Dogged Ansari leads Surrey to draw

An unbeaten 83 from Zafar Ansari has lead Surrey to a draw on Day 4 of the LVCC Division One match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.

Play didn’t start until 11.45 due to a rain shower, and after surviving 18 overs last night, Burns and Ansari started slowly, but comfortably going past their 2^nd 50 partnership in just 4 innings. Burns was looking the better of the two, finding the boundary on a few occasions with some beautiful drives. However, 20 minutes before the break, Warwickshire made the breakthrough when Burns looked to defend a Rankin ball, but it went into the ground and back onto the stumps. Unlucky for Burns, falling 8 short of 3 consecutive half centuries, but showing increased promise at the top of the order.

Rankin was making batting look difficult, bowling short to Harinath and Ansari, and had them in trouble a couple of times before lunch, in which the pair safely negotiated to go in on 83-1.

Straight after the break though, Surrey lost Harinath without scoring. A blow for Surrey as Harinath has a reputation to dig in, and personally he will be disappointed that he couldn’t make a contribution. After a couple of short rain breaks, de Bruyn was the next man to go when he played an inexcusable shot. Jeetan Patel lobbed up a full toss, in which he swept straight down the throat of deep midwicket. Not what was required in the situation, as de Bruyn continues his poor form this season.

Roy joined Ansari, and batting was looking increasingly difficult as runs were hard to come by, and the hosts put down a variety of chances around the bat off the bowling of Jeetan Patel. Ansari picked up his first Championship half century for Surrey when he flicked Clarke down to fine leg for four. It had come off 170 balls, and had been a fine effort. He went past his previous best First Class score of 59 before the tea break, in which they went in on 140-3, still with a minimum of 28 overs remaining in the day.

Batting began to look slightly easier after the break, as the Warwickshire bowlers worked hard without success, as Roy was playing as he never had before, with his strike rate down at 20 throughout the early part of his innings. He and Ansari were taking Surrey towards the draw, and took their side into the final hour, in which they had to stave off the second new ball.

At 25 past 5, the players shook hands, with Surrey on 202-3, and the batsman had done their job. Not many Surrey fans would have thought we would have got through today, but we did and it was a fantastic effort, in particular from Zaf. He finished unbeaten on 83, off a massive 257 balls, which shows that he has grit and determination in abundance. And a quick word for Roy, who played out of his comfort zone today, and supported Zafar brilliantly, ending on 42* of 101.

After being out of the game after the second day, a draw is all we could have hoped for, and it was a fine effort from the batsman. It may just be an extra 3 points with the draw, but they could all be important come the end of the season, and today will also give our side some much needed confidence. The batting has been poor of late, and some players are still nowhere near their best form, but it’s good to see youngsters such as Burns, Ansari and Roy impressing, all of which have big futures at the club.

So still only the one win this season, but we have moved above Lancashire into 6^th place in the table, which would give our players a big psychological boost. We now travel to Trent Bridge for the floodlit CB40 clash against Notts Outlaws on Wednesday, before the massive LVCC game against Durham at the Emirates ICG next Tuesday.

Bears closing in on victory

Warwickshire are in pole position after Day three of the LVCC Division One match against Surrey at Edgbaston, after bowling the visitors out for 286 and enforcing the follow on.

After their 83 run partnership yesterday, Harinath and Burns were split up as the former edged behind without adding to his overnight score. A good innings from Arun, but it was disappointing that he went so early this morning.

De Bruyn and Roy barely troubled the scorers either side of a rain break, as Burns was losing partners at the other end. After lunch, Davies was the first man to go, for just 13, and Surrey were 6 down when Burns was caught behind for 77. A great innings from the young keeper, who is increasingly showing his credentials, as he became the first Surrey batsman to hit consecutive half centuries in the LVCC this season.

After bowling erratically, Jordan didn’t do much to impress with the bat, as he was trapped in front for 15. Batty and Meaker put on a good partnership for the 8th wicket to make sure we got one batting point, as they went to the tea interval on 224-7, trailing by 347. 

