LANCASHIRE V SURREY at Old Trafford (LVCC1), 22-25 MAY 2016

Believe it or not, this will be only the fifth four-day meeting in eight years between these former championship powerhouses. But the contrast in fortunes of Surrey and their fellow promotees could not be starker. The red rose county began the last round of matches heading Division One of the Specsavers County Championship. Surrey, however, are starting to look cut adrift at the bottom of the table, following two defeats in five.

Looking beneath the surface, though, a Lancashire attack without James Anderson is a far less frightening prospect. The key men for them, going forward, will be New Zealand's Neil Wagner (15 championship wickets at 28.66 runs apiece) with the new ball and the former England slow left-armer Simon Kerrigan (14 scalps at 28.85) with the dog-eared cherry.

The emergence of all-rounder Liam Livingstone, 22, and keeper-batsman Alex Davies, 21, has made a huge difference to the balance of the red rose; especially when you add into the mix the fact that Lancashire, like so many sides in the top flight, bat all the way down pretty much.

Perhaps it's a good job they do. Haseeb Hameed is currently averaging 32.66, while fellow opener Karl Brown (24.16) has really struggled this season. Other than his 94 against Somerset at Taunton, Steven Croft has also looked worryingly out of touch, the captaincy already starting to weigh heavily on the likeable 31-year-old it would seem.

But the elephant in the room, from a Surrey perspective, is Alviro Petersen (326 championship runs at an average of 65.20). On top of currently being Lancashire's leading run-scorer, Petersen averages 70.75 against the Oval outfit in first-class cricket. In 2011 he made 210 against them for Glamorgan, not to mention 167 for Somerset three years ago. The key to this game will be bagging him early in both digs.


For Gareth Batty, 600 first-class career wickets are starting to come into view. The Surrey skipper needs eight more. Meanwhile, Ben Foakes looks set to make his 50th f-c appearance and Lancashire's 25-year-old seamer Tom Bailey (48) is fast approaching fifty first-class career victims.


With Ravi Rampaul (hamstring) limping out of the Middlesex game to join Surrey's long list of walking wounded, two men appear to be vying for the vacancy his absence creates - Matt Dunn, who is coming back from a strained hammy of his own, and Stuart Meaker, who has not seen any first team action, as yet, due to the groin injury he picked up just before the season got under way.

OPPONENT DATE RESULT VENUE SURREY OPPONENT
Middlesex 15-18 May 2016 Match Drawn The Oval 242 & 98-0 395
Yorkshire 8-11 May 2016 Lost By An Inns & 20 Runs Headingley 330 & 207 557-6d
Durham 1-4 May 2016 Match Drawn The Oval 457 & 244-6 607-7d
Somerset 24-27 Apr 2016 Match Drawn The Oval 463 & 181-8d 353 & 122-4
Nottinghamshire 10-13 Apr 2016 Lost By 3 Wickets Trent Bridge 225 & 389 446 & 172-7


Surrey-Lancashire championship games have developed a tendency for ending in stalemate - not, as I said first up, that they meet one another all that often. Much more relevant is that Surrey have only one victory in seven visits to Old Trafford, during which time the red rose county have claimed the spoils on three occasions. However, yet again, the weather looks set to play a leading role. Only day three looks likely to be escape a dousing of the wet stuff. Prediction - a confidence-boosting draw for the visitors.


K.
Brown, H.Hameed, L.Procter, A.Petersen, S.Croft (capt), A.Davies (wk), L.Livingstone, N.Wagner, T.Bailey, K.Jarvis and S.Kerrigan.


Russell Evans and Tim Robinson. Surrey have not won a championship game in which either of these two has stood since September 2012, when the Oval outfit overcame Notts, at home, by 195 runs. Combined leg-before-o-meter: 20.4% of dismissals.

DATE RESULT VENUE TOSS DECISION SURREY LANCASHIRE
14-17 Sep 2015 Match Drawn Old Trafford Surrey Bat 480 & 283-7d 272 & 195-7
31 May - 3 Jun 2015 Match Drawn The Oval Lancashire Field 448 & 186-0d 429
11-14 Sep 2012 Match Drawn Liverpool Lancashire Field 367 142-2d
11-14 Jul 2012 Match Drawn Guildford Surrey Field 430-5 485-7d
27-30 Aug 2008 Abandoned Blackpool No toss made - - -
16-19 Apr 2008 Match Drawn The Oval Surrey Bat 537-5d 241-6
19-22 Sep 2007 Won By 24 Runs The Oval Surrey Bat 427-9d & 295-5d 234 & 464
2-4 May 2007 Lost By 7 Wickets Old Trafford Surrey Bat 284 & 120 315 & 90-3
2-4 Sep 2004 Won By 147 Runs Old Trafford Surrey Bat 369 & 185 278 & 129
11-13 Aug 2004 Won By An Inns & 55 Runs Whitgift School Lancashire Bat 525 210 & 260
26-29 Aug 2003 Lost By 8 Wickets Old Trafford Surrey Bat 337 & 138 341 & 135-2
18-21 Apr 2003 Match Drawn The Oval Lancashire Bat 280 & 379-6 599
31 May - 3 Jun 2002 Match Drawn Old Trafford Surrey Bat 382 & 246-6d 194 & 112-3
8-11 May 2002 Won By 3 Wickets The Oval Lancashire Bat 216 & 309-7 320 & 200
29 Jun - 2 Jul 2001 Match Drawn The Oval Surrey Bat 248 & 320-9d 276 & 170-2
25-28 Apr 2001 Abandoned Old Trafford No toss made - - -
13-16 Sep 2000 Match Drawn Old Trafford Lancashire Bat 359 324 & 304-9d
2-5 Aug 2000 Won By 272 Runs The Oval Surrey Bat 310 & 227-4d 120 & 145
15-18 Jun 1999 Won By 4 Wickets The Oval Lancashire Bat 298 & 161-6 194 & 260
18-21 Jun 1998 Lost By 6 Wickets Old Trafford Lancashire Field 146 & 254-1d 151-7d & 250-4

GO TO:




BACK TO: