ESSEX V SURREY at Chelmsford (Metro Bank One-Day Cup)
22 AUGUST 2023

The two sides propping up Group A meet at Chelmsford to determine which will avoid picking up the wooden spoon. Sadly, Surrey and Essex, both of whom reached the semis in 2021 - despite losing a similar number of players to The Hundred as they have this term - haven't embraced the unique opportunities the one-day cup offers in anything like the same way. The only victory each has scored so far was by the slender margin of three runs.

For the second season running, Surrey have opted against bringing in overseas experience, with the consequences obvious - one that, when injuries bit, the Oval outfit were forced to turn to the likes of Luke Griffiths, a 17-year-old seamer, and Tommy Ealham, a 19-year-old off-spinning all-rounder just to get an eleven on to the park.

It's true that no county has seen as large a proportion of its players lost to The Hundred in recent summers as Surrey. But the most disappointing aspect of their dreadful one-day cup campaign is that, despite occupying the same group as Hampshire (who lost 10 players to The Hundred), Lancashire (who lost 7), Notts (also 7) and Yorkshire (9), the only one they look advantage of was Notts – and that was ultimately down to Dan Moriarty’s extraordinary three wickets in four balls.

Given that it's seen as a development competition, one wonders who it has developed. The only bowler to take a wicket for Surrey in the two most recent Metro Bank matches, at Guildford, was Moriarty, who has just signed a three-year contract with Yorkshire and will be off at the end of a season in which, yet again, the 24-year-old has become a peripheral figure at the Oval, in the T20 Blast as well as in the championship.

Essex boast just two batters with more than 130 runs in the Metro Bank - 18-year-old Charlie Allison (250 at an average of 41.66) and Aussie all-rounder Beau Webster (191 at 31.83).

Webster has been amongst the wickets too, with 12 scalps at 26.91 apiece. Aaron Beard has also bagged 12 (28.00), while slow left-armer Aron Nijjar (11 at 24.54) has used the One-Day Cup to remind everyone he's still around.

Just one Surrey bowler is averaging less than 37.00 - leg-spinner Cameron Steel (9 wickets at 29.33). Steel has also scored two half-centuries, as have Ben Geddes and Ryan Patel.

Surrey v Essex - List A Records Sheet

Surrey's Ryan Patel (943) and Essex's Beau Webster (919) will start this game with the landmark of 1,000 List A career runs in their sights, while, if he plays, Essex opener Josh Rymell (428) is in with a chance of reaching 500.

The visitors have named an unchanged squad.

Both sides have not put the runs on the board they would have liked in this season's one-day cup, so that's where this game will be won or lost. Since 2018, just four of Surrey’s 13 victories in List A one-day cricket have come when the Oval outfit batted first. Ignoring weather-affected games, the last time the South Londoners successfully defended a first innings total below 265 in 50-over cricket was in 2016 (v Yorkshire at Leeds).

L.Benkenstein, F.Khushi, T.Westley (capt), B.Webster, C.Allison, N.Thain, W.Buttleman (wk), B.Allison, A.Beard, J.Richards and A.Nijjar.

TBC

GO TO:




BACK TO: