Meaker returns for vital Championship game

Stuart Meaker has been named in a 13 man squad has been named for the LV County Championship match against Durham at the Kia Oval tomorrow.

It’s great to see Meaker back after his thigh injury, and there is of course one other enforced change from the squad that took on Middlesex last week, with Jason Roy coming in for Graeme Smith. Roy has hit form at just the right time and will no doubt come straight into the side at number 7.

Here is the squad in full:

Gareth Batty (C)

Rory Burns

Arun Harinath

Gary Wilson

Vikram Solanki

Zander de Bruyn

Steve Davies

Jason Roy

Stuart Meaker

Chris Tremlett

Jade Dernbach

Tim Linley

Gary Keedy

I don’t expect any other changes in the final X1 other than Roy coming in, because especially in the batting, there aren’t many other options, and Meaker also coming in if fully fit. Jon Lewis will be desperate for a game, but Meaker has taken his place in the squad. I would consider bringing Meaker in ahead of Chris Tremlett, who hasn’t looked at his best over the last two games. Some would argue that he will get better once he plays more, but a win is needed, and we can’t afford to “carry” a bowler. All the wickets he has got this year have either been tailenders (Roland-Jones and Panesar), or batsman who have been looking to kick on (Malan and Stirling). He hasn’t had a “proper” bowlers dismissal as such, so maybe Linley will be kept in ahead of him.

Gareth Batty certainly has big shoes to fill, but I believe he is up to the job. Last year he captained the side superbly in extremely difficult circumstances, and hopefully this year, with a stronger squad, we can rediscover some of that late season form. I presume that he will be the sole spinner in the side again, as Keedy hasn’t looked that effective in the odd appearance he has made, and pitches haven’t really been suited to spinners as yet, or just bowlers full stop!

As you know, we have yet to pick up a victory in the Championship this season. In each of the games we have managed to get ourselves into a good position, especially in the Middlesex game last week, but have lacked the ruthlessness. We have lacked that cutting edge for quite a few years now, but I suppose that what makes the top sides like Warwickshire last year and Lancashire the year before better than everybody else. Becoming ruthless isn’t something that just comes about overnight!

We come up against a side who currently sit top of the Division, with 2 wins and 2 losses from their 4 games. Just by looking at the fact that they have yet to draw a game this season shows that they are playing positive cricket, going for the victory whenever possible. I’m not saying I want to lose, but I would certainly take 2 wins and 2 losses ahead of the position we are in at the moment, 7^th, with the proof being in the pudding with them being top. They are without Graham Onions who is with the England Lions, which is a bonus, and they may be without Ben Stokes after his injury in the YB40 washout, so we will try to capitalise on a slightly depleted squad.

The game starts at 12:00 tomorrow due to the YB40 game this evening, even though it didn’t go the full distance, and hopefully we can get off to a good start and push on for our first win of the season.

Rain wins after Roy century

The YB40 game between Surrey and Durham Dynamos has been abandoned due to the rain, after Jason Roy struck a century at the Kia Oval.

Roy hit 117 to lead us to a below par 216 all out, but the weather intervened midway through the game, and the Durham batsman never got out to the middle.

Durham won the toss and knowing that rain was forecast for later in the evening, they elected to field first. One enforced change for us was of course that of Graeme Smith who was replaced in the side by Tom Jewell, not Rory Burns.

Davies got off to a flyer once again, hitting a 4 and a six in the first two overs, before holding out to Benkenstein at a deepish mid-off for 16. Roy, opening up, was joined by Solanki, and they continued at a good pace, until the latter was caught behind for 18 as the Dynamos made a good start.

Zander de Bruyn was pushed up to number 4, and had one of his infuriating innings, where he batted at a slow pace before getting out for 24 off 41 deliveries half way through the 24^th. Before de Bruyn was dimissed, Roy went to his half century at a run a ball with a boundary off Rushworth, but we got into trouble straight after the South African went, as Gary Wilson was out LBW without scoring just 3 balls later.

Zafar Ansari was run out for 9, and Jewell LBW for just 1, as we started to dramatically collapse towards the end of the innings. With mayhem unfolding at the other end, Roy stayed calm and went to his century at just over a run a ball. Not his most fluent hundred, but without it, we would have struggled to post any score of note.

Batty and Roy then fell in quick succession, and it was down to Jon Lewis (24*) to power us towards 216, before we were bowled out with 15 balls of the innings still remaining.

However, that was the last action of the evening, with the not relenting, meaning it was 1 point apiece.

We can’t do anything about the weather, but we can do something about our batting. Jason Roy was the only batsman who looked comfortable at the crease, and was the only one out of Solanki, de Bruyn and Davies who kicked on after making some sort of start. Credit to him, because take his score out of the equation, then it could have been a different story, with Lewis’ 24* the next best score.

It was a surprise to see Jewell play instead of Burns, considering the form that Burns is in, and Jewell will be annoyed that he didn’t take his chance with the bat, because he finds appearances hard to come by.

Just a word for Ben Stokes, who injured his back while catching Jason Roy today. He went off on a stretcher and was immediately taken to hospital. I wish him well of course.

Tomorrow we come up against the same opposition in the Championship, still looking for our first win in that format after 3 draws so far, and will go in without skipper Graeme Smith for the first time. After his hundred today, Roy will definitely play, and presumably bat at number 7, with Wilson moving up to number 3, and Harinath opening up with Burns.

Batty in charge for Durham clash

A 14 man squad has been named for this evening’s floodlit YB40 game against the Durham Dynamos at the Kia Oval.

The game will be the first that Gareth Batty has skippered this season, and with the severity of Smith’s injury looking high, he will probably captain for the remainder of the campaign. Smith is going to be a massive loss, but we have to soldier on with Batty at the helm, and considering how he did last year, I don’t think we will do too badly.

Here is the squad in full:

Gareth Batty (C)

Steve Davies

Jason Roy

Vikram Solanki

Gary Wilson

Zander de Bruyn

Zafar Ansari

Rory Burns

Tom Jewell

Tom Curran

Jon Lewis

Jade Dernbach

Gary Keedy

Tim Linley

The batting does look alarmingly thin now that Smith has gone, and an injury or two would certainly give the management staff something to think about. But, the in-form Rory Burns has been drafted in as a replacement for Smith from the victory over Hampshire on Monday, and I’m sure that Rory will want to prove that he has got what it takes to play in this form of the game. I’m not sure if we can read too much into the order of the squad on the Official website, but it looks as if Burns would be down the order if selected.

I would have thought that the other 10 names would be the same as it was in Monday’s emphatic win, but one option instead of Burns could be the inclusion of either Tom Jewell or Tom Curran. It will probably be unlikely that Curran at 18 will be given a game, but Jewell will certainly be vying for a place. If it was down to me, I would play both Burns and Jewell, and drop de Bruyn, but we all know that isn’t going to happen.

There will be a new opening partner for Steve Davies, who will be looking to build on his wonderful unbeaten century against the Royals. I personally would open with Solanki and Davies, as they both know each other well from their Worcestershire days, and were one of the better opening partnerships in the country in this form of the game. Jason Roy could also be moved up to open, so at least we don’t have limitations in that position in the shorter forms of the game.

Durham have always been a strong side in this competition, and will once again be tonight. With the likes of Mustard, who scored a superb century against us last year, Stokes and Collingwood in the batting and the spin of Borthwick, they look a smart outfit. They have lost one and won one so far this year, but at least Onions is away with the England Lions this week.

The game is sure to be a tight game between two evenly matched sides, as we look for a second consecutive win.

Stunning Davies destroys Hampshire

A sumptuous century from Steven Davies has lead Surrey to a comfortable 9 wicket victory over reigning Champions Hampshire Royals in the YB40.

After 4 wickets from Zafar Ansari helped to bowl the opposition out for 228, a superb opening partnership of 162 between Davies (127*) and captain Graeme Smith (74) all but sealed the victory on the hottest day of the year at the Kia Oval.

On what looked like perfect batting conditions, Hampshire won the toss and unsurprisingly elected to bat first. Of the 14 man squad, Tom Jewell, Tom Curran and Tim Linley were the 3 to miss out, with Zander de Bruyn once again being selected.

After a wayward couple of overs, we made an early breakthrough when Michael Carberry got a slight nick on a Jade Dernbach delivery. James Vince, fresh off the back of a superb century against Essex last Friday, started to look dangerous and took a liking to Jon Lewis. However, Lewis had the last laugh when he had him caught by Solanki.

Aussie T20 skipper George Bailey was then removed by Zafar Ansari, before Gareth Batty had his first wicket, that of Jimmy Adams, as Hampshire fell to 89-4. Liam Dawson and top scorer Sean Ervine (63) had to rebuild the away side’s innings, and the run rate dropped because of that. 2 wickets in the space of two overs from Ansari really put us on top, as he had Dawson caught by the skipper, before Davies stumped former Essex keeper Adam Wheater.

