SURREY LIONS V WARWICKSHIRE BEARS at Guildford (CB40), 24 JULY 2011

Guildford sees Surrey square up to the reigning CB40 champions. However, the Lions have lost their last four one-day fixtures at Woodbridge Road; three of which have been won, relatively comfortably, by the side batting second. So, if you're reading this Rory, and you win the toss, you know exactly what to do!

The visiting Bears will be keen to bounce back from their surprise four-run defeat to Scotland at Edinburgh last Monday. But for Ant Botha's 45, the margin would have been even bigger. The result means that Warwickshire cannot afford any further setbacks.

The Bears' strength in the CB40 has been with the bat. Varun Chopra has made 384 runs at an average of 54.85 this term, while fellow opener Will Porterfield - who nearly joined Surrey - is averaging over forty. But, Darren Maddy and Mohammad Yousuf, two of Warwickshire's other leading lights this summer will not be lining up against the Lions tomorrow. One man who might, though, is Laurie Evans, who, along with Rikki Clarke, would love to prove a point to his former employers.

Warwickshire's shortcomings with the ball have led to the acquisition of New Zealand off-spinner Jeetan Patel, who is fresh from taking 6-111 and ten wickets in the match against Sussex in the championship. The Bears have lacked a partnership breaker in this year's CB40. Andrew Miller Rikki Clarke and Ant Botha have all bowled economically, but wickets have been in short supply. 

Click here for the Surrey v Warwickshire List A Records sheet as at the start of the 2011 season.

Matthew Spriegel, who returns to the Surrey squad, but is by no means certain to play, currently has 939 List A career runs.  

There are no real surprise inclusions or omissions in Surrey's 13-man squad for this match, aside from the naming of three spinners - Ansari, Batty and Schofield - which could be a risk given the size of the ground.

Surrey have now lost three matches on the bounce - two in the T20 and one in the championship. In addition, their record at Guildford in recent years is best forgotten. So, with Rikki Clarke and, possibly, Laurie Evans in the Bears' line-up, looking to wreak revenge over the Lions, my instincts tell me that this game is set up for a Warwickshire victory.

V Chopra, W Porterfield, J Troughton (capt), L Evans, R Clarke, N Carter, C Woakes, A Botha, R Johnson (wk), J Patel and A Miller.

Ismail Dawood and Tim Robinson.

GO TO:




BACK TO: