Thursday 26 July 2012

Dernbach returns for Edgbaston test



Jade Dernbach has been named in a 13 man squad for the LVCC Division One match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston, after recovering from a side strain.

If he plays, it will be his first game for Surrey since the Twenty 20 game against Kent at Beckenham on 17th June, one day before the tragic passing of Tom Maynard. Therefore, he will be a bit behind his teammates in the grieving stage, and will initially find it difficult to get back out there for his county. However, the injury came at a good time for Jade, so he could get away from the game for a few weeks after losing a close friend in Tom.

Alongside Dernbach, 4 other frontline seam bowlers have been named in the squad, in the shape of Jon Lewis, Tim Linley, Stuart Meaker and Chris Jordan. Even though he adds extra depth to the batting, you would think that Jordan didn’t do enough to keep his place at Trent Bridge last week. Jon Lewis is one of only two players who have played every Championship game this season, and even though he hasn’t been taking hatfuls of wickets, he will presumably keep his place.

Stuart Meaker is a definite in the side, so the other seamers spot will go to either Linley or Dernbach, unless Adams leaves out one of the spinners again. If it was down to me, I would leave out Murali Kartik, who doesn’t add anything with the bat, and at the moment, doesn’t seem to be troubling opposition batsman.

That would leave 4 seamers and Batty, which I think is the right way to go at the moment, unless Jade isn’t fully fit. He is currently playing in the Second X1, coincidently against Warwickshire in Birmingham, and has got through overs in both innings which looks promising. In the same game, the Viscount took 7 in the first innings and currently has 2 in the second, which makes it look like he is starting to find his form of last season.

One bowler who is injured though, is Chris Tremlett, who has a knee injury and will see a specialist this week to discover if he needs an operation. A desperate blow for Chris after just coming back from a back injury, and if he requires an op, then it could sadly lead to the end of his playing days in a Surrey shirt at least, as his contract runs out at the end of the season.

After putting on 85 for the first wicket against Notts last week, Rory Burns and Zafar Ansari will continue at the top of the order. There were promising signs last week that the two youngsters could do the job, but in the second X1 this week, the partnership didn’t last long in both innings, so they still have a lot to prove in the first team.

Arun Harinath has been named in a Championship squad for the first time this season, and if he plays, will bat at 3, which he has done most of the year in the Second X1. However, Arun being included means that Matthew Spriegel has been left out. I think that is rather unfair on Spriegs. He obviously deserved a place in the squad last week, and he didn’t really have much time to prove himself, so I thought he would be a cert for the squad this week. But, it’s a good chance for Harinath to prove himself, and try and earn a contract for next season.

Zander de Bruyn is the other player to have played every Championship game this season, and after captaining the side last week, now has the chance to focus on his batting. Jason Roy will be looking to continue from where he left off at Trent Bridge last week, and Steve Davies will be trying to find some sort of form, as he has got a succession of low scores recently.

They are all big games of cricket for the rest of the season, but this one is massive. The quicker we can get a win, the quicker we can build some momentum can creep away from the relegation places. However, that is easier said than done, as Warwickshire sit top of the table with only one defeat this season, but that did come last week against Somerset, so hopefully they are starting to falter. They did beat us at the Oval earlier this season by 5 wickets, but we were certainly in the game, but a partnership between Tim Ambrose and William Porterfield, then Rikki Clarke, sealed the victory for the bears.

But with the opening partnership looking promising, and with bowlers finding some form, I fully believe this team can challenge with the best and come away with the points. Come on the Rey!!

Surrey Squad:
Gareth Batty (C)
Zafar Ansari
Rory Burns
Arun Harinath
Zander de Bruyn
Steve Davies (WK)
Jason Roy
Murali Kartik
Stuart Meaker
Jon Lewis
Tim Linley
Jade Dernbach
Chris Jordan

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