WARWICKSHIRE V SURREY at Edgbaston (RCC)
9-12 MAY 2025

Second in Division One host the defending champions, who are currently third with four games banked. With Surrey sitting out the last round of matches, Warwickshire travelled to Headingley where Yorkshire looked strong on paper with England’s Harry Brook and Joe Root making their first appearances of the summer. But that didn’t stop the Bears romping to a five-wicket victory to add to their nail-biting success away to Durham a month ago.

Rob Yates (306 Champo runs at an average of 43.71) at the top of the order and the former Worcestershire all-rounder Ed Barnard (318 at 53.00) are leading the way with the willow this term for Warwickshire. While the talented Sam Hain and Dan Mousley haven't yet fired, Tom Latham has flown in from New Zealand to bolster the batting.

Michael Booth (16 wickets at 25.50 runs apiece so far) misses out due to an ankle injury, but Ethan Bamber (ex-Middlesex), who has hit the ground running with 18 scalps at 27.50, commands respect, as does Barnard and Bears stalwart Oliver Hannon-Dalby.      

With Gus Atkinson, Ollie Pope, and Jamie Smith in the England squad for the upcoming Test against Zimbabwe, this weekend’s four-day clash with Warwickshire will see New Zealand’s Nathan Smith and Australian batter Kurtis Patterson make their debuts for Surrey.

Last year, in his first professional stint outside of New Zealand, Smith emerged as Worcestershire's joint-highest wicket-taker in the championship, with 27 victims in seven matches at an average of 21.14.

Smith’s scalps included some former as well as current top order English batters, including Ben Duckett, Haseeb Hameed, Alex Lees, Ollie Pope plus his soon-to-be captain Rory Burns.

“Nathan is deceptively quick and particularly quick through the crease, which makes him skiddy,” said Burns. “But he’s also someone who gets the ball to swing and reverse. He made light work of me in that game at the Oval. About six balls, I think, before that was that.

“He gave us a bit of a whacking at the end of that game as well, making 60 in a losing cause. He struck the ball quite nicely and we’ve also seen how handy he is over the winter with New Zealand.”

Batty added: “We see him as a perfect fit. Our duty is to evolve every single player in our squad. If Nathan comes in, it’ll be because he’ll make our team better, rather than blocking off any of our homegrown players.

“We see Nathan as somebody who hasn’t reached his full potential. His skills set is there for all to see – he’s an international cricketer – but, with bat, we want to evolve his prowess. With ball, he’s probably ahead where his batting is. Our promise to him is to create an environment where he thrives and gets better.”

Kurtis Patterson’s career to this point has been a bit of a rollercoaster. Five years after playing two Tests for Australia – scoring an unbeaten century and finishing with an average of 144 from just two innings – the top order batter now finds himself back conversation in terms of an international recall.

In addition to making 743 runs at 57.15 in the Sheffield Shield for New South Wales last winter, the 32-year-old hit 137 against England A.

Surrey v Warwickshire - First-Class Records Sheet

Patterson and Smith look set to make their Surrey debuts, likewise Latham for Warwickshire. Ben Foakes (8,908) is approaching 9,000 first-class career runs. Jason Roy - who hasn't played f-c cricket since 2020 - is currently sitting on 4,850 first-class runs while Dan Worrall is on the cusp of a 100th f-c outing.

Tom Lawes, Jason Roy and Cam Steel are named in Surrey's 14-strong squad, as are new overseas signings Kurtis Patterson and Nathan Smith.

Surrey have a tendency to struggle away from SE11, but if they're going to make it four County Championship titles in a row, this is a game they should be winning. At the risk of jinxing the South Londoners, I'm going to say... a hard-fought victory for the Oval outfit.

R.Yates, A.Davies (capt), T.Latham, Z.Malik, S.Hain, E.Barnard, B.Webster, O.Hannon-Dalby, K.Smith (wk), C.Simmons and E.Bamber.

Ian Blackwell and Neil Pratt.

GO TO:




BACK TO: