First day all square despite Petersen ton

On his last Championship appearance at the Oval in 2011, Alviro Petersen struck a sublime double century for Glamorgan, and it looked like the Somerset debutant would be on the way to another until a brilliant fight back from Surrey evened up events on day one of the County Championship match at the Oval.

While one South African opening batsman was grabbing all the headlines before the game, everybody seemed to forget that his Test Match opening partner was in the Somerset side today. However, by 18:00 this evening that had changed. His innings was a joy to watch for everyone but a Surrey fan, who are sick of seeing the sight of Peterson out in the middle at the Oval. His century came off of just 141 balls, and oozed class throughout, but a spell of 4-42 from Jade Dernbach inspired a Surrey comeback.

Marcus Trescothick won a vital toss and had no hesitations in electing to bat first, with good batting conditions predicted throughout the day. New captain Graeme Smith would have done the same, picking two spinners in Batty and Keedy, and therefore hoping to utilise them in the 4^th innings on a spinning wicket. But that wasn’t to be, with just the 2 frontline seamers in Dernbach and Meaker selected.

That meant Tremlett was left out, even though he was fit, which I thought was odd, but Jade proved his doubters wrong early on when he yorked England opener Nick Compton without scoring. The usually consistent Meaker struggled to find a line and length early on however, and the part time swing of de Bruyn was quickly turned to. The next wicket wasn’t too far away, as Batty had the Somerset captain trapped in front with a ball that straightened sharply.

James Hildreth and Petersen eased to lunch on 115-2, with no-one except Dernbach really troubling the batsman, and it was the South African born paceman who got the next wicket. Third ball after the break, Hildreth looked to cut him away, but could unfortunately (for Somerset) only drag the ball back onto his stumps. A lucky break for Dernbach, but you’ve got to take all the luck you can get.

However, as with the previous two wickets, a partnership started to form quite rapidly, especially after Dernbach’s accurate spell came to an end. Meaker was still struggling to hit his straps, which is a bad thing when you only have two seamers in your side, and you can never rely on de Bruyn for a wicket. Batty and Keedy weren’t getting much purchase out of the wicket, and Petersen eased to his century 40 minutes before tea, in which Somerset went into in command on 235-3.

After the tea break, batting still looked quite easy for the Somerset pair, but a rush of blood from Craig Kieswetter led to him being stumped off Batty. That was just the break we needed before the new ball was available, in which Dernbach utilised perfectly. Off the first delivery with the new cherry, Jade bowled Jos Buttler with a superb in-swinging delivery in which the England ‘keeper had shouldered arms, and followed that up by having Peter Trego caught by Solanki at slip for a golden duck.

The bowlers kept it tight for the next 50 minutes or so, and were rewarded when de Bruyn finally removed Petersen for a superb 167. Take his runs out of the equation, and it would be a far different story. We were really back into the game when Meaker eventually got one right to bowl Jamie Overton 5 balls later, with Somerset closing 15 minutes later on 340-8.

Overall, I think Smith and Co should be satisfied with the day’s proceedings, as they could have been far worse. I personally would have played Tremlett instead of Keedy, and I think that many would agree with my thoughts, especially as fears that one of the 2 seamers would have an off day came true in the case of Meaker.

Jade was by far the pick of the bowlers, and according to Mark Church (who has seen him more than most!) it was the best he had bowled in Championship cricket, which is good to see so early in the season. Meaker will come good, and that late wicket will give him confidence, and on a good looking pitch to bat on, 5 wickets in the final session is a great effort.

Tomorrow morning we must roll them over quickly, i.e. not let them get near 400, and set about getting our heads down and trying to gain a first innings lead. 

Smith fit for season opener

Captain Graeme Smith has been named in a 13 man squad to take on Somerset in the opening Championship game of the season, starting at the Kia Oval tomorrow. 

There were slight doubts over the fitness of Smith, after he missed South Africa's last ODI against Pakistan last month with recurrence of an ankle injury, on which he had surgery on last year. But, that seems to be ok at the moment, because if it wasn't, I don't think he would be risked in case he badly damaged his ankle, which could leave him out of action for months. 

