Brit Oval 22 June: Surrey (168-4) beat Middlesex (163-6) by 6 wickets
As they did in the inaugural year of the Twenty20 Cup, in 2003, as well as last season, Surrey kicked off their new campaign with victory over their North London rivals. But things could have been all together different had it not been for a breathtaking innings from Mark Ramprakash, who lifted a crowd of nearly 18,000 with a brilliant 85 not out off 52 balls. After collapsing to 24-3 in response to the Crusaders' 163-6, the former Middlesex man masterminded his side's recovery with the help of Jonathan Batty, who contributed a valuable 49 to a fourth wicket partnership worth 110 in 12 overs. But when Batty was stumped off Ben Hutton in the 17th over, the Brown Caps still needed 30 more in failing light. Azhar Mahmood started the next over by cutting Murali Kartik off his stumps for four before giving centre stage over to Ramprakash, who nutmeged Nick Compton at long-off and then flicked the ball through mid-wicket for another boundary in Tyron Henderson's last over. That left the Brown Caps requiring just six to win in as many deliveries. Thanks to Ramprakash, who cover drove Tim Murtagh for four and then hit him over long-off for six to end the match, they did it in just two. In what was a great advertisement for Twenty20 cricket, it could also be argued that the difference between the two sides was the contrasting fortunes of the spinners. Compared with Nayan Doshi and Chris Schofield's combined 2-52 off eight overs for Surrey, Kartik and Dalrymple conceded 70 runs off seven and failed to take a wicket. Jamie Dalrymple did a least have the consolation of knowing that his 61 off 44 balls had given the visitors a total they could defend after winning the toss and electing to bat in spite of the heavy cloud cover.

Brit Oval 24 June: Surrey (75-4) beat Hampshire (72-8) by 6 wickets
With rain affecting most of the country, the crowd of 14,276 were lucky to see any cricket at all. But Surrey convincingly grabbed two points from a contest reduced to ten overs per side after Hampshire had won the toss and opted, surprisingly, to bat first in the damp conditions. The Hawks, who, two weeks earlier, had put the Brown Caps out of the Friends Provident Trophy, made just 72-8, which proved to be well within the compass of the Brit Oval outfit once Alistair Brown tucked into Greg Lamb's off-spin. In hindsight, the visitors should also have backed their seamers to do the job. But, with Shane Warne missing due to an injured left hand, Dimitri Mascarenhas was suckered into throwing the ball to Lamb after seeing Surrey's Nayan Doshi and Chris Schofield apply the brakes for the home side. Hampshire made a useful start. In the second over Michael Lumb swung Jade Dernbach over the boundary at backward square leg for six and Michael Carberry soon had the measure off Matt Nicholson. But Dernbach eased any concerns the hosts may have harboured when he accounted for Lumb. Doshi came on in the fifth over and immediately had Adam Voges stumped. Schofield accounted for Carberry and Mascarenhas in the sixth and other than two lusty blows from Sean Ervine the Hawks failed to find the boundary again. The Brown Caps lost both James Benning and Mark Ramprakash to run outs, Ramprakash without facing a ball, but the match swung Surrey's way when Brown hit Lamb for two sixes in the fifth over of the hosts' reply. In the next over Brown, chasing a wide ball, was caught at gully off Mascarenhas, thus leaving Azhar Mahmood to apply the finishing touches to another six-wicket victory. Doshi, who went to 50 wickets in the competition with figures of three for six, was named Sky TV's man of the match.

Chelmsford 28 June: Essex (175-7) beat Surrey (174-4) by 3 wickets
A rare off-day in the Twenty20 for Nayan Doshi coincided with a timely reminder from Adam Hollioake that Surrey's initial success in the competition was founded on some inspirational moments from the former Brown Caps' skipper. When James Benning and Mark Ramprakash's second wicket partnership of 103 was in full flow, a total of around 200 seemed to be on the cards. But with Benning departing for 69 in Hollioake's first over, the 14th of the innings, and Danish Kaneria conceding just one boundary in his four over stint, the visitors were restricted to 174-4. Ramprakash finished with an unbeaten 74, which included two straight driven sixes off Martin Saggers and another off Hollioake. But, crucially, the former Middlesex man had faced just 48 deliveries in his 18 overs at the crease. Mark Pettini collected two fours in the first over of the Eagles' reply and then pulled Jade Dernbach for six. But with Matt Nicholson adding the scalps of Pettini and Ryan ten Doeschate to that of Grant Flower, Surrey appeared to be in charge when James Foster joined Andy Bichel in the sixth over. Bichel was the first to threaten the Brown Caps' one hundred per cent record in this year's competition, but Chris Schofield limited the Queenslander to 35. Foster then found a useful ally in Tim Phillips. Together the fifth wicket pair put on 48 in five overs by clubbing Doshi to all parts. After Foster departed, to a catch behind off Schofield, Hollioake meted out further punishment, hitting 21 in 12 deliveries to leave his new employers needing 17 to win in two and a bit overs, which they knocked off with ease thanks to James Middlebrook and Graham Napier.

