Surrey win to secure Division One status

Surrey have emphatically beaten Nottinghamshire by 185 runs in the LVCC Division One match at the KIA Oval, and have secured their place in the top flight for the 2013 season.

Surrey started the morning in perfect fashion, when in the first over of the day, Tim Linley had nightwatchman Harry Gurney caught by Pietersen without scoring. Our bowlers would have known that there was still a lot of work to do if they were going to win this game, but stopping the nightwatchman hanging around for an annoying period would have been an essential. Neil Edwards, in for Alex Hales, and the dangerous Rikki Wessels, consolidated throughout the early part of the morning session, as Batty brought  himself and Kartik on early.

And it was the skipper who made the breakthrough, when he had Wessels LBW, just over an hour into the day’s play. That brought the Australian Adam Voges to the crease, and it was obvious that he came out to the middle with one mindset: to try and bat all day. It was a painstakingly slow innings from the overseas batsman, but with victory for the visitors out of the equation, that’s all he had to do. However, for the last over before lunch, Batty brought on KP, and on his 5^th delivery he had Voges caught by de Bruyn, as Notts went in 3 down for 66.

Pietersen continued after the break, but it was Batty who got the first wicket after resumption, when caught James Taylor on the crease and had him LBW. In the very next over, Pietersen got one to bounce on opener Edwards, who could only edge behind to Gary Wilson, as Notts fell to 75-5.

Mullaney and the in- form Chris Read were at the crease, and they started to put on a partnership as they tried to save the game for their side. However, Batty brought Kartik back into the attack, and he had Read caught by Ansari, to give the Indian spinner his first wicket of the innings. It was the skipper who picked up the next one, when he had Sam Wood LBW just before half past two.

Notts last recognised batsman Steven Mullaney was the next man out, when Meaker had trapped him in front, and Surrey were edging close to victory. Ben Phillips came out and played some shots, but lost his partner, White, when he played on to give Batty a 4^th wicket. At almost the same time, Middlesex declared at Lord’s to give Lancashire a target of 304 to win from 39 overs. But Surrey still had a job to do, which Murali Kartik completed quickly, when he had Fletcher LBW, and we had won by 195 runs.

A superb effort by our guys, but across the river, there was still a game on, as Lancs looked to chase down the runs required in order to stay up. They started well, but an inspired spell from Steven Crook stopped the flow of runs dramatically, and Lancashire were beaten, and we were safe.

Everyone played a part in this game, whether it be the openers, the middle order, or the tail enders, they were all brilliant. Burns looks a fine prospect at the top of the order, Jason Roy added much needed impetus to the innings, and Zander de bruyn and Gary Wilson were outstanding. The two partnerships they put on were so vital, as, if one of them had got out, they would have been into our tail, and our chances of victory would have slimmed down considerably.

As they have down all season, the bowlers were excellent. Meaker with his trademark spell in the first innings, followed up by a five wicket haul for the Viscount. Murali Kartik once again played a big role with the ball, but the stand out man in the second innings was without doubt Gareth Batty. This man may not be the greatest spin bowler ever, but I haven’t seen a cricketer put in more effort, commitment and desire to this cricket club for a long time. He took over the role of captaincy after an extremely difficult spell for Surrey County Cricket Club, but he has done a monumental job skippering the team, as well as with the ball.

Finally, I would like to say what a great achievement it is for us to stay up in this Division. We have had an extremely difficult season, with events than no one could have predicted, but we have managed to get the two wins that Chris Adams targeted from our final 4 games. The performance against Notts over the last few days was by far our best of the season. Ok, conditions suited our spinners, but we still had to perform, and we certainly did that.

There was disappointing news today that both Tom Lancefield and, more significantly, Matthew Spriegel won’t be at our club for next year. It’s sad to see 2 home-grown talents leaving, for various reasons, but our club will move on and fight for honours next season.

We have the one remaining game left now, and that is against the now relegated Lancashire. We can still finish in 6^th place above Durham if results go our way, but I think Lancs will want to go down fighting.

Well done lads, you put in a performance that Tom and all us supporters are proud of. Come on the REY!!

Wilson and de Bruyn put Surrey in charge

Surrey are in a good position heading into the final day of the LVCC Division One match against Nottinghamshire at the KIA Oval, after setting the hosts a total of 347 for victory, thanks largely to half centuries from Gary Wilson and Zander de Bruyn.
We started the morning with a lead of 42, and once again Burns and Ansari opened up. However, Ansari's lean spell at the top of the order continued, as he was caught behind for 4 in the 4th over.

