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 |
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