SURREY V NOTTINGHAMSHIRE at the Kia Oval (RCC)
15-18 SEPTEMBER 2025

First versus second. It could all come down to this, especially as the gap between the two is now a solitary point. Last week Notts beat the rain and Worcestershire to win by three wickets while Surrey could only manage a draw with Warwickshire.

Haseeb Hameed, the Notts skipper, has had a stellar season with the bat (1,108 red-ball runs at an average of 69.25). Indeed, just one man, Surrey's Dom Sibley has scored more runs in Division One this summer. The visitors' support cast have also been remarkably consistent. Lyndon James (716 runs) is averaging 51.14, Jack Haynes (796) 46.82, Ben Slater (909) 45.45 and 20-year-old Freddie McCann (701) 41.23. Also, don't write off Joe Clarke, who averages 86.00 at the Oval in first-class cricket.

The main dangers with the ball will be Josh Tongue (23 championship wickets at 23.47 runs apiece this term), Mohammad Abbas (26 at 24.46), Dillon Pennington and, if he's fit again to play, Brett Hutton. Slow left-armer Liam Patterson-White poses Notts' spin threat. 

Both camps say they're relishing the prospect of going head-to-head in what could well be a showdown pivotal to the outcome of this year's Champo.

Peter Moores, Notts' head coach, has been quoted as saying: "We’re playing good cricket and have done for a long time now and we have a lot of people playing very well. The story of the season is that contributions have come from lots of different places. It’s not been just one person. Everyone has chipped in. I think last week's win at Worcester said a lot about where the team is at, but more importantly, there were moments in the game that told you where this team is at."

Meanwhile Gareth Batty has said: "There is a real excitement in our dressing room about this game, which should be a really good advert for English domestic cricket."

Surrey v Notts - First-Class Records Sheet

Rory Burns (13,997) needs just 3 more runs for 14,000 in first-class cricket. Jordan Clark (3,888) and Dan Lawrence (7,886) are closing in on 4,000 and 8,000 respectively. Tom Curran (199) is just one wicket shy of 200 f-c victims. Turning to Notts... Joe Clarke (8,843) is eyeing up a 9,000th first-class run while Dillon Pennington (194) is approaching the milestone of 200 f-c wickets. Ben Slater (909) needs another 91 runs for 1,000 in this season's County Championship.

Tom Curran has been added to the Surrey squad. But with still no overseas representation and players involved in the white-ball series with Ireland unavailable, the hosts will hope that the groin injury Dom Sibley picked up against Warwickshire has benefited from a few days' rest.

Surrey haven't lost to Notts at the Oval since 2008. Furthermore, their four-day record in SE11 since the beginning of 2021 reads 20 victories, 13 draws and just one defeat (to Lancashire two years ago) out of 34. But, if the forecasters have got it right, rain could well be the winner. Prediction - draw.

H.Hameed (capt), B.Slater, F.McCann, J.Clarke, J.Haynes, K.Verreynne (wk), L.James, L.Patterson-White, J.Tongue, D.Pennington and M.Abbas.

Ian Blackwell and Nigel Llong.

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