Here is the squad in full:

G. Smith (C)

R. Burns

A. Harinath

V. Solanki

Z. de Bruyn

S. Davies

G. Wilson

G. Batty

S. Meaker

J. Dernbach 

G. Keedy

C. Tremlett

T. Linley

As you can see, there is no place for Jason Roy, with de Bruyn’s all-round abilities and Wilson’s pre-season form preferred over the inconsistency that Roy provides in this format of the game. He, and many others, will be disappointed that de Bruyn has been picked ahead of him, considering the elder hasn’t played since February. I’m glad to see Wilson in the squad however, as his form of last season in List A cricket, and what he has shown over the last month in pre-season, has warranted selection in the squad at least. The experience of Vikram Solanki has also been chosen ahead of Roy, even though Roy had a better pre- season than the former Worcestershire batsman, who will have to hit the ground running if he wants to keep his place in the side, with Roy desperate to win his place back.

Another notable absentee is that of Jon Lewis. Early season conditions do suit his style of bowling, as was shown at the beginning of last year, but the pace of Jade Dernbach and guile of the Viscount is preferred over the 38 year old. I would have certainly named Lewis in the squad, as he can also add vital runs down the order, with him being our leading run scorer in the Championship well into May last year. But, we shouldn’t be relying on a number 9 to get us runs, and the batsman before need to take some responsibility.

It’s good to see faith kept in Arun Harinath at number 3, after he impressed towards the end of the last campaign, but I believe that he needs to have a good year this year to cement a place in the side. Rory Burns will open up with the skipper of course, after also having a good end to last season, and many have tipped him to be one to watch this year.

The make- up of the side is still in question. At the AGM last night, it was reported that Adams said that an extra batsman would play this week, supposedly meaning that Batty wouldn’t be at number 7. Therefore, I think the top 7 of the list above will be the top 7 that takes to the field tomorrow, with Wilson batting at 7.

If we are presuming that will be the case, then Adams has the option of playing 2 spinners, in Batty and Keedy, and two seamers, with de Bruyn as a 5^th choice. Or, play 3 seamers, and 1 spinner (possibly Keedy as Somerset have lots of right handed batsman) and de Bruyn once again as a 5^th choice. I personally would go down the 3 seamers, 1 spinner route, with Tremlett, Meaker and Dernbach as my 3 seamers. However, I have a feeling that Adams will pick both Keedy and Batty because when Keedy was signed, he said he would play both in every LVCC game at the Oval. He could change his mind, but I think that it is unlikely.

 

Therefore, I think the 2 seamers that will be picked are Meaker and, if fit, Tremlett, with de Bruyn supporting them. Meaker is our most consistent Championship bowler, so should always be picked in my opinion, and on his day, Tremlett can be one of the most terrifying bowler’s in world cricket. Whether he has enough overs under his belt is another question, and I’m sure Adams and Smith will wait until tomorrow morning before deciding is he is ready for First Class action.

Somerset are fresh off the back of a 48 run defeat to Durham last week, but just the fact that they have played a game may mean that they are that little bit sharper at the beginning of tomorrow’s game. They also have arguably one of the best top 7’s in county cricket, with it likely to be: Trescothick, Peterson, Compton, Hildreth, Kieswetter, Buttler, Trego. That is a superb batting line up, and they are no mugs with the ball either, with Trego already hitting his straps last week against Durham.

Tomorrow is the start of a new era for Surrey County Cricket Club, with one of the great Test captains taking charge of our club for the first time. Don’t expect miracles straight away, because that would be silly, but things are definitely looking rosier at the Oval, and a good season is on the horizon. Come on the Rey!!

2013 Season Preview: County Championship

With the 2013 season just around the corner, and the first pre-season game getting underway tomorrow, I think it’s the right time to look forward and give my opinion on how we are going to do this season. The first competition I’m going to be previewing is the Liverpool Victoria County Championship, so here goes.

Due to obvious unforeseen circumstances last season, our Championship campaign didn’t go according to plan, finishing one place and 33 points ahead of the relegation places. It was a wonderful effort from Batty and co to keep us in Division One, and hopefully that can inspire us to greater things this year.

