Late Rankin wickets put Bears in control

3 wickets in an over from Boyd Rankin late on Day 3 has put his side into a winnable position heading into the final day of the Championship game at Guildford.

Surrey had eased their way to 262-3 as the end of the day drew close, but Rankin stormed in from the railway end and picked up de Bruyn, Meaker and Wilson in the space of 4 deliveries as we closed on 269-7.

Unexpected morning rain meant that the start of play was delayed, and even though it wasn't particularly heavy, it was persistent and wiped out the entirety of the morning session. Play finally got under way at 2:30, with Burns and Harinath resuming on 49-0 in reply to Warwickshire's 631-9 declared.

The pair had no problems in reaching our first 50 opening partnership of the season, but the visitors made an early breakthrough when Barker got one to leap at Burns, and the left hander could only fend the ball to Clarke at slip for 34. However, Vikram Solanki immediately looked at home at the crease, unleashing a variety of boundaries around Woodbridge Road.

He overtook Harinath in no time at all, and was seemingly dealing in fours, bringing up his half century at just under a run a ball. The pair moved their partnership beyond 100, but as he did at Derby last week, Solanki got out in the last over of the session, LBW to Javid for 69, as we went to tea on 169-2.

Ponting came to the crease and he and Harinath continued from where they left off at Derby last week, with the former Australian skipper immediately looking comfortable at the crease by hitting back to back boundaries off Jeetan Patel early in his innings. While the crowd were fixated on Ponting, Harinath continued on his merry way at the other end and brought up his half century with a smash over extra cover for 4 off Javid.

Ponting then swept Javid over the temporary stand for a huge six to get the crowd going, as Surrey were frustrating the Warwickshire bowlers. However, Rikki Clarke was brought on and immediately made an impact when Harinath drove in the air to Troughton at cover point to end his dogged innings on 65. That brought the out of form de Bruyn to the crease who started well with a cover drive and a flick down to fine leg off Wright to give him a couple of early boundaries to build the confidence.

However, as they looked to take us to the close 3 down, Rankin had other ideas. He first bowled de Bruyn for 17, before doing the same to night-watchman Meaker two balls later, and then trapped Wilson LBW for 2 second ball to really put a cat amongst the pigeons. Ponting was watching helplessly at the non-strikers end, and that wasn’t the last of the wickets, as Roy was caught for 2 in the last over of the day off Barker, to leave us on 269-7 at the close.

With half an hour left, I thought that we had done well today, but that has completely changed now. Harinath and Ponting were so comfortable, and even de Bruyn was looking solid before he got out so the pitch is still good for the batsmen, but they failed to apply themselves to the situation. Losing 4 wickets in an over against Essex last Monday felt bad, but losing 3 in one over tonight was arguably worse, as we have now got to hold onto dear life to get a draw out of this game. Once again de Bruyn can’t find form, and you can’t say the pitch is seaming around corners because it isn’t; the last two he has batted on have been superb but he has a combined 28 from those 2 innings.

Another missed opportunity for Roy, who had a chance there to prove he has what it takes to dig out a much needed innings, but falling late on means that he will probably go back out of the side unless he can get runs tomorrow.

Ponting’s still there, unbeaten on 50, but with only Tremlett, Dernbach and Keedy to come, we will most likely be batting for a second time come 12 O’Clock tomorrow morning, with a big job on our hands.

Record breaking Bears make Surrey toil

Warwickshire have recorded their highest ever score against Surrey to put themselves into a commanding position heading into the third day at Guildford.

The visitors struck 631-9 declared thanks to a century from Keith Barker and a highest First Class score for Ateeq Javid.

With Warwickshire starting the morning on 359-3, early wickets were an absolute must to prevent them from batting us out of the game. And early wickets is exactly what we got from Jade Dernbach, who had Chopra caught in the slips by de Bruyn for a superb 192 just 10 minutes into the day's play.

Dernbach was really bowling with pace and aggression and removed the other overnight batsman Tim Ambrose LBW to leave two batsmen at the crease on 0. The battle between Guildford boys Rikki Clarke and Dernbach didn't last long, as de Bruyn held onto another sharp chance at slip, with Warwickshire slipping to 398-6 within the first hour. However, Javid and Barker pulled their side out of the slight hole that they had got themselves in, as the other bowlers failed to build on the pressure made by Dernbach and the Bears went into lunch on 446-6.

Things got far worse after the break as Barker took the attack to the Surrey bowlers. He blasted his way to his half century with the 100 partnership between him and Javid also coming up, as they passed 500. Javid also went to his half century, his first in the Championship, at a slower pace than Barker's but was doing exactly what his side wanted. 

All attention turned to Barker, who was still hitting the ball to all parts, including pulling Meaker into Dapdune Wharf for the first six of the game. He brought up a superb century with a couple off Dernbach and had batted his side into an un-losable position. Meaker then misjudged a mistimed a pull from Barker and his return throw went for and overthrow to sum up Surrey's day, as the Bears went to tea on a massive 587-6.