However, while Ervine was at the crease, Hampshire were always going to post a total of above 200, and he and Chris Wood shared a vital 39 run partnership before Wood was run out. Ervine was Ansari’s 4^th victim, giving the Cambridge all- rounder his best List A figures of 4-46, and a quick-fire 15 from Hamza Riazuddin took his side to 228 all out, with Lewis claiming his wicket, and Danny Briggs run out off the last ball of the innings.

It was always going to be well below par, and Smith and Davies got off to an absolute flyer, reaching 72 off of the first 8 over powerplay. They both looked at their fluent best, with Davies reaching his half century first, coming off 43 balls, before the captain reached his 50 in his first one day innings for his new club, coming up off just 36 balls.

They looked as if they would ease to the target without losing a wicket, but Smith hammered Dawson straight to Vince on the boundary to end his great innings, but the damage had already been done. Davies went to a brilliant century alongside his former Worcestershire opening partner Vikram Solanki, coming up off just 82 balls with 10 fours and 3 sixes.

There was just enough time for Davies to reach and surpass his previous best List A score of 119, as we raced to victory with 52 balls to spare.

What a great victory that is, making the reigning champions look distinctly average. The bowlers did brilliantly to restrict them to a score well below par, with Ansari proving particularly effective on his first outing of the summer. And when it comes to the batting, it couldn’t have gone any better. Smith has finally come to the party, and looked very perky in his 55 ball stay. Davies was just simply sensational. When he’s on form, he is one of the most graceful batsman you could wish to see, and I hope for his and Surrey’s sake, we see plenty more innings like that this season.

Next up we come up against Durham, Live on Sky this Thursday, and if we perform like we did today, then another win will not be far around the corner.

Squad named for first YB40 game

A fourteen man squad has been named for the first Limited overs game of the season; the YB40 fixture against reigning champions Hampshire Royals at the Kia Oval tomorrow.

A surprise inclusion in the squad is that of 18 year old all-rounder Tom Curran, who is also joined in the party by Tom Jewell and Zafar Ansari.

Here is the squad in full:

Graeme Smith (C)

Steve Davies

Jason Roy

Vikram Solanki

Gary Wilson

Zander de Bruyn

Zafar Ansari

Gareth Batty

Tom Jewell

Tom Curran

Gary Keedy

Jade Dernbach

Jon Lewis

Tim Linley

It’s great to see Curran in the squad for the first time, and even though he probably won’t make the final X1, it is a great experience for him to be around the first team, as a lot of good things have been spoken about the young man. It’s also nice to see Tom Jewell finally get into a first team squad, after finding any opportunities difficult to come by over the last couple of season. He also has a bright future ahead of him, and I hope that he gets a game tomorrow, perhaps batting down at number 7.

I would certainly pick Jewell ahead of de Bruyn, who hasn’t been on form with the bat yet again, and Jewell will be chomping at the bit to prove to the management staff and Smith what he is capable of. Zafar is in the squad for the first time this season after being busy with Uni commitments, and with  Spriegel now having left us, he is very important to the make-up of the squad. His bowling can help to tie up an end, and his batting can vary between sensible when required, but electric when needs must.

Opening the batting will be Smith and Davies, and hopefully Davies is back to his best as he can take a game away from a side in this format, but for various reasons last year, we rarely saw that. All being well Smith will take heart from spending time in the middle today and create his first meaningful contribution with the bat.

Following them two will be Jason Roy and Vikram Solanki. Roy was very much hit and miss last season, after having a great 2011, and Solanki performed well for Worcestershire in the 40 over format before agreeing to sign for us. They are two very explosive players, and in Solanki, a player who looks to be in prime form.

Gary Wilson will be at number 5, and all being well he can transfer his brilliant form from the Championship into this format, and nail down his place in the side. As I said before, I wouldn’t play de Bruyn, and would have Ansari at 6, followed by Jewell. When playing limited overs cricket last year, de Bruyn would regularly take up lots of deliveries without scoring many, before perishing, so he shouldn’t be picked.

When it comes to the bowlers, Batty will of course play, with him being a revelation last year in the shorter forms of the game. I would also play Gary Keedy, as spinners have made up a lot of our success over the last couple of years, alongside Dernbach and one of Linley and Lewis. I would personally go with Lewis as he extends the batting line up, but is also desperate to play a game judging by his interview on 5 Live Sports Extra yesterday.

It will be a tough task, as Hampshire are of course reigning champions in both this and the T20 format, so they have the right set up for List A cricket. They have also played two games already, and won them both, so that possibly puts them at an advantage, but Smith is desperate to register his first win at the club, and let’s hope it comes tomorrow. Come on the Rey!