HAMPSHIRE V SURREY at the Ageas Bowl (LVCC)
26-29 SEPTEMBER 2023

Third in Division One plays host to the County Championship leaders. Surrey go into the final game of the season knowing a smattering of bonus points (or weather frustrating Essex’s bid for a maximum 24-point victory at Northampton) will be enough to clinch a second successive championship title and a third in the space of six summers.

In the first week of May, when Hampshire lost for a second time, their coach Adi Birrell wrote off his side’s chances, suggesting it was impossible to win the championship with two or more defeats from 14 games. It seemed defeatist, but events have borne Birrell out – Surrey have only lost once in this summer's Champo, at home to Lancashire.

But, as Hampshire proved at Chelmsford last week, when they did the Oval outfit a massive favour by ending Essex's run of six consecutive victories, this will be a tough assignment for Surrey.

James Vince (937 championship runs at an average of 49.31 this term), Nick Gubbins (931 at 49.00) and Liam Dawson (793 at 41.73) have all excelled with the bat, plus the combination of new-ball pair Kyle Abbott (43 wickets at 20.95 runs) and Mohammad Abbas (48 at 20.97), backed up by Dawson's slow left arm spin (which has produced 40 championship wickets at 22.07), have, yet again, made the south coast outfit a force to be reckoned with.

Surrey v Hampshire - First-Class Records Sheet

If he plays, Josh Blake will be making his first-class debut. Jordan Clark (2,954) is closing in on 3,000 f-c career runs. In terms of this summer, Clark along with Dan Worrall will both start the game with 47 first-class wickets in 2023. Of the Hampshire contingent, Kyle Abbott (596) needs four more wickets for 600 in f-c cricket, while Nick Gubbins (931) and James Vince (937) are both in with a chance of recording 1,000 first-class runs for the season.

Surrey are expected to be unchanged from the draw with Northants, but Josh Blake and Matt Dunn, neither of whom have featured in this year's County Championship, make the final squad of the 2023 season. 

Should Surrey beat Hampshire it will be their fourth home and away double in this season's championship, having already overcome Kent, Middlesex and Warwickshire twice this summer. The last time the Oval outfit scored four doubles in a County Championship campaign was back in 2002. But with weather around, the draw seems the most likely outcome, especially as Hampshire have a suspended 20-point deduction hanging over them for next season, after preparing an inadequate pitch for Essex's visit to the Ageas Bowl at the end of July.

F.Middleton, T.Albert, N.Gubbins, J.Vince (capt), T.Prest, F.Organ, L.Dawson, B.Brown (wk), J.Fuller, K.Abbott and Mohammad Abbas.

Peter Hartley and Martin Saggers.

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