SEPTEMBER 2009

SUPPORTERS' CLUB NEWS

SUPPORTERS' CLUB PLAYER OF THE SEASON AWARDS
This edition of Oval World contains a Player Of The Season voting slip so that you, the supporters, can reward the players for their efforts this summer. The four categories, as always, are Player of the Season, Most Improved Player of the Season, Young Player of the Season and the Sylvester Clarke Rum Moment of the Season. In case any of you are wondering about the last of these, it was introduced in 2002 to mark the most memorable Surrey-related moment of the summer. For example, last year's winner was Ramps hitting his hundredth first-class hundred. Get the idea? Of course you do. The Supporters' Club will present its end of season awards at Surrey CCC's end of season awards reception at the Brit Oval on Monday, 28th September.

GUILDFORD MARQUEE
We would like to thank everyone who visited the Supporters' Club marquee on the Sunday of the Guildford Festival. A particular thanks has to go to Tricia Garrard, who organised the preparation of sandwiches, teas, etc., so expertly and to the Hook brothers (Ben and Marcus) for managing the donation bar. The profit from the marquee will go towards the Surrey schools' winter cricket coaching programme, known as Outreach, along with the funds raised by this year's Century Club.

FANTASY LEAGUE LATEST
As at August 15, the latest standings in the Oval World Fantasy Cricket League 2009 were as follows:

CENTURY CLUB

The results of the fourth, fifth and sixth Century Club draws for this year are set out below. Anyone wishing to become a Century Club member for the rest of 2009 can do so by sending a cheque for £18 (made payable to "SCCCSC Century Club") along with their details to Sarah Atkins at The Cheviots, 236 Ashbourne Road, Mitcham, Surrey CR4 2DR.

4th Draw
1st - £50 - Stan Randall (No.66)
2nd - £15 - Nicola Randall (No.61)
3rd - £10 - Patricia Patten (No.100)

5th Draw
1st - £50 - Liam Randall (No.110)
2nd - £15 - John Hall (No.89)
3rd - £10 - Leslie Young (No.84)

6th Draw
1st - £250 - Nicola Randall (No.61)
2nd - £30 - Rob Boney (No.77)
3rd - £20 - Tony Packwood (No.56).

TEAM, CLUB AND OTHER NEWS

BATTY RETURNS TO THE OVAL
On August 27, it was announced that Gareth Batty will rejoin Surrey from Worcestershire, on a three-year deal, starting next season. The 31-year-old spinner, part of England's one-day squad for the tour of the West Indies earlier this year, played at the Oval from 1998 to 2001 before moving to New Road. But a dip in his form, which has seen him take just 10 wickets in this season's LV County Championship, at 72.40 runs apiece, and only average 10.93 with the bat has resulted in Batty seeking a new challenge. Batty told Worcester News: "I've looked in the mirror and I realised that I have to do what is best for me in my career. For more than a year I have not progressed as I wanted to. I want to give myself every opportunity to get the best out of my ability so that I can think at the end of my career, whenever that might be, I got everything out of my ability. If that happens, I'll be a happy man. It is a shame I have not played as I would have wanted this year and there is no real reason for it, but it's down to me." The Brown Caps' Professional Cricket Manager, Chris Adams was quoted in Surrey's press release as saying: "Getting Gareth on board will certainly bring healthy competition for bowling places within the squad. Having several options within the spin department is integral to a successful team and I now feel confident that we have a lot of depth there now."

ECB CONFIRMS THE END OF 50-OVER GAMES
The England and Wales Cricket Board have confirmed there will not be a domestic 50-over competition from next season. It means the Friends Provident Trophy has been dropped from the calendar. In the summer of 2010, counties will contest the four-day LV Championship, a new-look Twenty20 competition and a 40-over event, which the counties favoured, by 13 votes to five, over retaining a 50-over trophy. The Twenty20 tournament will be formed of two pools of nine based along a North-South split before moving into a quarter-final stage. Next summer's 40-over competition will consist of three pools of seven teams, which means three extra sides will supplement the 18 counties. In each pool the teams will play each other both at home and away. The identity of the three additional sides hasn't been revealed as yet, but Ireland and Scotland have been part of the Friends Provident Trophy, while a combined minor counties team is expected to make up the numbers. The ECB has also increased the number of overseas players permitted in Twenty20 action from one to two, though the limit will remain at one in championship cricket.

SURREY SIGN DAVIES ON THREE-YEAR DEAL
On August 25, Surrey announced the signing of Steven Davies, who has put his signature on a contract that will run until the end of 2012. Davies, 23, who made his International Twenty20 debut in March, will leave Worcestershire at the end of the season. A former captain of the England Under 19s, Davies has impressed at all levels. After averaging more than Graeme Hick in his debut season, he scored more than one thousand first-class runs in 2006 - a tally that included his career best 192, against Glamorgan, at the age of just nineteen. The Brown Caps' Professional Cricket Manager, Chris Adams said: "We are looking to build a side that will be capable of winning trophies for many years to come and Steven is exactly the kind of player that will help us do that. He has proven his talent on the domestic scene and I hope that by moving to Surrey he will be able to establish himself at the highest possible level." The Managing Director of Surrey Cricket, Gus Mackay, added: "The signing of Steven Davies underlines the direction we are moving the Club in. He is an exciting, young, international player and will play a massive role in bringing long term success to Surrey."

SMITH CLEARED OF ASSAULT
The former Surrey and England cricketer, David Smith, has been cleared of assaulting a fellow guest at a charity bash to celebrate Sir Ian Botham's knighthood. Smith, 53, who now lives near Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, was cleared of assault occasioning actual bodily harm at a trial at Southwark Crown Court. He had been accused of punching Stephen Best at London's Grosvenor House Hotel on May 9 last year, for intervening in a row with his girlfriend. Mr Best told jurors he was attacked when he stepped in to protect Christine Bell when Smith pushed her against a lamppost. He told jurors that Smith - who played two Tests for England and made 169 first-class appearances for Surrey in the 1970s and 1980s - punched him in the face, leaving him with a broken nose and black eye. But a jury cleared Smith, a member of the star-studded Bunbury Cricket Club. The event, to celebrate Botham's knighthood, was attended by the likes of Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts and a host of cricketing heroes including David Gower and Dennis Lillee. Smith and Christine Bell were seen "screaming and bellowing" outside the five-star venue when Best intervened, the court was told. The two men began grappling and Mr Best fell to the ground. Smith told the court he had little memory of the altercation. He said he had been dining and drinking with pals from the cricket club all night before the incident. The former Charlton footballer Steven Thompson, 54, gave evidence as a character witness and said Smith was a keen fund-raiser for charity.

HSE DEFENDS OVAL STANCE
On August 20, the Planning Resource website reported that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has not altered the stance it took on the plans to redevelop the Oval, even though the government has chosen to ignore the HSE's advice and give the £35m project the go ahead. The development, which was approved by the London Borough of Lambeth in January 2008, was thrown into doubt after the HSE expressed concern over the site's proximity to gasholders. Inspector Brian Sims recommended approval after a 15-day inquiry in December. Hazel Blears MP, the then Communities Secretary, used section 321 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 for the first time to ensure that sessions relating to matters of national security were held in private. In its response, the HSE maintained that the development would increase the numbers of people brought into dangerous proximity to the gasholders. However, following its review of the inquiry decision it said: "Having carefully considered the secretary of state's decision and the inspector's recommendation, the HSE does not feel that the outcome of this particular case requires a reassessment of its general land-use planning methodology or advice policy. The HSE added that it does not believe that the case necessitates a review of its policy on gasholders either. It highlighted the inspector's conclusion that its advice was justified and was prepared using sound methodology. It will still provide advice on applications near the sites of potentially major hazards, it explained." When the development was eventually approved back in June, Paul Sheldon, the chief executive of Surrey said: "It was a very frustrating period for everyone involved. Thankfully it has been a triumph for common sense."

SURREY RELEASE ORMOND
On August 12, Surrey announced that they would not be offering new terms to four players, including James Ormond, who took 221 wickets in 72 first-class appearances for the Oval outfit between 2002 and 2008. Along with the 31-year-old, batsman Chris Murtagh, all-rounder James Benning and off-spinner Murtaza Hussain have all been released and are free to speak to other counties. Surrey managing director of cricket Gus Mackay said: "As we build for the long-term future of Surrey cricket, it has become clear that these four players will not figure in our plans for next season - and we have acted now to give them the best possible chance of finding employment. I would like to pay tribute to them all for the contribution they have made to the club and wish them well for the future."

TANVIR DEAL FALLS THROUGH
On August 11, the CricInfo website reported that the Pakistan fast bowler Sohail Tanvir's deal with Surrey fell through after the player was turned away by immigration officers at London's Heathrow airport for having the wrong visa papers on July 31. A Surrey spokesman, who confirmed that Tanvir will not be playing for the county this season, was quoted as saying: "We specified to our agency the type of player we were looking for once we had been made aware that Andre Nel would not play again this season due to injury, and the agency came back with a recommendation for Tanvir. We instructed the agency to carry out all the usual tasks required when making an overseas signing and we were confident that Tanvir would be playing for us shortly after his arrival in the UK. The immigration documentation required to play as a county player is entirely different to that which is required to play as an international player and perhaps Sohail and his advisors overlooked this fact." Tanvir, 24, who did not go on Pakistan's tour of Sri Lanka, after a poor World Twenty20, had said he was spending his time out of the side "overcoming his problems" and was set for a stint with the county.

NEL HAS SURGERY ON LEFT ELBOW
On August 10, the Brown Caps' fast bowler Andre Nel had surgery on his left elbow after aggravating an injury he sustained during Surrey's Pro40 visit to Manchester. Nel, who was carrying a heavy bag at the time, suffered a severe blow to his left elbow on a doorframe in the hotel where the team were staying as he attempted to walk through a passageway. The problem, thought not to be that serious at the time, was scanned as a precautionary measure and it was later found that the blow had caused a complete rupture to the lateral collateral ligament and the common extensor tendon at the humeral attachment. Surrey's Professional Cricket Manager, Chris Adams said: "This is obviously very disappointing for the team and for Andre personally but it's an injury that needs to be dealt with quickly otherwise it could have long term ramifications. Andre has played a huge part in our season so far, on and off the field, so I'm looking forward to having him back at the earliest opportunity."

CHRIS SCHOFIELD SIGNS TWO-YEAR EXTENSION
On August 7, Surrey announced that Chris Schofield had signed a two-year extension to his current contract. Schofield, 30, has been with the Brown Caps since the end of the 2006 season, said: "Signing on for another two years at Surrey gives me immense pleasure. I would like to thank Chris Adams and Gus Mackay for showing their faith in me, which I hope to repay in coming times." Surrey's Professional Cricket Manager, Chris Adams added: "I have been delighted with Chris's attitude and eagerness to improve his game, whilst still making sure that he is competitive in all forms of cricket that we play. He is a valuable member of our squad and we are very pleased he has agreed to this extension."

