SURREY V KENT at the Kia Oval (SSCC1), 7-10 JULY 2019

Sixth plays host to fifth. Surrey go into this contest having lost 4 of their last 9 championship games, which takes some fathoming given their four defeats before that came in the space of 36. Kent, meanwhile, have punched above their weight since winning promotion; registering victories over Warwickshire at Edgbaston in Game Two and Notts at Tunbridge Wells in Game Seven.

Let's be honest, though - neither Surrey nor Kent are likely to be challenging for the title. Still, both will see this contest as an ideal opportunity to build confidence going into the second half of the season. Relegation shouldn't be an issue, now, with Notts crumbling again, this time to Essex.

Kent are currently without an overseas player, following Cricket South Africa's decision to recall all-rounder Wiaan Mulder. However, the arrival of off-spinner Ollie Rayner on loan from Division Two strugglers Middlesex has given skipper Heino Kuhn an astonishing amount of control in the field. Rayner is conceding just 1.40 runs per over; plus he enjoys playing at the Oval, where he bagged match figures of 15-118 in 2013.

Matt Milnes and Harry Podmore appear to have benefited from getting regular game time. Both have taken 34 championship wickets thus far - Milnes at an average of 24.97 and Podmore 26.82. In terms of the first change, the hop county has been forced by injuries, availability and, to some extent, advancing years, to shuffle Mitch Claydon (who is averaging 24.33 in the championship), Darren Stevens (30.43) and Grant Stewart (30.87).

While the batting has been a bit of a concern for Kent, they come into this game having just racked up 585-7 declared against Warwickshire at Canterbury, where Sean Dickson (161) and Daniel Bell-Drummond (166) grabbed the chance to fill their boots. Zak Crawley and Ollie Robinson chipped in with seventies, but it's their consistency the hop county must be most pleased about. Crawley heads their championship batting averages with 639 runs at 42.60. Just below him is Joe Denly (38.83), who missed the Surrey clash at Beckenham owing to a niggling back.

Surrey v Kent - First-Class Records Sheet

Sam Curran - who made his first-class debut in the corresponding fixture four years' ago - will start three scalps shy of 150 f-c wickets. Other first-class milestones coming into view - Rikki Clarke (133 runs short of 11,000), Morne Morkel (19 away from 2,000 runs) and Ryan Patel (155 runs needed for 1,000). And here's a stat - Surrey have played Kent more than any other county in all three forms of the game - 280 times in first-class cricket, 73 times in one-day cricket and 30 in Twenty20; although, in T20, Middlesex have also played the Oval outfit on thirty occasions.

Rory Burns has recovered from the illness that caused him to miss only his second championship game since June 2015, or put another way two absences in 59. The skipper's return will be welcome given that he tops Surrey's four-day batting averages with 505 runs at an average of 42.08. Matt Dunn, who tops the Oval outfit's Champo bowling averages with 13 scalps at 21.30 apiece is also named in the hosts' 14-man squad (as, indeed, he was for last week's ill-fated trip to Scarborough, which proved to be a good one for Dunn to sit out).

Seven of the last eight championship meetings between Surrey and Kent have produced a win for one of the sides. On a much more positive note than the intro (top of the page), only one of the South Londoners' last 13 defeats in four-day cricket have come at the Oval - that was Essex's one-run victory at the end of last season (and you have to go back to Derbyshire's eight-wicket win in September 2014 for the one before that). With a bit of rain forecast for the final day, my prediction is: Keeping the faith by going for a confidence-boosting draw. 

Z.Crawley, S.Dickson, J.Denly, D.Bell-Drummond, H.Kuhn (capt), O.Robinson (wk), G.Stewart, D.Stevens, O.Rayner, H.Podmore and M.Milnes.

Steve O'Shaughnessy and Billy Taylor.

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