Thursday 1 December 2011

Surrey Players' Abroad Part 1



While most of the squad are back at the Kia Oval training, over the winter, some of the first team squad have travelled around the world to brush up on their skills and keep up their fitness, ready for the 4th of April. Here is how a few of them are getting on.

Zander de Bruyn
Zander has travelled back to his native South Africa to play for the Highveld Lions in all forms of the game. After his fantastic debut season for Surrey, he has not had the best time of it. Since he has departed London, he has played 9 matches in total, 4 first class and 5 one dayers. His top score of the season so far is 62, which he got against the Warriors, but this score is his only 50. He has bowled ok, with his best figures of 3-51 coming against the Warriors again, but this time in a one day game. Overall, he has scored 200 runs at an average of 22.22, some way off what he was getting for Surrey and, he has claimed 11 wickets at an average of 40.09. This dip in form has now cost his place in the Lions’ team recently, and he will have to work hard to get back into it.

Rory Hamilton- Brown
The Surrey skipper has signed for 2 teams over the winter, the Zimbabwean team Mashonaland Eagles and Wellington in New Zealand, both in the countries’ respective T20 competitions. He started off for the Eagles playing in two friendlies against the Kenyan national team, in which his team won them both. He top scored in the second of those friendlies with 26. The T20 competition started on 25th of November where the Tuskers defeated the Eagles, with RHB scoring just 9. They lost their second game as well against the Mountaineers, where former Surrey bowler Dirk Nannes trapped the Surrey skipper LBW first ball. It continued to get worse for the Eagles when they lost against the Rhinos, a game in which Hamilton- Brown skippered. RHB took the only two wickets of the Rhinos’ innings and scored 19 in reply but it wasn’t enough as they lost by 7 runs.  The Eagles finally won a game when they beat Southern Rocks but Rory once again failed with the bat and his place in the side is surely up for debate. After this competition has finished, Rory will join up with Wellington to play in the second half of the New Zealand T20.

Jade Dernbach
Jade Dernbach has signed for the Melbourne Stars this winter to play in the Australian Big Bash T20 league. He will play alongside legendary cricketer Shane Warne and Sussex all rounder Luke Wright. The competition will start on the 17th of December, with the stars at home to Thunder.

Murali Kartik
New overseas signing Murali Kartik has only played a couple of games since leaving Somerset in October. He went wicketless against Mumbai in a 4 day game in early November but did score 48, showing that he is capable down the order. A week later, his side Railways played Karnataka and Kartik picked up 5-88, but couldn’t prevent his side losing by an innings.