DERBYSHIRE V SURREY at Derby (LVCC2), 20-23 SEPTEMBER 2006

Ah well, all good things must come to an end. With the Division Two title in the bag, I cannot see Surrey being up for this contest if Sunday's half-hearted Pro40 performance at Taunton is any barometer. The Brown Caps' squad has its fair share of youngsters, which will hopefully give the game a bit more of an edge. But, if the weather forecast is to be believed (let's face it, they haven't got much right this summer), Surrey's first championship visit to Derby for six years is under threat from cricket's greatest enemy - rain. The wet stuff in projected to arrive on Friday, but what can we look forward to up to that point?

Without the runs supplied by the overseas trio of Travis Birt, Michael Di Venuto and Marcus North, Derbyshire would not now be enjoying fourth place in the Division Two table. The hosts will be disadvantaged in as much as Birt is the only one likely to feature over the next few days. The scalp of Steve Stubbings (949 championship runs at an average of 37.96) could therefore be the key to Surrey winning this match. However, watch out for 23-year-old Greg Smith, who made a promising 86 against Gloucestershire last month.

With the ball, the Nottingham Road outfit have relied heavily upon Steffan Jones (56 championship wickets at 30.17 runs apiece), who will be moving back to Somerset this winter and, therefore, may not play in this game. With skipper Graeme Welch sidelined with an Achilles injury, the hosts will be looking to Graham Wagg and Ian Hunter. Oh dear.

Rikki Clarke needs 30 runs to record his first 1,000-run season for Surrey and 5 wickets for 100 first-class career wickets. Nayan Doshi is two away from taking 50 f-c wickets for the season. For Derbyshire, Ian Hunter is on the brink of making his 50th f-c appearance, Steffan Jones is poised to make his one hundredth, while Graham Wagg is four away from his fiftieth f-c wicket.

Jade Dernbach, Rory Hamilton-Brown, Neil Saker and Stewart Walters are included in a youthful-looking 13-man squad; as are James Benning and Ian Salisbury, who missed last weekend's Pro40 fixtures due to finger and knee injuries respectively. Rikki Clarke and Mark Ramprakash will sit this one out, while Mohammad Akram has, not surprisingly, been dropped.

The last time each of tomorrow's umpires officiated in championship games involving Surrey, the Brown Caps won by an innings. On paper, even a weakened Surrey side looks more than a match for Derbyshire, but weren't we all saying that ahead of the season's opener, in which the visitors to the Brit Oval had their illustrious hosts following-on in their first Division Two outing? When there's nothing to play for I don't know that it's fair to expect me to come up with a winner - that's if the weather doesn't have its say as well.  

G Smith, S Stubbings (capt), C Taylor, T Birt, Hassan Adnan, A Botha, L Goddard (wk), G Wagg, J Needham, K Dean and I Hunter.

Nigel Cowley and Jeremy Lloyds.

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