MARK BUTCHER ANNOUNCES HIS RETIREMENT
On August 6, on the eve of the Test match at Headingley, scene of possibly his finest hour, Surrey's Mark Butcher announced his retirement from first-class cricket due to a persistent problem with his left knee. Butcher said: "I've had three operations on my left knee since June last year and I face the prospect of another one in three or four weeks' time. By the time I'd gone through that it was going to be 2011 before I could play again. I couldn't see myself going through that whole rehab situation again, with no real guarantee that it was going to come to anything." Butcher played in 71 Tests for England between 1997 and 2004, scoring 4,288 runs at an average of 34.58 and taking 15 wickets. But after missing most of the 2005 season, due to an injured left wrist, he was lost to the international stage. Surrey were relegated in County Championship that year, as well as in 2008, when his knee problem resurfaced at the end of May. But his record in charge of the Brown Caps was exceptional - 27 wins and just seven defeats out of 60 championship games at the helm. Butcher made his Surrey debut in July 1991, in the Sunday League against Glamorgan, who, at the time, were skippered by his father Alan; who went on to become the Brown Caps' batting coach in 1998 and later their manager between 2006 and 2008. Although Glamorgan won the game by three runs, Mark's unbeaten 48 grabbed the Monday morning headlines. In and out of the Surrey side for a while, Butcher first came to prominence in the County Championship as a seam bowler. In the curtain-raiser to the 1994 season, against Worcestershire, he took 4-31 and 4-67, including the wicket of Graeme Hick in both digs. Four months later, against Hampshire at Southampton, he recorded the first of his 38 first-class hundreds. After making 1,604 runs at an average of 51.74 in first-class cricket in 1996 he made his Test debut against Australia at Edgbaston in June 1997 and played in five out of the six Tests. Looking back, it now seems hard to believe that in his first fifty innings in Test cricket, Butcher averaged just 25. But the 2001 Ashes series was to change all that. On the eve of his 29th birthday, at Headingley, he played the innings of his life. With Australia setting England an unlikely 315 to win, Butcher batted out of his skin to make an unbeaten 173 and carry his side to memorable six-wicket victory. Butcher acknowledges it as the high point of his career, if, for no other reason, because it cemented his place at number three in England's Test team. But ever a Surrey man at heart, he rates winning the County Championship in 1999 as the main highlight. Butcher said: "I still think my favourite moment looking back was winning the championship with Surrey in 1999, with a team of guys who were pretty much my mates from when I was going to school. That was a great moment and one that I'll always remember very fondly." In recent years, which have mostly been lean ones for Surrey, Butcher has had a hand in the club's on-going rebuilding process. He said: "Being captain and not being able to get on the park is difficult for the team and myself. The biggest sadness, if it has to be called that, at this moment in time is that I haven't really been able to help in terms of the transition period that Surrey are going through. But I've seen it before. When I joined the club in 1990, a big club, it took six or seven years with a group of Surrey guys to become a great side. That's pretty much what's going to have to happen again and it would have been very exciting to have been a part of that, but, unfortunately, the knee had other plans."

SURREY WOMEN CLINCH INAUGURAL T20
Surrey Women matched their male counterparts by winning the inaugural ECB County Twenty 20 competition. Despite entering the competition as underdogs Surrey pulled off wins against Berkshire and Kent. In the first game against Berkshire, Surrey posted a competitive 144 with Ebony Rainford-Brent reaching a half-century; well supported by Sarah Clarke, Amanda Potgeiter and recently arrived retired Australian opening bowler Emma Sampson. Berkshire got off to a flying start with excellent batting from the world's number one batter, Clare Taylor, scoring 101 for 1 off the first fourteen overs. When Potgeiter struck to take Taylor's wicket, caught by Clarke at deep square leg, Berkshire's run chase faltered. With some aggressive and accurate bowling from Sampson Surrey were able to ensure that Berkshire fell eight runs short of the winning total. Surrey went into the second game against Kent feeling confident after the performance in the morning. Unfortunately, on a slower and lower wicket than the previous game, Surrey only managed to post a score of 80 off their 20 overs. Potgeiter decided to open the bowling with fast bowler Sampson and leg spinner Clarke as the weather was closing in. Three quick wickets put the pressure on the Kent batters who needed to keep up with a run rate of four an over. At the end of the seventh over, despite having England player Lydia Greenway at the crease, Kent were only on 26 runs, two short of the required rate. One ball into the eighth over, with Kent on 27, the heavens opened and players rushed off the field. Fortunately the weather did not clear which meant that Surrey were winners of the match with the higher run rate. Due to worse weather the next day Surrey were unable to play the last remaining team, Sussex. This left Surrey as the inaugural winners of Twenty 20 Competition League One.

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