Straight after the break though, the skipper was out LBW to Barker for 28. Even though his bowling has gone downhill, Lewis batted as well as he has done this season, putting on a partnership to take us to a second batting point. 

But Meaker went on 41 to give Rikki Clarke a 4th wicket. Good stuff from Meaker though, showing much more grit and determination than some upper order batsman. After Lewis and Kartik took part in some late order hitting, the Indian spinner was caught in the gully, and Surrey had been bowled out for 286, 285 behind the hosts first innings score. Apart from Burns and a couple of the lower order, no real fight from the batsman, which is extremely disappointing to see.

Unsurprisingly the follow on was enforced, and Burns and Ansari had to try and survive 18 overs. They did so, finishing on 38-0, to give us some chance of forcing a draw tomorrow.

To be honest, it is a very slim chance however, as we have a host of batsman either out of form or too inexperienced to stick it out in a situation like this. de Bruyn and Davies haven’t been anywhere near their best form all season, and they’re are most senior batsman at the moment. Jason Roy lacks consistency, and Burns, Harinath and Ansari only have a small amount of First Class games between them.

So overall, it doesn’t look good does it? We have a tough task to come out of the game with a draw, and an even stiffer task to stay in this division next season. Durham have finally won their first game of the season today, when they skittled out Middlesex. The one time you want Middlesex to win and they don’t. If we do manage to come out with a draw, then it would give us some much needed confidence for the massively vital game at Chester-le-Street in a couple of weeks time.

Hosts in control but Surrey stand firm

Warwickshire are in control after Day 2 of the LVCC Division One match against Surrey at Edgbaston after scoring 571, but Surrey have stood firm ending the day on 109-1.

At the start of the day, the Surrey bowlers would have been looking to bowl out the hosts for less than 350, and bat before lunch. However, the Warwickshire pair of Troughton and Woakes had other ideas, as they batted extremely comfortably. They both went past personal milestones, with Woakes passing fifty and the skipper completing his second hundred in successive matches. Surrey finally made the breakthrough on what turned out to be the last ball before lunch, when Troughton was caught behind off Kartik. But it was certainly the host’s morning, as they went to the break 429-7.

In his first over after the break, Kartik picked up his 3^rd wicket of the innings when Barker was caught behind without scoring. However, Woakes was still there, and with New Zealander Jeetan Patel, they confirmed to everyone that there batting line up was very strong, and very deep. They put on the record 9^th wicket partnership for Warwickshire against Surrey, as Woakes completed his 6^th First Class hundred, and Jeetan Patel a quickfire half century.

With the partnership on 127, Patel was caught and bowled by Murali Kartik off a top edge, but with the score passing 550, Surrey had been well and truly batted out of the game. The innings finally came to an end when Boyd Rankin was run out, and 571 looked a formidable score. Kartik finished with 4 wickets and was the pick of the bowlers, but it was disappointing how much the last 4 wickets accumulated.  Another negative was the amount of extras we gave away, with a ridiculously large total of 60, including 10 no balls from Jordan.

Burns and Ansari opened yet again, and started well, but with the score on 29 Ansari was trapped in front by Woakes for 10. Once again a start for Zaf, where he looks comfortable at the crease, but then he gets out. He needs to start getting more meaningful scores, but I still don’t think that he is the answer to our opening problems.

Arun Harinath completed the triplet of Academy graduates at the top of the order, and he and Burns set about digging in for the final session of the day. They batted calmly and positively, with the 50 partnership coming up inside 17 overs. Burns went to his fifty with a single of Rankin. It had come off just 70 balls with 9 fours, and it was his second successive Championship half century.

They took us to the close on 109-1, with Harinath 6 short of his first 50 of the season. A very good unbeaten partnership of 83 between the two youngsters, who looked at ease at the crease even though Burns was dropped on the first ball of the innings. However, he has so far capitalized on that and Harinath has looked as good as he ever has in the first team, as he tries to earn a contract for next season.

We obviously can’t win the game, and with a follow on score of over 400, we have a tough task to save the game. However, if Burns and Harinath can kick on tomorrow morning, and if the other batsman can back them up, we would be hoping to get maximum batting points and try and avoid the follow on.

Honours even after Day One at Edgbaston

It’s honours even after Day One of the LVCC Division One match between Warwickshire and Surrey at Edgbaston, with the hosts reaching 322-6.

On a glorious summer’s morning in Birmingham, the hosts won the toss and had no hesitation in electing to bat first. Two changes were made from the draw at Trent Bridge, with Gareth Batty and Arun Harinath coming in for Tim Linley and the unlucky Matthew Spriegel. That meant Chris Jordan would once again get a chance to impress, and Jade Dernbach had been left out, probably because he’s not 100% fit yet.

The bowlers started well, in particular Stuart Meaker, who had a numerous amount of LBW appeals turned down inside his first 5 over spell. But the first big moment of the game came 50 minutes into the days play, when off Murali Kartik’s first delivery, Ian Westwood struck the ball into Rory Burns at short leg. Burns seemed to take the catch, but as he tried to celebrate, he let go of the ball, and the umpires deemed that he hadn’t held onto it long enough. Poor cricket from Rory, simply throwing a wicket away, and with the situation our team is in at the moment, you can’t afford to let chances like that go.

That missed chance did prove to be costly, as Chopra and Westwood looked increasingly comfortable at the crease, and took their side to lunch on 105 without loss, with some thinking to be done by the bowlers.

Straight after the break, Surrey got a stroke of luck, when Chopra got an inside edge back onto his stumps off the bowling of Jordan, and the breakthrough had been made. Jordan was bowling erratically, with numerous no balls and boundaries balls being delivered, but he claimed his second wicket, as Porterfield gloved a hook through to Davies.

Surrey had started the afternoon session strongly, and the skipper Gareth Batty struck to reduce the hosts to 188-3, as the previously comfortable Westwood was trapped in front for 67. Murali Kartik was brought back into the attack, and he trapped Maddy LBW with one that went on with the arm, as Surrey started to apply pressure.

That was the last wicket of the session though, as Troughton and Johnson took their side to the break on 216-4; but it had certainly been our session. They batted well for the first hour of the final session, putting their side into a strong position on Day one, but with the partnership on 98, Meaker made the breakthrough when he had Johnson caught by de Bruyn.

Meaker then made it two in quick succession, when he had former Surrey man Rikki Clarke caught brilliantly by Rory Burns to pick up a second bowling bonus point. That was the last wicket of the day, as Troughton (74*) and Chris Woakes took their side to the close on 322-6.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, I think Warwickshire would have taken that if it would have been handed to them at the beginning of the day, but I also feel that Surrey would be reasonably pleased with their days work. The pitch is extremely dry, and looks a belter to bat on, and after getting to Lunch without claiming a wicket, we should be happy with our afternoons work.

The main negative today was Chris Jordan’s erratic bowling, with 7 no balls and going at almost 6 an over, but the 2 wickets does make it look marginally better. If we can manage to nip out a couple of early wickets tomorrow, and roll them over for less than 350, the bowlers would have done extremely well. But with the skipper still there, and with Woakes in good form after a century last week, there is still some work to do.

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 17^th 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

Bears complete 5 wicket win

Warwickshire have beaten Surrey by 5 wickets in the LVCC Division One match at the Kia Oval, after knocking off the required runs within half an hour this morning.

It didn’t take long for Ambrose and Clarke to get the runs, as our bowlers didn’t really pose any further problems. Ambrose’s innings was superb, hardly offering us a chance over the 154 balls he was at the crease for his unbeaten 89.

So, a disappointing result for us again in the Championship, and after restricting them to 37-4 yesterday, it is even more disappointing that we couldn’t complete the victory. Our first day performance once again let us down, as it has in nearly every game this season so far, and this time we weren’t allowed to get away with it, against a superior Warwickshire team. Only one of our batsman reached a half century in the match, compared to 3 from the visitors, on a pitch that didn’t look too difficult to bat on.

Credit must go to the bowlers, who did a remarkable job to reduce Warwickshire to 247 in the first innings, but that just overshadowed how bad we batted. Davies and RHB both got inexcusably run out in the first innings, and the 2 South Africans, de Bruyn and Rudolph, both look in poor form, and put it this way, I’m not too disappointed that Rudolph has played his final game for us.

Batty obviously comes out of the game with massive credit, claiming only his second 10fer in his career, and first for Surrey. The seamers found it tough on that pitch, and in particular Jon Lewis, who failed to claim a wicket in the match for the first time in the LVCC this season. In fact, all the seamers in the match failed to make a big impact, apart from in our first innings, where loose shots and the odd good delivery gave Wright, Woakes and co 8 wickets between them.

We are 5^th in the table, but likely to drop down to 6^th as Sussex are currently doing well against Nottinghamshire, with 53 points, a massive 47 behind Warwickshire at the top, who also have a game in hand.

We now turn our attention back to the CB40, after a week’s break, against the Welsh Dragons at the Swalec Stadium next weekend. We will be looking to make it 4 out of 4 in the competition, and a certain Murali Kartik could well be involved.

Bears closing in despite Batty's 10

Warwickshire are closing in on victory in the LVCC Division One match against Surrey at the Kia Oval, largely thanks to a hundred partnership between William Porterfield and Tim Ambrose. They will require a further 41 tomorrow morning, with 5 second innings wickets left.

The morning started with the game in the balance, with Rudolph and Maynard looking to build a competitive lead, and Warwickshire looking to remove one or both of the overnight batsman early. And it was the visitors who made the perfect start, when Maynard was caught at silly point in the second over of the day, and Rudolph was bowled not long after by a good ball from Jeetan Patel. It was Rudolph’s last innings for Surrey, and he hasn’t been at his best, scoring just 229 runs at and average of 22.90.

Batty then looked to hit Patel over the top, but could only find Woakes at mid-wicket and went for 0. A poor shot from Batty, and we had fallen to 165-7 with a lead of just 140. Warwickshire would have been looking to wrap the innings up quickly but Jordan and Lewis had other ideas, as the pair batted sensibly to get the lead up to some respectability. Lewis was holding back a bit from his usual type of innings, but still found the boundary off the bad balls, and Jordan played a watchful innings looking to hold the whole thing together.

On 31, Lewis looked to work Patel over the leg side but found Porterfield and the partnership had been broken. It had been worth 54, and was vital to give Surrey any sort of chance when they had their turn to bowl later. Jordan was taking Surrey towards lunch 8 down, but in the last over before the break, he was trapped in front by Patel for 40, the New Zealander’s 6^th wicket. He has had his critics but it was a gutsy innings from Jordan, and if he had got out for next to nothing, then the lead wouldn’t of got anywhere near 200.

And the innings was completed when Woakes bowled Dernbach with a yorker, as he looked to launch the England bowler down the ground. Surrey all out for 245, and Warwickshire had 222 to get.

Jade Dernbach got Surrey off to a fantastic start, when on the 5^th ball of the innings, he trapped Chopra in front without scoring. A big wicket, considering how well he played in the first innings. The bowlers stopped the Warwickshire batsman from getting off to a quick start, with Dernbach and Lewis applying firm pressure. And the pressure proved dividends, as Batty was introduced into the attack, and made an immediate impact, having Westwood caught fantastically by Maynard at slip.

In his very next over, Batty had Troughton LBW as the opposition’s skipper looked to sweep and missed. And the off spinner had his 9^th in the game, when Maddy looked to launch him down the ground but struck it back at the bowler, who held onto a sharp catch. Warwickshire 37-4. However, Ambrose and Porterfield got together and started to build a partnership that could prove to be match winning.