Harinath joined Burns in the middle, looking to replicate there 200 partnership they put on in the last home game against Middlesex. However, with the partnership on 40, Harinath was bowled by Graeme White. And after putting on a further 23 with KP, Burns was out in similar fashion for 44, as we went in at lunch on 83-3, leading by 125 runs.

Surrey would have placed a lot of faith in Pietersen taking them to a large enough lead to defend. But, in the 3rd over after the break, White had his 3rd, when he had Pietersen caught for 22. A poor shot from Pietersen, skying it to Phillips at long off, seemingly giving his wicket away. That brought Jason Roy to the crease, and he played a counter punch innings, similar to many innings we have seen from the South African born right hander over the last couple of seasons.

He and de Bruyn took our lead up and above 200, before Roy was caught by Voges for 41 to give Sam Wood his 1^st First Class wicket. De Bruyn was playing well, alongside Irish wicket keeper Gary Wilson, who were taking us to tea in a good position. Before the interval though, there was time for de Bruyn to pick up his 5^th half century of the season, and the first time he has passed that mark in successive innings. At tea, we were 193-5, leading by 235.

Wilson started to accelerate after the break, finding the gaps in a now spread outfield, and the pair brought up the 50 partnership, backing up their 100+ stand in the first innings. The lead continued to increase, passing the 250 mark 45 minutes after tea, as we began to try and bat the visitors out of the game. Wilson brought up his second 50 of the match, as he really started to show why Adams chose him ahead of the normally premier ‘keeper, Steve Davies.

However, with the new ball just around the corner, and as he had done in the first innings, de Bruyn got out LBW to White in the 70’s. 78 to be exact. It’s great that Zander has finally found some form (even if it is the penultimate game of the season!), but he will be disappointed not to have converted at least one of the scores to complete what would be a first century of the season, and the timing of the dismissals would also have frustrated him (and Adams).

Once again similarly to the first innings, a couple of overs after de Bruyn’s dismissal, Wilson was out for 57, with Wood picking up his second wicket. A massively vital knock from Wilson, because if he got out early, Notts would have fancied their chances of restricting the lead to below 250. The lead had reached 310, before Meaker was caught behind for 1 to leave us 8 down.

Batty and Kartik put on what could be a vital 9th wicket partnership of 30, as we were bowled out for 304. Nightwatchman Harry Gurney batted out the one remaining over tonight, opening up with Neil Edwards, who has come in for England bound Alex Hales.

Another good day for us, and on a pitch that seems to be spinning (with 7 wickets going to White and Wood), we have a very good chance of victory. Kartik and Batty will be eager to get a bowl on this pitch, and will be hoping to get as much success as they did against Middlesex a couple of weeks ago.

A win would secure a place for us in Division One for next season, as it looks unlikely that Lancashire will beat Middlesex. However, a defeat would leave everything in the balance heading into the final game at Liverpool next week. Good luck lads!

5 from Linley gives Surrey advantage

Surrey will be the happier of the two sides after Day Two of the LVCC Division One match against Nottinghamshire at the KIA Oval, after bowling out the visitors for 227, thanks to a 5-wicket haul from Tim Linley.

Stuart Meaker and Linley completed their first job this morning, by reaching 250 and therefore a second batting point, with an edged 4 through the slips from Meaker. They frustrated the visitors for 45 minutes, adding in total 38 for the final wicket, before Linley was bowled for 14. Surrey all out for 269.

Linley and Meaker opened the bowling, and the Viscount especially was wayward early on, with Hales taking advantage of some loose deliveries from Surrey’s leading wicket taker of 2011. Meaker was quicker to find his line and length, and picked up 2 early wickets. First he had Rikki Wessels trapped in front, before following that up by bowling Adam Voges with a superb delivery, which meant Meaker had picked up his 50^th wicket in First Class cricket this season.

Linley gradually began to find his line and length, and he then had Hales caught sensationally by Roy at slip to reduce Notts to 41-3. With half an hour until lunch, it had already been a great session for us, but in the last over before the break, the Viscount picked up his second, when he had the key man James Taylor trapped LBW. Notts went in 4 down for 56.

The runs completely dried up after the interval, with just 4 coming off the first 8 overs of resumption. That pressure led to the next wicket, as Mullaney was given LBW off Kartik to give the Indian Spinner his first wicket. Surrey would have been hopeful of getting either Read or youngster Wood out quickly and get into the tail. However, that wasn’t to be, as they put together a partnership which got their side back into the game. Batty ringed the changes without much luck, as batting was looking far easier as the ball got older.  And as they went into tea at 144-5, the session certainly belonged to the visitors.

However, 15 minutes into the final session, Kartik made the breakthrough when he had the impressive Wood caught by Burns, shortly followed by Linley bowling Graeme White. The skipper Read was still there though, and he and former Somerset bowler Ben Phillips took our lead to under 100. Phillips was the next man out, when he was bowled by Kartik as he looked to pull, and after a frustrating little partnership, the new ball was taken and Linley picked up his 4^th wicket, trapping Fletcher LBW.

After taking 15 off the first 4 balls of the last over of the day, Notts were then bowled out, when Linley had Gurney once again LBW, to give him his first 5 wicket haul of the season.

Overall, I feel that is another good day for us, but Batty and the rest of the guys would have been slightly disappointed that, after being 60-5, Notts have got so close to our score. However, a recovery is what you expect from a side of their quality, and the pitch wasn’t as difficult to play on as it was yesterday, so it was a good performance from our bowlers.

I’m especially happy for The Viscount, who has worked hard this season, but not been given the chances that last years performances warranted. After the countless fifers he claimed in the second division last year, he finally has one in the first division, and with the effort and desire he puts in, he deserves every bit of success he gets.

So the job tomorrow is to try and build a lead on top of the 42 we have already got, and reach a total which would all but secure our Division One status for next season. Easier said than done, but I believe in our guys. Come on the Rey!!

de Bruyn and Wilson lead Day 1 fightback

Half centuries from Zander de Bruyn and Gary Wilson have led a fightback on Day One of the LVCC Division One match between Surrey and Nottinghamshire at the KIA Oval.

Gareth Batty won the toss and once again elected to bat. There was one change from the side that drew with Somerset last week, and that was Tim Linley coming in for Jon Lewis. That meant that Gary Wilson kept his place behind the stumps ahead of the returning Steve Davies.

Burns and Ansari struggled early on, and it was the latter who was out first, when on 3 he edged Phillips to Mullaney. Burns began to look more fluent at the crease, until he was caught off Gurney for 23 to reduce us to 30-2. That brought the centurions from last week, Arun Harinath and Kevin Pietersen. together at the crease, but they weren’t together long, as Harinath was bowled to give Gurney a second wicket.

As it had done in recent games, the KIA Oval strip was giving assistance to the seam bowlers, and the man who seems to have got hatfuls of wickets against us this year, Gurney, picked up his 3^rd having the dangerous Pietersen caught behind for 15. de Bruyn and Roy had a job on their hands to rebuild the innings, batting out the 7 remaining overs to take us to lunch on 72-4.

Straight after the break though, Roy was bowled as he looked to pull the left arm spinner Graeme White for 20. A poor shot from Roy in the circumstances, especially as he had got himself set at the crease. It was slow going from then onwards, with de Bruyn and Wilson needing to take time to rebuild the innings. They brought up the first 50 partnership of the match inside 23 overs, as the run rate hovered around 2.5 an over.

When Wilson began to up the rate slightly against the spin of White and Sam Wood, Gurney returned to the attack, and the runs stymied as the pair took us to tea on 155-5. Shortly after the break the hundred partnership was brought up, as the pair both went past their half centuries; de Bruyn first with his 4^th of the season, followed by Wilson’s first of the campaign.

However, with the partnership on 123 off 48.4 overs, de Bruyn was trapped in front by White for 71. A valuable innings from the South African, but it was just the wrong time to get out, as the new ball was taken two balls later. And it did the trick in just its second over, when Fletcher had the impressive Wilson LBW for 68, and the visitors were into the tail. A priceless knock from Wilson, who has proven why Adams showed faith in him ahead of the out of form Davies.

The skipper’s lean season with the bat continued as he was caught behind for 8, and was quickly followed by Kartik without scoring. Meaker and Linley batted out the remaining overs of the day, to go to stumps on 242-9.

I think after we won the toss and elected to bat first, Chris Read and his team would be the slightly happier side at the end of the day, but after being 52-4 at one stage, Gareth Batty won’t be too disappointed. Also, if the pitch is similar to the one we played Middlesex on a few weeks ago, we may have already got a decent score and Batty just didn’t want to bat last on a deteriorating pitch.

A couple of the batsman will be annoyed with the way they got out, especially Jason Roy playing a poor pull shot, but Wilson and de Bruyn can go away happy this evening, after they dug in and put on a potentially match saving partnership. I’m especially happy for de Bruyn, who has worked so hard to regain form, and time in the middle is just what he needed. I’m also delighted for Wilson, who was by far our best batsman in the T20, and it is good to see he has taken his chance in the last couple of games.

Tomorrow morning we will be hoping to get the further 8 runs for a second batting point, before getting amongst the visitors batsman, and trying to gain a first innings lead.

Squad named for final home game of 2012

Chris Adams has named a 14 man squad for the final home game of the season; the LVCC Division One match against Nottinghamshire at the Kia Oval.

Once again Kevin Pietersen has been named in the squad, off the back of his century and half century in the draw at Taunton last week, and his quality and experience is proving pivotal in the relegation dogfight.  He has now scored 100 more runs than Zander de Bruyn in the Championship this season, and is our 3^rd leading run scorer behind Rory Hamilton-Brown and Jason Roy.

Another player who KP has more runs than is Steve Davies, who has been named in the squad alongside Gary Wilson, but will presumably replace the Irishman in the starting X1 after being ill for the Somerset game last week. Rory Burns and Zafar Ansari will once again open the batting for us, after the pair completed the first hundred opening partnership of the season last week, which was the third time the pair had put on at least 50. However, I’m not totally convinced that Zaf is an opener, and feel he may prosper better down the order in the future.

A man who could open with Burns in the future is Arun Harinath, who after completing back to back hundreds last week, has surely secured a contract for next season, and with Ansari away at University at the start of next season, he could fit into the second vacant opening slot in the Championship.

The man who seems to be in most LVCC squads, Chris Jordan, has been named in the 14, but will presumably not play, with Lewis and Meaker the two seamers likely to be picked in the final X1, ahead of Linley and the West Indian. However, if Jordan does get picked, it is very much last chance saloon for him at our club, as his contract is up at the end of the year and after an indifferent season, it is unlikely to be renewed. But if he does get a chance, everyone at Surrey will be hoping he can rediscover the form of 2007, and the back end of 2011 in our promotion push.

Murali Kartik and Gareth Batty will once again be named in the team as after the Middlesex win a couple of weeks ago, the pitch will be prepared to suit spinners, and with Nottinghamshire having just the one recognised spinner in Graeme White, we will be looking to use our qualities to our advantage.

Chris Adams set us a target of 2 wins from our final 4 games, and with the win over Middlesex, we require just the one victory to all but confirm our status in this Division for next season. That is easier said than done though, as Notts are still mathematically in the title race, and will no doubt be trying all they can to gain maximum points from this game.

If we slip up and lose this game, and Lancashire beat the inconsistent Middlesex, the final game of the season at Liverpool will become one of the most vital games in recent years for our club. However, Adams has said that our players are “determined to produce their best cricket” this week, and let’s hope they can do that. Good luck lads, and Come on the Rey!!

Surrey Squad:

Gareth Batty (C)

Rory Burns

Zafar Ansari

Arun Harinath

Kevin Pietersen

Zander de Bruyn

Jason Roy

Steve Davies

Gary Wilson

Murali Kartik

Jon Lewis

Stuart Meaker

Chris Jordan

Tim Linley

Spriegs leads Surrey to victory at Trent Bridge

Surrey have beaten the Nottinghamshire Outlaws in the CB40 at Trent Bridge, thanks to a match winning performance from Matthew Spriegel.

Gareth Batty won the toss and with the way we batted at Guildford in the back of his mind, he chose to bowl first. The two players to be left out of the final X1 was Jon Lewis as expected, and Rory Burns, as Zander de Bruyn was once again named in the side.

Surrey opened the bowling with Spriegel from one end and Kartik from the other, and it was Spriegs who made the early breakthrough when he bowled Lumb as he tried to cut. Spriegs was back in the wickets in his next over when the dangerous Wessels was caught well by Roy at short midwicket.

Dernbach, who was bowling expensively, banged one in at Patel who could only mistime a hook down to fine leg, where Ansari took a brilliant running catch. Jade then had his second in his next over when Hales cut him to de Bruyn at backward point, and the hosts were 52-4 after 12. 

Spriegs bowled his 8 overs through from the start, just like he did at Guildford, going for just 21 alongside his 2 wickets. Great stuff from him once again, and he really is becoming a vital part of our one day set up. The spinners continued to impress as they were bowling the majority of the overs, but Chris Read and Adam Voges were rebuilding the innings, going past 100 after 26 overs. 

Just as the pair started to up the tempo, Kartik bowled a beauty to Voges which gripped and turned, took his outside edge and Wilson took a good catch at slip. Ansari then had the Notts skipper caught by Spriegel in the deep, as Surrey took a firm hold on the game. And it was three in three overs, when off Kartik's last ball, White was run out by Roy. Notts 128-7 off 32 overs. 

The skipper then picked up wickets number 8 and 9 in the space of 4 balls, before Dernbach bowled Fletcher with a wonderful slower ball. The hosts all out for 149 inside 38 overs, and a great performance from our bowlers.

With some out of form batsman in our line up, and with RHB not playing in the first team for 6 weeks, it wasn't going to be an easy chase as the pitch looked hard to bat on, especially off the spinners. But it was the seamer Harry Gurney who made the breakthrough, when RHB edged behind as he advanced. Not the greatest shot, but I didn't expect much from him in his first game back.

Roy then went first ball, as he fended off a brilliant short ball from Gurney straight to gully. The two wicket keepers, Wilson and Davies, had to try and rebuild the innings. They did that, bringing up the fifty inside 14 overs, with runs gradually coming a little freer. They were ticking along nicely, until Davies played a poor shot in the circumstances, getting caught off a top edge looking to hit over the top.

Spriegel joined Wilson, and the runs really started to dry up. A succession of 11 dot balls led to Wilson running down and missing to White, going stumped for 29, and Surrey had a big job on their hands to win the game.

The runs were really hard to come by, with the hosts not allowing quick singles, and bowling well enough do that our batsman couldn't find the rope. However, in the 27th over, the shackles were broken when Spriegel took 10 off two Mullaney balls, as the hundred came up with the loss of 4 wickets. But de Bruyn went a couple of overs later, giving an easy catch to short midwicket. He is obviously in terrible nick and I don't understand how he gets in ahead of Rory Burns. 

Spriegel was taking us towards victory, hitting White for a four and a six, before getting caught on the boundary as he tried to bring up his 50. A good innings of 47 by Spriegel, but with already 10 off the over, it was a pretty brainless shot. With 15 required, the skipper Batty took 10 off a Samit Patel over, including a huge six over midwicket.

And then the job was done when Ansari launched White over long on for six, and we had won by 4 wickets.

It wasn't the prettiest of victories but a fantastic win nonetheless. As the commentators pointed out several times, our first meaningful win since Tom sadly passed away, and it was so sweet when Zafar hit the winning runs with a gorgeous six.

A special mention for the man of the match Matthew Spriegel, who was the pick of the bowlers and was without doubt the best batsman of the evening. It was a shame that he couldn't see us over the line personally, but it was a great performance from him, and reignites the belief that he is so vital in our team, and I would be upset if he moved on at the end of the season.

We now move top of Group B, ahead of Notts and Hampshire who had also played 8 games. We now have 6 days until our next game, the must win LVCC game at Chester-le-Street against Durham, and let's hope we can take heart from this victory into that one. Come on the Rey!

RHB returns for CB40 at Trent Bridge

Rory Hamilton-Brown has been named in a 13 man squad for the CB40 clash against the Nottinghamshire Outlaws tonight at Trent Bridge.

Rory has been on compassionate leave for the last 6 weeks due to the death of his close friend Tom Maynard, and I would personally like to say that it is great to see him back. Our team is a far better team with him in it, even though he won’t be captaining tonight as Gareth Batty continues to deputise, and I feel his return to the side will give all the other players a lift. Even though he scored a run a ball 26 for the second team yesterday, he will be rusty, and I don’t expect much from him tonight, but it is just brilliant to see him back. Good luck Rory.

Our best one day bowler, Jade Dernbach, has also been named in the squad, and with RHB, our side looks far better than the one who were easily beaten by today’s opposition at Guildford 2 and a ½ weeks ago. Jade hasn’t played for Surrey since the Kent game on June 17^th, the day before Tom tragically died, so it will be initially difficult for him, but the injury he sustained for England allowed him to have some much needed time away from the game.

Alongside Dernbach in the seamer ranks are Stuart Meaker and Jon Lewis. Throughout the competition this year, three seamers have played in the side, even though last year we went with the 5 spinners and 2 seamers. However, I would be inclined to leave out Lewis, who has been nowhere near his best in the last few weeks, as the break during the T20 seems to have done him no good whatsoever.

Matthew Spriegel and Zafar Ansari are the two all round spin options in the side, and are both key parts of our make up in one day cricket. The main deliberation will be whether an out of form Zander de Bruyn or an in form Rory Burns are going to be picked in the final X1. On current form I would without doubt leave out de Bruyn, who seems to be adding nothing batting or bowling wise at the moment, and the way he got out trying to save the game the other day was appalling. Rory has just started to show his Second X1 form in the First team, so I would pick him ahead of the 36 year old.

A couple of other batsmen out of form, especially in One Day cricket, are Jason Roy and Steve Davies. Roy hasn’t scored above 15 in the CB40 this year, a competition in which he was the leading run scorer in the country last season. Davies has scored a couple of half centuries in the CB40, but they were a few months ago, and his recent form has been well below par of what we know it can reach. Let’s hope they can both find some form tonight.

This is an important game tonight if we want to qualify for the Semi Finals. So far we have won 4 out of 7 games, with two abandoned and one loss. Last year we only failed to win 2 of the 12 games, and even though Notts are probably the strongest team in the group this year, we have to come away from tonight’s game with two points. If not, then we would realistically find it difficult to qualify.

Surrey Squad-

Gareth Batty (C)

Rory Hamilton-Brown

Steve Davies (WK)

Jason Roy

Zander de Bruyn

Gary Wilson

Matthew Spriegel

Zafar Ansari

Rory Burns

Murali Kartik

Stuart Meaker

Jon Lewis

Jade Dernbach

Nottinghamshire Squad-

Chris Read (C+WK)

Michael Lumb

Alex Hales

Riki Wessels

Adam Voges

Samit Patel

Steven Mullaney

Graeme White

Jake Ball

Harry Gurney

Andy Carter

Luke Fletcher

Birthday Boy Roy sets draw alight

As expected, the LVCC Division One match between Nottinghamshire and Surrey at Trent Bridge has ended in a draw, but the game was set alight by a wonderful 83 by Jason Roy.

After the second and third days were washed out, and with Notts 178-5, it looked difficult to somehow work the game so that a positive result could be found. So the hosts carried on batting, with Read and Voges comfortable at the crease as the bowlers, especially Jordan, tried hard but with no success.

Lewis made the breakthrough when he nipped one back at Voges and trapped him in front. Phillips then put on a partnership with his skipper to gain a 3rd batting point, but Read was bowled by the impressive Meaker, 2 short of a much deserved century.

After Andre Adams and Phillips had a bit of a thrash, Meaker removed them both caught in the deep to claim a fifer. A great effort from Meaker, even if it wasn't in a winning cause. Kartik finished off the innings to claim his first wicket, Notts 328 all out.

As they did at Guildford, Burns and Ansari opened up and built an excellent opening partnership. Both looked assured at the crease, as Burns brought up his first Championship half century, taking Surrey to tea 82-0.

However, Ansari went soon after the break when he was bowled for 32 by Carter. Shame he couldn't kick on, but a promising start from Zaf. Jason Roy came in and started to counter punch, trying to take his side to a first batting point. But he lost his partner, when Adams bowled Burns for 79. A great innings from the Banstead keeper, and hopefully there will be more to come this season. 

Adams was really finding his rhythm, as he had de Bruyn caught for 0 and Davies for 2, as Roy was losing partners. The young man from Durban really started to fire, as he hit Samit Patel for two consecutive reverse swept sixes, yes two consecutive reverse swept sixes! Unbelievable skill and strength. But very next ball he was stumped by Read as he fell 17 short of a superb hundred.

Spriegel came and went for 17, bowled by Adams as he tried to force the issue and get to a second batting point before the close. Jordan and Meaker took us to that second batting point, which could be important come the end of the season.

So once again the weather has let us down this season. After finally having a good first day in the Championship, the next two days are washed out so we couldn't force a victory. That means that we have still only won one game this season, but there are plenty more positives from this than there were at Guildford last week.

Even though Meaker seems to leak runs, he is a genuine wicket taker, and it was good to see him mop the tail up like he did. Jordan looked good on the first day, as did Linley to some extent, but I don't think they have done enough to keep Batty and Tremlett out again. A main positive is the opening partnership, where Ansari looked solid as always, and Burns is finally showing the form he has produced for the 2's this year.

But the shining light of the afternoon was definitely Jason Roy, whose innings of 83 off just 50 balls included 8 fours and 5 maximums. He was disappointed that he couldn't complete his second First Class hundred, but I thought it was great to see him back at his explosive best. A very happy birthday to the 22 year old, who if he bats like that regularly, has a big future ahead of him.

We now have almost a week off, before we travel to Edgbaston to play top of table side Warwickshire. It’s going to be a tough game against a strong opposition, but we have to believe we can come away with a positive result and creep away from the relegation zone.

Notts fight back after bowlers start well

After being 83-5 this morning, the Nottinghamshire batsman have fought back on Day one of the LVCC Division One match against Surrey at Trent Bridge, ending a rain affected day on 178-5.

The first bit of surprising news was that Gareth Batty and Chris Tremlett had been left out of the final X1, and Zander de Bruyn was the stand in captain. Fair enough that the conditions didn’t suit the spinners, but I would have dropped Kartik, not Batty, as he has been our best bowler over the last few weeks, and also gives a further batting option. Also surprised that Tremlett was left out, but the swing of Linley was preffered to Tremlett’s bounce.