Hove 29 June: Surrey (168-6) beat Sussex (68) by 100 runs
Surrey lost both of their clashes with Sussex in last year's Twenty20 Cup. But if there were any concerns due to that, the previous night's defeat at Chelmsford or the absence of both Azhar Mahmood and Rikki Clarke, the Brown Caps did not allow them to show as they sunk the Sharks by 100 runs. At the halfway stage their total of 168-6 looked a tad below par. It was hardly helped by the top of one of the floodlight pylons catching fire and billowing out plumes of smoke. After making a solid start, however, Sussex slumped from 42-2 to 68 all out in the space of eight overs. The rot began when their skipper, Chris Adams, was bowled by Chris Schofield. Nayan Doshi then had Rana Naved-ul-Hasan stumped for 25, which Schofield followed up with the wickets of Hopkinson and Hodd in the 11th over and that of Martin-Jenkins in the thirteenth. The former England leg-spinner finished with the amazing figures of 4-12. In complete contrast to the night before, Doshi conceded just 13 runs in his four overs of left-arm spin. Matt Nicholson applied the coup de grace by having James Kirtley caught behind to give Jonathan Batty his fourth victim of the night, which represented a personal best in the Twenty20 Cup for the Surrey wicketkeeper. Earlier, the highlights for the Brown Caps had been James Benning's 41 from 39 balls, intelligent innings from Alistair Brown and Mark Butcher in the middle of the order and some lusty blows from Nicholson at the end. The tall Australian hit an unbeaten 16 off eight deliveries, including a huge six straight down the ground off Kirtley.

Beckenham 2 July: Surrey (132-4) beat Kent (131-8) by 6 wickets
Surrey went clear at the top of the South Division following what ultimately proved to be a comfortable six-wicket victory over Kent. As a dark bank of cloud threatened to dump its contents on Beckenham, the Brown Caps cruised home with 14 balls to spare. However, just five overs earlier the game appeared to be heading for a very different outcome when Mark Ramprakash and Mark Butcher departed to successive balls from Simon Cook. With Azhar Mahmood and Rikki Clarke, both returning to the side following injury, enjoying an unbeaten 63-run stand for the fifth wicket, the visitors maintained their one hundred per cent record against the Spitfires in the Twenty20 Cup. Cook also starred with the bat, helping to lift the home side from 98-8 to 131-8 with an undefeated 25 off 13 balls after Chris Schofield (3-18) had turned in another impressive display. But the bowling honours belonged to Kent's South African speedster Morne Morkel, who initially pegged Surrey back to 62-2 off 11 overs with figures of 4-2-9-1. But the game turned upon Neil Dexter's introduction to the attack in the fourteenth over. The 22-year-old conceded a disastrous 27 off two overs. When the Brown Caps manager, Alan Butcher, announced that the club would be dispensing with Mahmood in favour of Harbhajan Singh just over a week earlier, he said he would not put it past the Pakistan all-rounder to provide some fireworks. And so he did with a match-clinching 39 off 19 balls, which included six fours and a six over long-off off the hapless Dexter. Clarke, who has had his critics of late, was also there at the end, following up his tight four-over spell with an unbeaten 22 in 13 deliveries.

Lord's 3 July: Middlesex (73-2) beat Surrey (85-5) by 8 wickets (D/L)
When play finally got underway at 6.10pm, with the loss of one over per side, Surrey made an encouraging start thanks to James Benning, who displayed an uncanny knack of finding the gaps to hit six fours. With Alistair Brown striking three boundaries in the opening two overs, memories came flooding back of the 148-run stand between the same Brown Caps openers at Lord's a year earlier. Unfortunately, for the visitors, they were soon brought back to earth with a bump when Brown was caught at mid-on off Tim Murtagh and, in the eighth over, Benning lost his off stump to Tyron Henderson. Surrey played on through a brief shower, but as far as runs were concerned they dried up. Had Azhar Mahmood not glanced Murtagh for four just before an even heavier downpour arrived, the last eight overs of the visitors' dig would have been boundary-less. When the elements relented, Middlesex were handed a Duckworth-Lewis target of 73 in ten overs. After they overcame the early loss of Ed Smith, to a looped catch to square leg off Matt Nicholson, the Crusaders cruised to victory. Ed Joyce took fours off the last three balls of the second over, bowled by Jade Dernbach. Eoin Morgan then tucked into Nicholson and after three, the hosts had already knocked off thirty runs. Chris Schofield accounted for Joyce, who was caught at deep mid-wicket, but Morgan and man of the match Jamie Dalrymple simply picked off the runs to see their side home with 14 balls to spare. Afterwards the Surrey manager, Alan Butcher said: "At some stage we were probably going to fall foul of the weather and tonight was the night unfortunately. Nevertheless it wasn't one of our best performances, but we've still got two opportunities to qualify. We'll have the advantage of both of those being at home, so we're still in with a great chance."

Brit Oval 5 July: Sussex (65-3) beat Surrey (60-6) by 5 runs
Just when it seemed as if this match was about to be called off, with nightfall descending, the umpires surprised everyone by passing the conditions fit for a five-over slog. Surrey's only other five-over contest in the Twenty20 Cup, at Chelmsford in 2005, was played out in front of the television cameras. If the presence of Sky TV was not the mitigating factor on that occasion, it certainly appeared to be this time round. It had been raining steadily since an hour before the scheduled start and the crowd was easily 25 per cent down on the expected 14,000, based on pre-sold tickets. The Brown Caps' skipper, Mark Butcher, was so taken aback he did not appear to have had sufficient time to decide what wanted to do if he won the toss. When he did eventually make up his mind, he figured that it would be easier to field first in the dark. Ultimately the outcome hinged on Sussex's ability to hold on to their catches. Azhar Mahmood and Mark Ramprakash, both of whom threatened to make it a Surrey double over the Sharks, perished to catches in the deep in the final over, which was sent down by James Kirtley. Chris Nash, who held on to Mahmood, was named man of the match for his unbeaten 24 off nine balls, which included three fours and a six over long-on off Jade Dernbach; whose only over went for 20.

Brit Oval 6 July: Kent (148-4) beat Surrey (145) by 6 wickets
For the first time in the history of the Twenty20 Cup, Surrey and Leicestershire failed to reach the knockout phase of the competition. The Foxes - who faced less than fifty overs over eight fixtures - were left ruing the weather. The Brown Caps just needed to win one of their last three group games, yet suffered defeats in all of them. As was the case at Lord's, they lost their way with the bat after making a positive start. 31 without loss after three overs soon became 41-2 in the fifth once James Benning had been roughed up by Morne Morkel and Alistair Brown bowled by an inswinging yorker from Ryan McLaren. Mark Ramprakash was just beginning to put things right when both he and Azhar Mahmood, making his last appearance for Surrey, departed in the thirteenth over. With the hosts registering just one further boundary hit, their total of 145 meant that they could ill afford a loose over. Unfortunately, Neil Saker was the fall guy. The 22-year-old came on in the sixth over of the Spitfires' reply. After being launched straight down the ground for six by Matt Walker, who then hit him for fours either side of the wicket, the visitors were 58-1 when the fielding restrictions ended. Chris Schofield and Nayan Doshi kept Kent in check by picking up the scalps of Walker and Martin van Jaarsveld, but Darren Stevens proved to be a tougher nut to crack. The former Leicestershire man struck an unbeaten 46 off 34 balls as the Spitfires broke their Twenty20 duck against Surrey and marched into the quarter-finals with five balls to spare. Given their disappointing start to the championship campaign, the Brown Caps badly needed to finish the group stage of the Twenty20 Cup on a high, but it was not to be. They will undoubtedly feel hard done by to have been pressured into a five-over slog against Sussex. Had that fixture being rained off, Surrey would have gone through to the last eight at Worcestershire's expense.

GO TO:

BACK TO: