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After winning their first two National Cricket League games of the season, the first real test will come tomorrow at Worcester. Worcestershire, who so narrowly missed out on promotion in the County Championship last season, lost just three one-day league games in 2002. Having not met the Royals in any form of cricket since the NatWest quarter-final of 1999, Surrey will be encountering one or two players for the first time. Not so, Gareth Batty who left The Oval at the end of 2001. Since then he has played 27 one-day games for his new county and was even called-up by England a couple of times in Australia last winter. Skipper Ben Smith, who made seven half-centuries in last season's Norwich Union League, is also known to the visitors from his days at Leicestershire; as is Graeme Hick, who continues to be a force at county level as he proved in Worcestershire's first NCL outing of the new season in which he made an unbeaten half-century. But it is fair to say that Kadeer Ali and his cousin Kabir are unknown quantities, as is seamer Matt Mason. Without Andy Bichel it will be interesting to see how the Royals replace the under-rated Aussie all-rounder. Kabir Ali, Stuart Lampitt and Mason - who took 4-35 against Gloucestershire last week - will do a job, but much rests on the shoulders of South Africa's Nantie Hayward, who is still getting acclimatised to county cricket. Tomorrow's match will also be Surrey's first appearance on television this year. Live coverage starts on SkySports3 at 1.00pm.
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