That gave Tim Linley and Chris Jordan a chance to prove themselves, and on an overcast morning with a greenish pitch, Zander de Bruyn had no hesitation in choosing to bowl first when he won the toss. After Wessels and Hales gave the hosts an electric start, it was the Viscount who made the breakthrough, when he had Wessels caught by Jordan at first slip.

The wicket slowed the Notts run rate considerably, and when Hales chopped on to Lewis, and Jordan trapped Lumb LBW, a good start by the Surrey bowlers had been confirmed with Notts 53-3 inside the first hour. Samit Patel was the next man to go, when he edged a legside Meaker delivery into the gloves of Steve Davies. A bonus wicket for Surrey, and 4 had gone down before lunch.

Surrey weren’t finished yet though, as Meaker drew James Taylor into a drive, and Davies did the rest behind the stumps. In the same over, Voges was dropped by Spriegel at third slip, as the Australian and his skipper Read took their side to lunch on 118-5. A costly mistake by the returning Spriegel.

After a solid start for the batsman after the break, heavy rain came across the ground, and there was a delay. The players managed to get back on the park for a couple of overs, before the rain came again to cause a further delay. Play once again commenced at half past 4, with a scheduled 40 overs still remaining in the day.

The partnership between Read and Voges started to look dangerous, and after we had them 83-5 earlier on, it was a very good recovery being 165-5 when the players got back out there. With the run rate over 4 an over, the Surrey bowlers had to tighten their lengths and try and apply pressure to the experienced pair, who looked relatively comfortable at the crease.

However, after being out there for less than 10 minutes, with the score moved onto 178-5, the bad weather was back, which ended the day prematurely.

Overall a good start to the day by our bowlers, restricting the second place team to 83-5 is a great effort, even though there were conducive conditions, but we failed to capitalise on that good situation as Read and Voges batted extremely well. All the bowlers bowled well in patches today, with Meaker picking up two wickets but going at over 4 and a half an over, but Jordan was probably the most probing of the lot, picking up the wicket of Lumb and not going for a run in his first 4 overs.

Tomorrow morning we will be hoping to nip out one of the set batsman early, break into the tail, and restrict them to under 250. However, if Read and Voges continue the way they did this afternoon, an above par of over 300 could be on the cards.

Finally I would like to congratulate Gareth Batty, Stuart Meaker, Jade Dernbach and Steve Davies for being named in England’s preliminary 30 man squad for the ICC World T20. I am very happy for them, especially Gareth, who has put in so much effort over the last couple of years, and even though he probably won’t make the final 15, it is good that he has been recognised.

Spriegel returns to LVCC action

Matthew Spriegel has been included in a 13 man squad for the LVCC Division One match against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge starting tomorrow.

If he makes the final X1, it would be his first Championship appearance for Surrey since August 2010. It is almost certain that he will play, and possibly open with Rory Burns, as the batting would look wafer thin otherwise. I have always thought that Spriegs is a good, solid batsman, and he has shown that in One Day cricket over the last 4 years, but he has never really cemented a place in the 4 day side, and at the age of 25, I think that this is his time to shine.

We have of course lost Kevin Pietersen for this match, and possibly the rest of the season now, as he prepares for the opening test against South Africa, so that leaves a huge whole in our middle order. That means that our other batsman need to stand up and be counted against a strong Nottinghamshire attack. Rory Burns has been in great form for the 2’s this year, but has so far failed to convert that into the First team. Due to the distinct lack of batsman in our squad at the moment, he will be given a few chances in the side, but he still has to take them.

Zafar Ansari is likely to drop down to number 6 in the batting order. He looked solid opening up against Lancashire last week, but I don’t feel that opening the batting suits him, so it will be interesting to see how he gets on lower down. Zander de Bruyn finally managed to find some form against Lancashire last week, and we need his runs and experience in the middle order, with him being the oldest batsman by some 11 years. Steve Davies hasn’t really got going this season, both in First Class and One day cricket, combined with rumours circulating that he may be leaving at the end of the season. Let’s hope that that doesn’t happen.

Once again our bowling attack looks strong, with 5 internationals included. After being rested at the weekend, Chris Tremlett comes back in and will play, presumably alongside our leading wicket taker this year, Stuart Meaker. Jon Lewis worked hard against Lancs last week, but looked rusty, and I may be inclined to give the Viscount Linley a go. However, with the extra batting Lewis gives, I don’t think he will be left out.

Overseas spinner Murali Kartik has once again been named in the squad, but some people across Twitter believe that he should be left out for an extra batsman. I totally agree with them. Kartik offers next to nothing with the bat, and looked extremely ineffective at Guildford last week, and with Batty in much better form with the ball, and Ansari and Spriegel in the team, we have plenty of spin options.

You can’t leave Kartik out for Linley, because he is even worse with the bat, but I would give Chris Jordan a game. Jordan has a point to prove, or he will be seemingly released at the end of the season, and offers an extra batting option down the order. However, I don’t think that Adams has the nerve to leave out his overseas star.

Adams spoke this week about the need of an overseas batsman, and I think that if the right option comes up, then he should take it. We have bowlers coming out of our ears at the moment, with Linley, Jordan, Dunn, Edwards, Jewell etc all waiting for a game, but hardly any batsman. Of course, we have lost a couple of batsman to unforeseen circumstances, but even before the season started we were in need of an opening batsman or two, and If Adams wants to stay in Division One, getting a batsman in is a priority.

As we saw at Guildford at the weekend, we face a star studded Nottinghamshire outfit, with 6 or 7 top class batsman, as well as Andre Adams coming back in alongside Darren Pattinson and Harry Gurney in the bowling ranks. They sit in second place in the table, a massive 50 points above us in 7th place, and will be a tough test for us. We have to hope that their batsman have an off couple of days, and our strong bowling attack can capitalise, as well as our inexperienced batting line up putting on a good show. So far this season we have had poor first days in all of our games, and even though we have fought back a number of times, it is important to get off to a good start against a team like Notts, because if you start slowly, you could be out of the game after Day One.

Surrey Squad:

Gareth Batty (C)

Rory Burns

Matthew Spriegel

Zander de Bruyn

Steve Davies (WK)

Jason Roy

Zafar Ansari

Chris Jordan

Murali Kartik

Stuart Meaker

Jon Lewis

Chris Tremlett

Tim Linley

Squad named for return of CB40

Chris Adams has named a 13 man squad for the return of the Clydesdale Bank 40 against the Nottinghamshire Outlaws at Guildford tomorrow.

Paceman Chris Tremlett has been rested for this game, as his workload cannot be overloaded after just coming back from a serious back injury. That means that other bowlers such as Chris Jordan and Tim Linley have a chance of playing. However, with the way that Surrey play in the CB40, there may only be spaces for two seamers in the side, and they may well go to Stuart Meaker and Jon Lewis who have also been named in the side. I would be inclined to give the Viscount a go as he has been waiting for his chance for months now.

The batting has been seriously been weakened, with Kevin Pietersen now joining up with the England squad to prepare for the opening test match against South Africa  next week, Rory Hamilton-Brown is on compassionate leave, and obviously Tom Maynard sadly passed away almost 4 weeks ago. That means that we will have to rely on a few of our younger batsman from now on, with Rory Burns and Zafar Ansari both included, along with the now experienced one day batsman Matthew Spriegel. All three will have to play, as Batty batting at 7 is a position too high in One Day cricket.

Gary Wilson has returned from Ireland though, and is available for selection. Gary has been in fantastic form over the last few weeks, having a fantastic Twenty 20 campaign, and is on the back of a 70 against Afghanistan last week in Belfast.

There are 4 spinners in the squad, with Spriegel, Ansari and Batty joined by overseas star Murali Kartik. As I said previously, Surrey like to play just the two frontline seamers, with de Bruyn backing up, so it is likely that all of the spinners will play and try and limit the runs scored in the middle overs of the innings. All 4 of them are in good form with the ball, so they will be an important factor in whether we win or not tomorrow.

It seems an age since we last played a game in the CB40, and so far we have defended our title well, claiming 4 victories out of 6, with the other 2 rained off. However, without key players for a variety of reasons, this is going to be a new test for our players, and they will be facing an incredibly talented Nottinghamshire line up, who have an array of exceptional One Day batsmen. Hales, Lumb, Taylor and Patel to name but a few, and it will be an interesting battle between them, and our stronger suit of bowling.

It’s always a good day out for the CB40 game at Guildford, and with the weather forecast looking good, I would highly recommend attending.

Surrey Squad:

Gareth Batty (C)

Jason Roy

Steve Davies (WK)

Zander de Bruyn

Rory Burns

Gary Wilson

Matthew Spriegel

Zafar Ansari

Murali Kartik

Jon Lewis

Stuart Meaker

Chris Jordan

Tim Linley

Nottinghamshire Squad:

Chris Read (C, WK)

Alex Hales

Michael Lumb

Rikki Wessels

Adam Voges

Samit Patel

James Taylor

Steven Mullaney

Jake Ball

Graeme White

Andy Carter

Darren Pattinson

Harry Gurney