It is certainly a different looking squad to the team that beat Sussex in the opener at the Oval in 2012. The starting X1 that day was: Rudolph, Jordan, Ramps, de Bruyn, RHB, Maynard, Burns, Batty, Lewis, Meaker, and Dernbach. That’s 5 of the top 6 not at the club anymore for varying reasons, which has certainly left a big hole in the depth of our batting. This season will be the first for over 12 years that we won’t have Mark Ramprakash walking out to the middle at number 3, and those are big shoes to fill. However, I think we have the batsman capable to fill the void of Ramps, and can lead us to a successful season.

For the first time in a long time, perhaps when Batty and Newman were at their best, we hopefully have a solid opening partnership in Graeme Smith and Rory Burns. Smith has dipped in form of late for South Africa, in the ODI’s especially, but there is still no doubting the calibre of player that has been acquired. He’s arguably one of the greatest Test captains of all time, and when unavailable, will be replaced by another great captain of the past in Ricky Ponting. And for those doubting Ponting’s ability nowadays, he has recently been named Sheffield Shield Player of the Season, which isn’t to be sniffed at.  Burns looked very assured towards the end of last season, a natural opener who has the ability to score quickly but knows his limits well and hopefully will grow into the role this coming season.

In my opinion, the openers are the only two positions that are set in stone for the Championship opener against Somerset on April 17^th, with selection headaches causing a problem for Adams. However, competition for places is always good in a squad, so here’s my team for the opening game:

Smith (C)

Burns

Harinath

De Bruyn

Solanki

Roy

Davies (W)

Batty

Meaker

Lewis

Tremlett

Apart from the openers, each position of my side could be challenged. Harinath at 3 did well at the end of last season, hitting 2 centuries in 6 matches, including one in that vital win against Middlesex in August, earning himself a new contract. Some however may argue that we need a more experienced head to come in at the fall of the first wicket, perhaps Solanki or de Bruyn, but personally, Harinath should be given a chance for the first few games at least, in what could be a make or break season for him.

A popular debate on Twitter is that of Zander de Bruyn, who is still to arrive in the UK, and many believe doesn’t deserve a place in the side. It’s true that he has had a poor season again for the Highveld Lions after a lean campaign for us in 2012. Therefore, many believe academy graduate Tom Jewell should be given a chance ahead of the 37 year old South African. However, I think with Burns and Harinath in the top 3, an experienced number 4 is, and all being well, Zander can rediscover the form he showed in 2011 and at the end of 2012 to some extent. His seam and swing can also prove to be (sometimes!) useful.

That brings us onto Vikram Solanki who joined mid-season last year. There is no doubting the quality of the man, but like de Bruyn, is he past it? Poor form for Worcester led to him getting dropped from the Championship side, but his knowledge and experience of the game is unquestionable, so I think he should be given a chance against Somerset. However, if he or de Bruyn struggle early on, then either Jewell or the unfortunate Gary Wilson should definitely be given a go, rather than Adams persisting on picking them, like he strangely did with de Bruyn last year. Wilson really does deserve a chance in 4 day cricket, but I don’t think Adams will start the season with him, so that’s why I left him out of my side.

It’s a massive year for Jason Roy I think. After a good couple of seasons, he fell away considerably last year, and in the Championship scored just 3 50’s from 21 innings. He is a far better player than his statistics suggest, but too many times he throws his wickets away in 4-day games, so this needs to be addressed if he wants to be a firm fixture in the LVCC line up.

Steve Davies is almost nailed on for the wicket keeper role against Somerset, but does face stiff competition from Wilson. Davies had a poor season last year, with just 1 century and 1 half century in his 12 matches, averaging less than 22. However, he suffered from depression towards the end of last season after the events that had occurred previously, so that is one reason for it. This year is the first for a while that Davies hasn’t been picked by England to carry drinks on a winter test tour, so here’s hoping a full pre-season with us can lead him back to his sumptuous best.

Now onto the bowlers, where the competition is even stronger. At 8 I’ve gone with Gareth Batty, and with April pitches not being too conducive to spinners, he is the sole spinner in the side. Adams did say when Gary Keedy signed that he would play 2 spinners in home LVCC games, but I don’t think that will happen in seamer-friendly conditions that are so frequent in the early part of the season. Playing two spinners, as we saw towards the end of last year with Batty and Kartik, will be vital at some points of the season, but not from the start.

Talk of those conditions lead me onto the subject of Jon Lewis. Despite falling away towards the end of last season, Lewis did have a good start to the campaign, and if the conditions suit his style of bowling, then that should be exploited to benefit the team. It could be argued that it’s not exactly building for the future playing the 38 year old, and others should be picked instead, but he won’t be playing every game in my opinion, just a select few.

The remaining two places speak for themselves really. Meaker was our leading wicket taker in the Championship last year and was a shining light in an otherwise bleak season for us, and his ability to turn a game on its head in a couple of overs is really quite something. If fit, then Chris Tremlett should play whatever. He’s been working extremely hard throughout the winter months, and if he can rediscover his form, then it is a huge bonus for us, because on his day he can be lethal.

Two bowlers I haven’t spoken about are Tim Linley and Jade Dernbach. Linley will once again feel unlucky if he is left out, after not getting enough opportunities last year, but Lewis’ ability to add vital runs towards the end of the innings is the reason I would start with him ahead of the Viscount. Without doubt Jade is our best Limited overs bowler, but I would put him behind Meaker, Tremlett and perhaps Lewis in the longer format, who all have a greater knack of picking up wickets at the right time. I’m not saying that Jade is a bad 4-day bowler, and will come in if Tremlett’s not fit, but in swinging conditions, Lewis wins the battle for me. Once pitches become quicker and harder, that’s when Jade comes into his own.

Overall, I believe that we have a strong squad heading into the Championship this year, and the fact that there are so many questions marks over who is going to play the first game speaks for itself. Towards the end of last season, there wasn’t this debate because frankly, we didn’t have the depth that we have now. It says it all when I’m at the end of the preview and I still haven’t mentioned Ansari, Dunn, Edwards, Sibley etc, so it’s a huge plus that we have so many options. Therefore, I think that with Smith at the helm, a good championship season for Surrey County Cricket Club is just around the corner.

Predicted League Position: 4^th

Ponting signs for 2 months

Surrey have this morning announced the signing of former Australian captain Ricky Ponting on a two month contract.

It is a huge coup for the club, after already signing Graeme Smith towards the end of last year, with Ponting coming for the entirety of June and July. During June, Smith is likely to be away with South Africa for the ICC Champions Trophy, so Ponting will initially be cover for our new captain, playing in all 3 formats of the game. He will be able to play at this year’s Guildford Festival at the beginning of June, as well as the whole of the Friends Life Twenty 20 campaign, which ends on the 31^st of July at Chelmsford.

Smith is unlikely to be available for most of the Twenty 20 campaign, as South Africa tour Sri Lanka towards the end of July for a 5 match ODI series that he will probably be part of, so Ponting is a fine replacement on and off the pitch for when he’s not here.

Scoring 13,378 test runs at an average of 51.85 just shows what a great batsman we have acquired, and despite him retiring from International cricket towards the end of 2012, Ponting has been in prime form for his state side Tasmania. He has scored 595 runs at an average of 119.00 in 6 matches, top scoring with an unbeaten 200, so there is no doubt that he can still play.

His knowledge and experience is second to none in the world of cricket, and is arguably one of the greatest test captains of all time. Hopefully some of this knowledge and experience can be transferred onto our younger players, such as Dominic Sibley and Rory Burns, benefiting them and the club in the process.

It is the 4^th signing we have made in the close season, and all 4 are over the age of 30, with 3 of them in Solanki, Keedy and Ponting all in their late 30’s. Critics would say that we aren’t exactly building for the future, with the average age of the squad going up considerably in recent months. However, Ponting is only coming for a couple of months, and I can only see the positives in the move, as he will come into a side that was in need of a desperate shake-up after the difficult season we had last year.

It is unclear whether Ponting will captain the side when Smith is unavailable, but it seems unlikely that he would, due to the short time that he is here, but whoever steps in for Smith will get help on that front from the Tasmanian you would have thought.

