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KENT V
SURREY at Canterbury (CC1), 4-7 SEPTEMBER 2003 Since losing
to Surrey at The Oval at the beginning of July, Kent
have won four out five in the County Championship. Two of them have been
convincing victories over Nottinghamshire, but Middlesex were also trounced by
nine wickets.
What epitomised that win at Lord’s was the way virtually every member of
Kent’s top order contributed runs. It was good from a neutral perspective to see
David Fulton in good nick again, following the eye
injury he sustained at the start of the season. But
a concern for Surrey must be the all-round
talents of Amjad Khan, which are starting to come
to the fore. The Dane has made 124 in his last two
championship innings, in addition to chipping in with the new ball.
The visitors have drafted in Franklyn Rose as replacement
for Saqlain Mushtaq, but will be without Bicknell, Butcher, Stewart and
Thorpe, who are all on England duty. Assuming Ed
Smith, who heads Kent’s batting averages with 1,088 runs in the County
Championship, is also included in the side for the
Fifth Test those losses will be offset in some way. A
key scalp could therefore be that of Geraint Jones who has a memorable first
full season behind the sticks as well as with the bat. The 27-year-old is
currently averaging 51.43 in championship cricket.
For Surrey, Ian Salisbury is poised to make his 100th
championship and first-class appearance for the county. Salisbury also
needs six more wickets for a career fifty against Kent. Finally, Nadeem
Shahid is one away from making the 10th hundred of his career.
Today's win under lights extends Surrey's successful run against Kent to seven
wins out of seven in all competitions. How much longer can it last?
In the championship The Oval outfit have not suffered at the hands of Kent since
the end of 1997, however trends will count for nothing if the visitors are
unable to counter the threat posed by Muttiah Muralitharan. Must win games
usually bring the best out of Adam Hollioake's men, but after what happened at
Leicester and Old Trafford, they are far from being the form side. It's
painful to say, but I think Kent will edge it slightly.
Assuming Mark Ramprakash suffers no ill effects after playing in today's day-nighter
and Azhar Mahmood's thigh strain does not prove to be a handicap, the visitors
should line-up as they did tonight. Tim Murtagh and Scott Newman are on
standby just in case.
D Fulton (capt), R Key, M Carberry, A Symonds,
M Walker, M Ealham, G Jones (wk), A Khan, M Saggers, M
Muralitharan and A Sheriyar.
|
2-5 Jul 2003 |
Won By 186 Runs |
The Oval |
|
19-22 Jul 2002 |
Won By 2 Wickets |
Canterbury |
|
12-14 Jun 2002 |
Won By 9 Wickets |
The Oval |
|
16-19 Aug 2001 |
Match Drawn |
Canterbury |
|
20-23 Apr 2001 |
Match Drawn |
The Oval |
|
23-26 May 2000 |
Match Drawn |
Canterbury |
|
11-14 May 2000 |
Match Drawn |
The Oval |
|
2-5 Jun 1999 |
Won By An Innings & 28 Runs |
Tunbridge Wells |
|
29-31 May 1998 |
Won By An Innings & 30 Runs |
The Oval |
|
18-20 Sep 1997 |
Lost By 5 Wickets |
Canterbury |
|
9-13 May 1996 |
Match Drawn |
The Oval |
|
3-7 Aug 1995 |
Match Drawn |
Canterbury |
|
15-19 Sep 1994 |
Match Drawn |
The Oval |
|
5-9 Aug 1993 |
Match Drawn |
Canterbury |
|
14-16 Jul 1992 |
Lost By 72 Runs |
Guildford |
|
2-5 Aug 1991 |
Match Drawn |
Canterbury |
|
9-13 May 1991 |
Lost By An Innings & 3 Runs |
The Oval |
|
7-10 Sep 1990 |
Match Drawn |
Canterbury |
|
21-24 Jul 1990 |
Match Drawn |
Guildford |
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