They took their side to the tea break 4 down for 82, requiring a further 140 for victory. RHB opened up with himself after the tea break, but didn’t cause many alarms, apart from a stumping appeal which was turned down by umpire Milns. Whatever Surrey chucked at the batsman, they had an answer for it, looking at relative comfort at the crease, showing that if you can get in on this pitch, run scoring is pretty easy.

Batty was working hard from the Pavilion and eventually had further success, when he trapped Porterfield LBW for 66, to claim his 10^th wicket in the match. It was his first 10fer for Surrey, and even though it may be in a losing cause, it is a heck of an effort. The seamers were rotating from the Vauxhall end but RHB surprisingly held Meaker back after the tea interval, but with the wicket of Porterfield, he was brought on.

However, the Porterfield wicket was the last of the day as not even Meaker could dismiss Clarke or Ambrose, who took their side to the close on 181-5, requiring a further 41 to win.

A very disappointing end to the day then, as at 37-4, we were firm favourites to win the game. However, our batting has let us down again, and not just in 1 innings, but in both. Davies, de Bruyn, Rudolph, RHB and Maynard all failed to reach a half century, on a pitch that looked good to bat on if you could get in. Massive credit to Gareth Batty though, as he always work extremely hard on his game, and often comes up with a big wicket or two, so deserves his current match figures of 10-129.

The way Ambrose and Clarke were playing, it seems that they will knock the runs over comfortably tomorrow, but you never know, and if Batty could nip one or two early, then it will certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons. 

Batty leads fightback on Day 2

Surrey have fought back on day two of the LVCC Division One match against Warwickshire at the Kia Oval, thanks largely to 6 wickets from Gareth Batty, and a quickfire half century from Jason Roy.

Surrey started the morning firmly on the back foot, with the visitors trailing by just 117 runs and still with 9 first innings wickets in hand. After a slow but solid start, Gareth Batty made the breakthrough, when he had Westwood caught at slip half an hour into the day. Troughton was the next man to go, when he played on to a Meaker yorker in the seamer’s first over of the day. And a wonderful first hour was completed, when Batty bowled Chopra for 78, who before this looked set for a big score.

Warwickshire had slipped to 144-4, but the job was far from over for the Surrey bowlers, as the 2 former England batsman Maddy and Ambrose frustrated our attack, and took their side to lunch 4 down for 182.

Straight after the break though, Meaker picked up his second, when he trapped Maddy plumb in front. Warwickshire claimed their first batting point 5 wickets down, but a flurry of wickets made it their only batting point. The skipper brought himself into the attack, and bowled Ambrose for 33, and in the very next over, Rikki Clarke was trapped in front by Batty.

Batty then had Barker stumped and Patel caught and bowled to claim his first fifer of the season. The Yorkshireman finished off the innings, by having Wright caught by Roy, and Warwickshire were all out for 247, a lead of 25. A fantastic session in which 6 wickets fell for just 65 runs and Batty claimed brilliant figures of 6-73. Davies and Roy took Surrey to tea unbeaten on 35, a lead of 10.

However, straight after the break, Surrey lost their first when Davies was strangled down the leg side off Barker and went for 14. Roy didn’t stop accelerating though, as he launched Jeetan Patel into the Pavilion for 6 to bring up his 1000^th First Class run. He soon brought up his first fifty in all competitions this season, which had come up just shy of a run a ball.

Roy and de Bruyn took Surrey’s lead past 50, and their own partnership past 50. However, the ball after the latter milestone was brought up, de Bruyn was trapped in front for 16 by Maddy, to continue his run drought.

Roy was the next man to go, as he whipped Rikki Clarke straight to Maddy at short mid wicket, and went for 71. A good innings from Roy, but a shame that he couldn’t make a bigger contribution, as we have seen how difficult it has been to settle on this pitch.

The skipper quickly came and went for 1, as Patel got one to bounce on RHB and was caught behind. It was the first time he hasn’t scored at least 50 in a second innings this season in the LVCC. We had lost 3 wickets for 20, and the visitors had regained a firm hold on the game.

Maynard and Rudolph played sensibly to rebuild the innings, knowing that another wicket could lead to a further collapse tonight. The pair did a very good job, taking us to stumps at 144-4, and a lead of 120.

Overall, a good day for Surrey then, but it was disappointing to see de Bruyn, Roy and RHB go in quick succession. If we could have made it to the close perhaps only 2 or 3 down, then we would be favourites going into the third day. However, it wasn’t to be, and if Warwickshire can nip a couple early tomorrow morning, they will look to wrap the win up sometime in the afternoon. But, if Maynard and Rudolph can somehow get the lead over 200 together, then we will have a real chance of completing our second victory of the season, on a deteriorating pitch.

Warwickshire on top as batsman falter

Warwickshire have dominated the opening day of the LVCC Division One match at the Kia Oval, after bowling Surrey out for 223, and finishing the day just 1 down for 106.

Rory Hamilton-Brown won the toss, and without hesitation elected to bat first on a glorious summer’s day. As expected, the team was the same from the draw to Somerset, apart from Jade Dernbach coming in for George Edwards. Like in the second innings of that game, Jason Roy opened up with Steve Davies, and the pair started brilliantly, going at over 7 an over at one point. However, the runs stymied a little, and has he has done a lot this season, Roy went for 21 after making a positive start.

Zander de Bruyn came in at 3 and carried on from where Roy left off, batting uncharacteristically attacking on what looked a very good pitch. However, former Surrey man Rikki Clarke removed de Bruyn on 16, caught by Wright. Davies had looked good for his 34, but Rudolph sent him back after he had set off for a single, and Ambrose run him out to leave Surrey 84-3. The runs were still coming at a rapid pace, and the skipper and Rudolph took their side to the break 134-3.

Disaster struck straight after the interval though, as Rudolph was caught behind for just 19, and then there was a second run out of the innings, when RHB went for 34. There was never a single available, and Maynard at the other end didn’t budge. A suicidal run from the skipper. Chris Jordan, once again picked by Adams, then went without scoring and Surrey were 142-6, and in big danger of getting a massively below par score.

Gareth Batty was the next man to go, when Woakes got one to nip back at him and trap him LBW for 6. Maynard and Lewis then put on a partnership to take Surrey to their first and only batting point. However, the Welshman was the next to go, when he drove at Barker and was caught behind for 39. Chris Wright finished off the innings, removing Lewis for 37, before getting Dernbach caught behind without scoring. Surrey all out for 223, and a very disappointing batting performance, on a pitch that looked very good.

Our bowlers needed to get off to a good start, and they did, by restricting the Warwickshire batsman to less than 2 an over. The pressure proved dividends as Ian Westwood drove at Dernbach and Batty took a sharp catch at first slip. Meaker was then introduced into the attack, but after a couple of tight overs, the batsman began to score more freely and brought up the team’s fifty with just 1 wicket down.

Jordan, Batty and even an over from Hamilton-Brown tried but didn’t succeed as the wicket of Westwood was the only wicket the visitors lost in the 35 overs they faced this evening, as they closed on 106-1, trailing by just 117.

A very disappointing day then, and a missed opportunity, after winning the toss and batting on a pitch which looked very good to bat on, as Warwickshire showed this evening. They did show why they were top of the table at some points today, but too many of the wickets were thrown away needlessly, most notably the two run outs. RHB once again couldn’t get a notable score in the first innings of a match, and Roy, Davies and de Bruyn couldn’t kick on from promising starts.

To have any chance of victory, we will need to reduce them to less than 300, and hope that, as we have done a lot this season already, perform better in the second innings. However, that won’t be easy, as Chopra and Porterfield looked very comfortable at the crease, but Gareth Batty did manage to get some turn in the overs he bowled, which gives us some belief.

Unchanged squad named before Rudolph departs

Chris Adams has named the same 13 man squad from last week’s draw against Somerset, for the visit of the LVCC Division One leaders Warwickshire to the Kia Oval.

