Rudolph omitted from squad to take on Worcestershire

Jacques Rudolph is the only omission from the X1 involved in the defeat to Middlesex last week, as Chris Adams has named an otherwise unchanged squad for the LVCC Division One match against Worcestershire, starting tomorrow at the Kia Oval.

The South African opener has been left out due to family reasons, so I would like to take this time to say that I hope everything is ok, and hope to see Jacques back and playing as soon as possible. It is a blow for Surrey, as they have struggled to find a settled opening partnership, and as soon as they have one, Rudolph can’t play. However, it opens a door for another South African, in Jason Roy, who will surely come in to make his first appearance of the season. Roy may slot straight into Rudolph’s place at the top of the order, but he could also bat at 7, with Chris Jordan, who opened against Sussex, possibly being promoted again.

That is, of course, if Chris Jordan is picked, which isn’t a certainty. He could make way for Stuart Meaker to come back in, but then the tail would be quite long, with Meaker batting at 8. Therefore, due to the impressive form of Lewis and Dernbach, it is likely that if Meaker does come in, it would be for Tim Linley. It would be a shame for the Viscount to miss out, but with England duty for possibly for both Dernbach and Meaker later in the season, his chance will come.

There is also the option of leaving out Gareth Batty, and playing all the seamers. However, then there would be 6 seamers in the X1, including de Bruyn, who RHB has opened with in the second innings of both matches this season. To be honest, I cannot see Adams not playing Batty as, even though he has been in poor form with the bat, he has picked up a couple of vital wickets at the right times already this season.

Mark Ramprakash has, as expected, been named in the squad, even though he has looked in retched form, with Jon Lewis getting more runs than him this season. However, Adams has stuck by him for this match, to give him another chance. However, if he fails again, and Roy impresses, he could be out of the team when Rudolph returns.

Zander de Bruyn and Tom Maynard had good games against Sussex, but both failed at Lord’s. With a better pitch expected at the Kia Oval, they will be looking to continue from where they left off, and try and put last week’s game to the back of their mind. RHB looked good in both games, and has already passed 200 runs for the season. Adams has said this week that if he continues in this fashion, in tough conditions like at Lord’s, an England call up wouldn’t be far round the corner.

Worcestershire have a good looking team this year, with the right blend of youth and experience. Led by Daryl Mitchell, and with the likes of Vikram Solanki in their batting line up, they will be no pushovers, and Surrey will have to be on their game. However, the weather may play a factor in this game, as the forecast looks poor all week.

Surrey squad to play Worcestershire: Rory Hamilton-Brown (C), Steven Davies (WK), Mark Ramprakash, Zander de Bruyn, Tom Maynard, Jason Roy, Gareth Batty, Chris Jordan, Stuart Meaker, Jon Lewis, Tim Linley, Jade Dernbach.