory
Hamilton-Brown's men up to that point. A victory against Derbyshire in the
championship, followed by a convincing win against the Somerset Sabres in
the FPT20, but then defeat at the hands of one of the sorrier-looking
teams in this summer's T20. It wasn't difficult to tell that the Welshmen
had been struggling. The other day their head coach, Matthew Maynard, was
moaning about the format of this season's competition. The previous week,
Gloucestershire's Jon Lewis described the T20 schedule as
"madness". Funny that, given that the Gladiators have also
failed to make an impression. Looking at the South Group table, Sussex,
Essex and Somerset appear to be as good as through to the last eight,
which means Surrey now need to win more games than Hampshire in the run
in. I never thought it would come to this, but I might even start cheering
on Middlesex next week. The Panthers are playing Hampshire home and then
away. Mind you, it wouldn't exactly help Surrey's cause if Middlesex
finished the group strongly. So, first things first, the Lions really need
to go into this Sunday's visit to Arundel with a victory in the London
derby.
WEEK FOURTEEN: JULY 15
Looking back over past Surrey successes, the defining moments in most of
the triumphant campaigns were the matches Surrey won by a slender margin.
In 1996, it was the last ball victory over Northants, in 2000 it was
sneaking home by a couple of runs against Hampshire and in 2002 it was
beating Kent by two wickets at Canterbury. If, as now seems likely, the
Lions miss out on a place in the quarter-finals of the FPt20, they will
reflect upon the narrow defeats, both at home and away, to Essex and
Glamorgan. Winning close games breeds confidence. Similarly, losing close
games triggers doubt and insecurity. All too often, I'm afraid to say,
Surrey have looked hesitant this summer; not just in Twenty20, but also in
the championship. Six weeks ago, Chris Adams said to me: "I think
this team can go to the next level without doing too many things
differently. It's about making a choice of exerting themselves on the
opposition, rather than waiting for a situation to be created."
Sadly, we are still waiting to see the best the current Surrey side has to
offer. Whilst it would be easy to make a scapegoat of Andrew Symonds, the
Aussie all-rounder is another in what is now a growing line of overseas
players who, in recent times, have under performed in a Surrey shirt.
Three of Adams's four signings last winter have made an impression,
though. If Adams could persuade Eoin Morgan to follow the path taken by
Mark Ramprakash, of swapping north London for south London, I am sure he
will prove to be another piece in the jigsaw. People have asked me why
Surrey would want to sign an England regular. In recent times, England
have fallen in and out of love with middle order batsmen like Ravi Bopara,
so I wouldn't be at all surprised if Surrey saw quite a bit of Morgan,
who, at 23, is still serving his apprenticeship at international level.
WEEK FIFTEEN: JULY 22
It's such a shame the Lions missed out on a place in the last eight of the
FPt20. The manner in which they rounded off their Twenty20 campaign, by
dismantling Sussex and Gloucestershire, just showed they were capable of
going all the way. Now it's time to reproduce that level of intensity in
the other two competitions. If they can, there's no reason why Surrey
can't be pushing for promotion in the LV County Championship and
challenging for a semi-final place in the Clydesdale Bank 40League. This
Sunday, the two unbeaten sides in Group A of this summer's 40League go
head to head at the Brit Oval. Despite losing both of their FPt20 group
games to Surrey, Somerset earned themselves a home tie in the
quarter-finals. But the Lions will be looking to put their T20
disappointments behind them by making it a hat-trick of victories over the
Sabres, whose line-up will include the likes of Marcus Trescothick and
Craig Kieswetter. It has all the makings of an enthralling clash;
especially the contest within a contest between Kieswetter and Surrey's
Steven Davies, both of whom are breathing down the neck of England's first
choice stumper, Matt Prior. Let's hope Somerset will have an eye on
Tuesday's T20 quarter-final at Taunton.
WEEK SIXTEEN: JULY 29
In recent years, one thing that has frustrated Surrey managers, and has
also been picked up on by the press, has been the standard of Surrey's
fielding. Let's just say it could have been better. But this summer it has
undergone a transformation. Some of the catches that went to hand on what
turned out to be the final day against Northants last week were simply top
drawer. Andre Nel, who, for me, is the heartbeat of team, followed up the
key wicket of Stephen Peters with two stunning slip catches off Stuart
Meaker. The one to dismiss Alex Wakely wasn't just high and to Nel's
right. It was also travelling. On another day Tom Lancefield's catch low
down at point, or even Usman Afzaal's brilliant effort in covering twenty
yards to see the back of James Middlebrook, would have made the following
day's match reports in the national papers. But it was fitting that
Surrey's most dominant display in four-day cricket for four years ended
with Mark Ramprakash claiming the winning catch at mid-on, given that his
248 had set-up the innings victory. Unfortunately, the euphoria of
Surrey's third win in four championship matches dissipated when they came
up against Somerset in the Clydesdale Bank 40 last Sunday. With the
admission price for children being slashed to one pound, there was a
decent sized crowd. Sadly, due to Marcus Trescothick teeing off with 69
from 47 balls, they saw the Lions on the back foot throughout.
Nevertheless, Matthew Spriegel followed up the hundred he made against
Northants with a valiant 53. With teenage batters like Lancefield and Roy
breaking into the side, even "old-uns" like the 23-year-old
Spriegel have to respond to competition for places.
WEEK SEVENTEEN: AUGUST 5
If Chris Adams is a man under pressure, he wasn't really showing it after
last weekend's innings defeat to Middlesex. However, the Surrey manager
was perplexed by his team's recent dip in form. The campaign never comes
down to one match, but Surrey's fragile display against their arch rivals
will not have gone down well with the die-hard fans. The last time they
saw Surrey beaten by an innings at Lord's, back in 1995, a petition
calling for a change of management forced an Extraordinary General Meeting
in October of that year. Although I sense there isn't the same level of
unrest amongst the members, it is fair to say that some are looking at the
sums of money Surrey have spent on players and coaches and weighing it up
against results on the field. In the past, Guildford has often been a key
staging post in Surrey's season. Next week's Guildford Festival will be no
different. Should the Lions lose to Sussex this Sunday, their only
remaining hope of silverware will be gone. Although, as Alec Stewart said
at the last members' forum, it's a results business, Surrey's last five
championship matches must be used to look at some of the younger players,
particularly some of the younger batsmen. The likes of Laurie Evans are
too good to be playing second eleven cricket. We won't know if he is good
enough to hold down a place in the first team, unless he's given a run in
the side.
WEEK EIGHTEEN: AUGUST 12
While it was nice to see Surrey enter the record books for the right
reasons last week, the saying "the table doesn't lie" came to
mind when the Lions failed to follow up their CB40 victory over Glamorgan
with a win against Sussex. Last Sunday's defeat saw Surrey drop to third
place in Group A. The Lions haven't been accustomed to being in the top
half of any table of late, but, in the Clydesdale Bank 40, only the group
winners are guaranteed a semi-final berth. Meanwhile, in Division Two of
the County Championship, Surrey currently lie one off the bottom, even
though they have three wins under their belts. As much as Chris Adams
talks of progress - and a great deal of progress has been made this summer
- it will not sit well with the membership if the Oval outfit end the
season propping up the table. In their long and rich history, Surrey have
never finished bottom of the County Championship. Those who witnessed
Laurie Evans hitting hundreds in both innings at Whitgift School a month
ago will have difficulty understanding the club's decision to release the
22-year-old. Evans made 156 and 182 not out against Northants' second
eleven. In the same match, no other Surrey batsman managed more than 41.
Arun Harinath, who has since been recalled to the first team, made 0 and
6. The rumour mill often seems to be on overtime at Guildford, but the
whisper is that Evans was not afraid to make his feelings known. As Surrey
are blessed with so many up and coming batsmen, it would seem that an
example was made of Evans in case anyone else was thinking of piping up.
Mark my words, Laurie Evans will have no trouble finding a new county. The
former England wicketkeeper Jack Russell was seen at Whitgift and he will
almost certainly have gone back to Gloucestershire, for whom he is a scout
as well as wicketkeeping coach, with Evans's name in his notebook. The
other rumour doing the rounds at Guildford this week is that Usman Afzaal
is also on his way out of the Oval, and that Kent's Martin van Jaarsveld
is being lined-up as his replacement. Don't get too carried away, though.
Like Eoin Morgan, Surrey have gone after van Jaarsveld before only to be
given the brush off.
WEEK NINETEEN: AUGUST 19
Watching last weekend's Twenty20 finals day brought it home to me how, if
Surrey had been a bit more ruthless earlier in the competition they could
now be the T20 champions. Three of the last four teams were in the same
group as the Lions. Hampshire, who won it, only qualified for the
quarter-finals courtesy of a marginally better run-rate than Surrey's.
Indeed, the Royals were overwhelmed when they came to the Oval and
Somerset, the losing finalists, lost to Surrey home and away. Fifteen
years ago, Alan Hansen famously said: "You win nothing with
kids." Although he was wrong on that occasion - Manchester United, to
whom he was referring, went on to win the Premiership and the Champions
League that season - it's fair to say that to win trophies you need a
blend of youth and experience. Surrey are lacking that blend at the
moment, nevertheless it is heartening to see so many youngsters coming
through. Matthew Dunn, who has made just one first team appearance, was in
action for the England Under-19s last week. Judging from what I saw on
television, it won't be long before he'll be opening the bowling for
Surrey. In recent weeks a number of supporters have come up to me and
asked: "What do you think of Adams?" What I think they are
really asking is: "When are we Surrey going to be winning things
again?" In my view, the rebuilding process will take time, so
patience is needed. The one thing you can say is that Adams's record on
overseas players hasn't been good. If Chris can get put that right next
summer, his job will become a whole lot easier.
WEEK TWENTY: AUGUST 26
Just when I thought Surrey would get through to the end of the season
without losing again in the championship, they go and get hammered by
Worcestershire. The Pears are flirting with promotion, so the result
wasn't a complete shock. But the manner of defeat that was astounding.
Needing an unlikely 369 runs for victory, Surrey slipped to 66-4 on the
third evening. Down the years they have got out of tighter spots with a
draw. With the added threat of rain on the final day, one might have
expected the visitors to dig in and hope that the weather would come to
their aid. But less than ten overs into the last day, the match was over.
Having succeeded in spreading the field, Steven Davies and Rory
Hamilton-Brown were both caught in the deep. Eight balls later, Gareth
Batty drilled Matt Mason straight to cover to make it 119-8, leaving
Surrey beyond the point of escape. After match, Chris Adams inferred that
if Mark Ramprakash fails the belief isn't always there. In the six matches
the Oval outfit have lost in the championship this season, Ramprakash
averages 21.66 with the bat. In the others he has averaged 118.66. It
would seem, therefore, that Adams has a point. One day, Surrey will have
to manage without the run machine. With just a season left on his
contract, that day is approaching sooner than many of the fans at the Oval
would ideally like. At least we beat the Unicorns in the Clydesdale Bank
40. This Sunday's trip to Taunton might be a slightly bigger test.
WEEK TWENTY-ONE: SEPTEMBER 2
So, Kevin Pietersen is now a Surrey player. It will be interesting to see
whether his spell with the Lions can develop into a lasting relationship.
Sadly, his track record suggests it's unlikely. I have no doubt that,
weather permitting, he will score a stack of runs between now and the end
of the season. But even if he does the Surrey fans, players and, more
importantly, the management at the Oval will want to see if Pietersen
still has the appetite for county cricket. Since moving from
Nottinghamshire to Hampshire in 2004 he has only made a handful
championship appearances. From day one Pietersen has only had his eye on
one thing - playing international cricket. No one can blame him for that.
But whereas single-mindedness is quality you expect from a golfer or a
tennis player, in cricket it can win you few friends. When he sensed that
the door was closed for him playing for South Africa, Pietersen came to
the UK and, despite rumblings that he wasn't a 'team man', was selected to
play for England as soon as he was qualified to do so. He duly played his
part in England regaining the Ashes in 2005. But what will concern Chris
Adams, who has been at pains to stress that Pietersen is only a fixture at
Surrey until the end of the season, is that a more permanent move may be
forced upon him. Pietersen has said he wants to be based in London. Given
that Middlesex have given him the brush off that only really leaves
Surrey, which brings me onto my next point… Hampshire don't want to have
anything more to do with Pietersen. Angus Fraser, Middlesex's director of
cricket has said neither does he. Why is it that Pietersen is detested so
much? When he left Nottinghamshire, Pietersen's team-mates threw his kit
over the dressing room balcony at Trent Bridge. They also made a pact to
give his mobile number to anyone who asked for it. This season, despite a
number of injuries, Hampshire turned down the chance to play Pietersen on
Twenty20 finals day and were vindicated when they carried off the title
without him. Hopefully, Kevin Pietersen realises that it's about time he
started winning friends and influencing people. But can a leopard really
change his spots? It promises to be a very interesting end to the season
at the Oval.
WEEK TWENTY-TWO: SEPTEMBER 9
I now have hard evidence that things are improving at Surrey. Every
September, members of the Surrey CCC Supporters' Club send me their votes
for the end of season awards. Twelve months ago, such was the lack of
nominations, I started to wonder if the postmen had gone on strike. But,
this year, things are back to normal. Although the player of the season
category is unlikely to produce a surprise winner, the voting for young
player and most improved player is wide open. It serves to underline that
there is a wealth of talent coming through at the Oval. But, on the flip
side, there are hardly any Surrey players who can be described as the
finished article. Therefore, it's reasonable to expect a freshening up of
the squad during the off-season. Last week, Middlesex confirmed that one
of Chris Adams's targets, Eoin Morgan, will not be seeking pastures new.
But, to everyone's surprise, the north Londoners announced that Owais Shah
was being released. Shah would walk into any first team in the country.
Surrey have tried to sign him in the past and, with Usman Afzaal half way
out of the door, the 31-year-old would be a great catch. Unfortunately, it
seems that Shah has set his heart on playing for Lancashire. The England
seamer Ryan Sidebottom won't be coming to the Oval either. He's believed
to be on the verge of leaving Notts for Sussex. And the whisper that Kent
batsman, Martin van Jaarsveld might be tempted away from Canterbury has
now turned into a hush. So, the only targets who Surrey are still in
contact with are west country seamers Geemal Hussain and Mark Turner.
Hardly anyone had heard of Hussain before this season, but the
Gloucestershire man currently tops the list of wicket-takers in this
year's County Championship. The rumours suggest that Hussain favours a
move to Worcestershire. That would just leave Turner who has only made
four four-day appearances since moving from Durham to Somerset in 2006. Do
Surrey need another one-day bowler? Not really. So, even if Kevin
Pietersen is around in 2011, the 'work in progress' sign might still be
hanging over the Hobbs Gates in twelve months' time.
WEEK TWENTY-THREE: SEPTEMBER 16
It's not difficult to see why Kevin Pietersen has been dropped by England.
His 0 and 1 in 25 balls against Glamorgan on a flat Oval wicket underlined
just how out of nick he is at the moment. If it were anyone else, he would
almost certainly have been dropped for this week's visit to Bristol.
Anyway, it was brilliant to see Stewart Walters, whose place in the first
team has gone to Pietersen, make hundreds in both innings as the second
eleven retained their championship crown. It has also been a good week for
Steven Davies, whose 87 and 26 in the first two one-day internationals
against Pakistan must have advanced his claims to an Ashes berth this
winter. Often, when a Surrey player does well for England it's a
double-edged sword, but Davies's deputy, Gary Wilson is having a very
strong end to the campaign with the bat as well as the wicketkeeping
gloves. The hope must be that Davies is handed a central contract. With
much talk at the Brit Oval of a £200,000 cut to next year's cricket
budget, it would help with Chris Adams's rebuilding programme if the ECB
picked up the tab for Davies. A cut of that magnitude would still leave
spending on cricket at a level comparable with 2003, which was a pledge
made by the Surrey chairman, David Stewart. Sadly, Stewart will be
standing down at the end of the year to make way for the younger, and
decidedly more flamboyant Richard Thompson. Stewart was Chairman when
Thompson's chairmanship of the cricket committee was blamed for the Oval
outfit's decline in fortunes. But that was six years ago and Surrey
haven't exactly been in the hunt for silverware since then. Mike Soper,
who was chairman when they were the team to beat in county cricket, was
always going to be a hard act for Stewart to follow. But like Soper,
Stewart showed himself to be someone who not only had Surrey's interests
at heart but also those of the members. This was no better underlined when
he sought a mandate from the Surrey membership a few months ago on the
club's response to the ECB's proposed changes to the County Championship.
Have a long and happy retirement, David.
WEEK TWENTY-FOUR: SEPTEMBER 23
From a Surrey perspective, the 2010 season was hardly a vintage one, but,
in time, it could well go down as a defining year for the Oval outfit and
their manager, Chris Adams. Back in 1988, when Adams made his first-class
debut as a player - for Derbyshire against Surrey - county cricket lacked
the intensity of today's arena. Fans knew that championship matches
started on Saturdays and Wednesdays and the overseas players were
guaranteed to be household names. In that particular match, the respective
imports were Sylvester Clarke and Michael Holding - two of the finest fast
bowlers the game has ever seen. Also, at the end of the summer, supporters
wouldn't demand answers if their team had made little impression. They
would simply shrug their shoulders and say: "Oh well, there's always
next year." But as the dust begins to settle on another season
Matthew Maynard, who manages Glamorgan, is under fire for failing to take
the Welshmen up in the championship, while Tim Boon has gone before he was
elbowed out of the same job at Leicestershire, despite finishing fourth in
Division Two on a budget which is meagre in comparison to the resources
Adams has at his disposal; which explains why Chris Adams has been under
so much pressure. Another feature of 2010 was the number of county
captains who decided to stand down. Assuming Rory Hamilton-Brown continues
as skipper - there have been whispers that he would also prefer to go back
to the ranks - Surrey could be one of the few counties to start the 2011
campaign with the same captain and manager. If they do, it can only set
them up for a serious tilt at promotion in the championship and, who
knows, some one-day silverware. But the key will be whether Adams is
successful in recruiting a top-order batsman, an overseas spinner and
another seamer. Will Porterfield, who topped Gloucestershire's batting
averages, is one of the names in the frame. But it's hard to see how, with
a £200,000 cut to his cricket budget, it will be possible for Adams to
bring Porterfield plus two bowlers to the Oval. So, I'm not getting too
excited by the reports linking Surrey with Glamorgan's James Harris, who
took 63 championship wickets at 20.52 runs apiece this year. The priority
has to be securing the services of an overseas spinner. But there isn't
likely to be any news on that score until the spring, as Adams has said he
favours leaving it late before committing himself. And what of Kevin
Pietersen I hear you ask… well the jury is very much out, but if you
asked me to put money on it I'd say that Adams will be persuaded to take
him. I hope you winter well. All the very best and see you in 2011,
Marcus.
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