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The last time these two sides met was at Whitgift School a couple of years ago when the only Surrey players anyone really knew were Jonathan Batty, Ian Salisbury and David Ward. Amazingly, the Oval outfit's scratch XI were odds on favourites with the bookies. As a result a number of punters cashed in. Someone who didn't, but thought he had, was Ed Giddins, who was in Leeds for the re-arranged C&G Trophy semi-final with Yorkshire. It was a bad weekend for Giddins - he conceded 42 runs off four overs when Surrey attempted to defend a total of 173. But I digress... The Northamptonshire Steelbacks' most recent victories have been nail-biting affairs and the 30-run defeat to Essex yesterday - a low-scoring encounter - was about as expected as the Surrey Lions' victory over Warwickshire. So, perhaps the tide is turning for both of tomorrow's combatants. When one looks at their side on paper, it is hard to understand why the Steelbacks are still harbouring hopes of carrying off this year's totesport League Division One title. However, they do possess one of the most miserly attacks on the county circuit. Between them, Ben Phillips and the spinners Jason Brown and Graeme Swann have sent down nearly 350 overs in one-day cricket this summer and are all averaging four runs per over or less. Johann Louw (23 List A scalps at 21.73 runs apiece) has been their leading wicket-taker, but finding an effective fifth and especially a sixth bowler has been something of a problem for the Wantage Road outfit. For one-day runs Northants have relied heavily on Gerard Brophy and Martin van Jaarsveld (554 List A runs at an average of 69.25), both of whom are currently missing. Van Jaarsveld's temporary replacement, Aussie Martin Love, is yet to hit his straps, but Durham's fans know how good a batsman the Queeslander really is. Until Love does find his feet, therefore, the Steelbacks' prospects will depend on the likes of skipper David Sales, Robert White and Graeme Swann putting decent scores together.
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