Finally, I would just like to congratulate the management on this signing, which will hopefully contribute to bringing back the good days over the next few years. I’m not expecting us to be challenging on all 3 fronts this coming season, but hopefully we can improve on last season, and with Ponting, try and reach the quarter finals of the Twenty 20 for the first time since 2006.

Surrey Players Abroad: Part 4

While some of the Surrey first team squad are in the UK preparing for next season, a number of them have travelled abroad, plying their trade for a variety of teams in all formats of the game. Here is the 4^th instalment of how they have been getting on over the last 30 days.

Zander de Bruyn

Zander de Bruyn has finally found some form with the bat for the Highveld Lions in recent weeks, hitting 68 and 49 against Dolphins in the Sunfoil Series at the beginning of last month.  He then scored just 1 in the following match against Cape Cobras, but did take 8 wickets, including 5-39 in the first innings, with his right arm swing being used far more than with us last season. He backed that game up with another half century against Titans in mid-January, but in his next two games, he could only muster 35 in 3 innings, as he failed to find true consistency.

Jade Dernbach

No one will argue with me when I say that January wasn’t a very good month for Jade Dernbach. After impressing in the two warm up games against Delhi and India A, where he claimed 3 wickets at less than 5 an over, everything went downhill from there on in. With England winning the high-scoring first ODI, going at almost 7 an over and claiming 2 wickets perhaps wasn’t a bad return for Jade. However, when you are going at that economy rate all of the time, there must be a problem. He went for 73 in the 2^nd ODI, 45 off 5 overs in the 3^rd and 59 off 9 in the 4^th. However much I like Jade, and want him to do well for England, I think it was poor management from Ashley Giles to persist on picking him after the second ODI. A man who usually oozes confidence was really suffering in that department, not being able to bowl consistently throughout the tour. He has been left out of the ODI squad which will tour New Zealand this month, but has been named in the T20 squad for later this week.

Stuart Meaker

With Jade putting in a string of poor performances, you would have thought that Meaks would have had more of a go against India. However, he was left out of the side for all 5 ODI’s. He has been named in the Twenty20 squad to play New Zealand later this week, so hopefully he will get a game, before making the short trip to Australia with the England Lions. However, a neck injury may prevent him from doing so, with James Harris called up as cover.

Kevin Pietersen

Despite getting several good starts, KP didn’t really show his best form in the ODI series against India. A couple of 40’s and a 76 was the best it got from him, which to be fair was considerably better than most England batsman, but it never seemed as if he was in the best of nick. He has been rested from the Twenty20 squad to play New Zealand this week, before playing in the ODI series thereafter.

Jason Roy

Like last year, Jason Roy has travelled half way across the globe to play for the Chittagong Kings in the Bangladesh Premier League. However, it hasn’t gone as well as he would have hoped. With scores of 5 in the first two games of the tournament, he was dropped from the side and as yet hasn’t been reinstated in the side. Even though he hasn’t batted for long, what I have seen of him in the tournament was similar to how he played in the T20 last year, lacking confidence and being tentative in his play. Something needs to change, as he has a big role to play next season.

Dominic Sibley

After being named in England’s Under 19 squad to tour South Africa, 17 year old Sibley has made a fantastic start in the first few games. Before the series against South Africa Under 19’s, Sibley played a 2 day tour match against a Western Cape Invitational X1, where, even though they lost by 7 wickets, Sibley impressed in the second innings by scoring 54 before retiring out. In the first Youth Test, England Under 19’s comfortably beat South Africa, with Sibley scoring an important half century in the second innings, after being dismissed for 0 in the first. However, it was the second Test where he really shone, carrying his bat with a superb 112* in the first innings, with the next best England score being just 29. But he could only muster 23 in the second innings, with South Africa levelling the series at 1-1 with a 67 run victory.

Graeme Smith

Our skipper has had an up and down month with South Africa. They completed the test series against New Zealand with an innings victory, in which Smith scored 54. They then surprisingly lost the ODI series with New Zealand 2-1, despite Smith scoring a half century and a match winning century in the final game of the three match series. After playing New Zealand, Pakistan were the next opponents in a test series, and the first match was Smith’s 100^th test as captain; the first to ever do such a thing. They won the match with ease, with Smith scoring a half century and leading his side to a 211 run victory.