Jacques Rudolph will be looking to go out with a bang, as it will be his last game in a Surrey shirt. The South African opener hasn’t impressed as much as he, and Surrey fans, would have wanted since the start of the season. He has scored 188 runs at an average of less than 23 in the Championship, and has only gone past the 50 mark once. He did register a fifty in his only CB40 game, a 69 in tough conditions up in Edinburgh. I would like to wish Jacques all the best for the future, and lets hope he can get a score of substance this week.

George Edwards has once again been named in the squad, but it is likely that he will be left out of the starting X1, with Jade Dernbach the man replacing him. Tim Linley is vying for a starting place, after playing just 2 games so far this season, and he may come in for Jon Lewis, who at 36, must be tired after being the only seamer to play every game this season. However, it’s a massive game, and Lewis has bowled, and batted, superbly in the Championship this season, so I would expect to see him in the starting X1.

Chris Jordan has once again been named in the squad, even though he has been in poor form with both bat and ball. Linley may come in for him, which means Batty, Meaker, Lewis would bat at 7,8,9, which wouldn’t be a bad thing, as Batty looked in good nick last week, and Jordan is lacking confidence with his batting, and at the moment, isn’t adding anything at number 7.

Stuart Meaker will look to carry on his wonderful form, after picking up 11 wickets against Somerset, including a career best 8-52. Johnny Barran described Meaker’s second innings performance as the best he had seen by a seamer in the 5 years he has been commentating for the BBC. England selectors would have noted what Meaker has done, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the ODI squads again this summer.

Jason Roy will once again bat at 3, as Mark Ramprakash is playing for the second X1 this week in Wimbledon. Ramps hit a half century at the weekend for Stanmore CC, and I feel any time in the middle for him is vital. Roy will be looking to cement a place in the side, to stop Ramps from coming back in. However, he hasn’t been in the greatest form this season, getting starts, but failing to register a half century in any competition so far. With Rudolph leaving, that may leave a space for Ramps to come back in if he can find some form for the 2’s, with the next Championship game in a couple of weeks down at Horsham.

Zander de Bruyn’s all round abilities have once again kept him in the squad, as he hasn’t been himself this season. He is averaging just 18 this season, with 2 half centuries, and has been a shadow of how he performed in his debut season last year.

Maynard and RHB have been in exceptional form this season, but rarely in the same innings. Apart from the great partnership at New Road, they have hardly batted together, as either one or both have got out cheaply. The skipper will want to continue his remarkable record of scoring at least a 50 in every second innings this season, but it would be nice if he could score a few in the first as well! He has scored just 56 runs at 11.2 in the first innings, compared to 413 at 103.25 in the second.

Surrey haven’t played Warwickshire in the Championship since we were last in Division One in September 2007, where we won by 9 wickets at Edgbaston, largely thanks to a big hundred from Ramps in the first innings. The last time the Bears were at the Oval for a Championship match was April 2007, where a rain affected match ended in a draw, where Ramps also struck a century. In fact, Ramps has hit a century in his last 3 games against tomorrow’s opponents in the Championship...

Warwickshire are 33 points clear of Surrey at the top of the table, and have also played a game less, so if we lose this week, it would be even harder to win the league this year. They have won 3 games already this season, and have yet to be defeated, so will provide the strongest test for our boys so far.

With the likes of Chris Woakes and Keith Barker in the bowling ranks, as well as former Surrey all rounder Rikki Clarke, who struck an unbeaten century against Lancashire last week, they will be favourites heading into this one. However, we shouldn’t be written off, as just because we haven’t been at our best this season, it doesn’t mean that we won’t be this week.

Surrey Squad

Rory Hamilton-Brown (C)

Jacques Rudolph

Steve Davies (WK)

Jason Roy

Zander de Bruyn

Tom Maynard

Chris Jordan

Gareth Batty

Stuart Meaker

Jon Lewis

Jade Dernbach

Tim Linley

George Edwards