Jason Roy, who bowled one over before tea, continued afterwards and would have left the frontline seamers scratching their heads, as he picked up career best figures of 3-35. He first removed Javid for a well-made 85 to end the 211 partnership between him and Barker, before trapping Barker in front with a yorker for 125. When Tom Milnes mistimed a hook to Wilson behind the stumps, Warwickshire finally pulled the plug with 21 overs remaining in the day.

Harinath and Burns did well and looked comfortable at the crease apart from one slight chance where Javid couldn’t hold onto an extremely tough chance at short leg of Clarke, as they closed on 49-0; our highest opening partnership of the season.

So, another highly frustrating day for us then. After Jade got us off to a great start this morning, there were aspirations of restricting them to less than 450, but Barker and Javid quickly stopped that from happening. They batted superbly and barely offered a chance throughout their innings, but it was disappointing that the bowlers couldn’t back up Jade’s good work. That has often been the case this season, where one bowler has created an opening and the others haven’t supported them. There was a slight glimmer that we could have reduced them to a below par score on this surface, but once again we failed to capitalise on opportunities that arose.

The sole objective now is just not to lose the game, as it has been far too often this season. The pitch is too good to bat on to collapse to 250 all out for example and Burns and Harinath did well this evening, but the follow on target is still a long way away at 481, so hard work is needed tomorrow.

Surrey look to break Guildford hoodoo

Surrey will be looking to win at Guildford in the County Championship for the first time since 2002 when they take on reigning Champions Warwickshire at Woodbridge Road tomorrow.

A draw against Middlesex in 2003 brought an end to 8 consecutive years where we won the 4 day game at Guildford, and we haven’t won there since. It was 11 years ago in July when an unbeaten 124 from Ian Ward led his side to victory over Yorkshire by 6 wickets, and with relegation a possibility for both us and Warwickshire this season, this week’s game couldn’t be any bigger.

Here is our squad for tomorrow’s game:

Vikram Solanki (C)

Rory Burns

Arun Harinath

Ricky Ponting

Zander de Bruyn

Steve Davies

Gary Wilson

Stuart Meaker

Jon Lewis

Chris Tremlett

Gary Keedy

Tim Linley

As you can see there is no Gareth Batty in the squad for this game and Vikram Solanki will once again captain the side. Batty has a side injury and by the sounds of how he was speaking on commentary yesterday, he could be missing for a while, with Churchy confirming on Twitter that he is likely to be out for 4-6 weeks. That is a massive blow for us after already losing Graeme Smith to injury earlier this season, but it’s not just Batty’s leadership skills that will be missed, his off spin his so key to our success, especially as pitch’s take more spin further along in the season.

So the reigns are passed over to Solanki for the time being and he doesn’t lack experience in the role, as he was Worcestershire captain from 2005 to 2010. However, last night’s demoralising defeat to Essex in the YB40 highlighted some pointers that he may not be up to the job anymore. Bowling Stuart Meaker’s 8 over allocation before 30 overs were up and leaving Zander de Bruyn and Tom Jewell to bowl towards the end of the innings was a massive mistake and ultimately allowed the hosts to get a score well above par. I personally would have given the role to Ricky Ponting, but after hearing his interview on talkSPORT this morning, he is happy just turning up an focussing on his own game, rather than having the captaincy on his shoulders.

Ponting will be looking to continue with his good batting form from Derby on a traditionally good pitch to bat on at Guildford, even though it has been slightly more favourable to the bowlers in recent times. Arun Harinath played one of his better innings for us last week and he will continue at the top of the order alongside Rory Burns, who has had a lean couple of games and will be looking to improve on his golden duck he picked up against Lancashire at this ground last season.

Zander de Bruyn has once again been named in the squad, despite obviously lacking in form but probably more importantly in confidence. He has a good record at Guildford with 2 half centuries from 3 innings, but sadly I can’t see him discovering the superb form he showed in 2011. I want nothing more than to see him score good runs because he was one of the better players on the County Circuit when we signed him, and also there are no other all-round options until Ansari turns up. I’ve said this all season but he should bat at 7 if he plays, with Wilson at 3, Solanki 5 and Davies 6. But, it is unlikely that Adams will go down that route and will continue with Zander at 5.

With regards to the bowlers, it is a blow that Dernbach is once again unavailable. He has been in good touch with the ball in this format this season and it is rather surprising that England haven’t let him go after his very poor performance in the second ODI against New Zealand. Gary Keedy will play as the sole spinner, and the seam attack will be made up of 3 of Tremlett, Lewis, Linley and Meaker. Considering that our batting line up will be shortened with Batty out of the side, I think Lewis should get the nod ahead of Linley. The Viscount has worked hard recently but hasn’t exactly grabbed his opportunity with both hands, so I believe Lewis should play alongside Trem and Meaks.

As stated at the beginning of this blog, this is a massive game for both sides. Warwickshire have only won one game this season to our none, and currently sit 6^th in Division One, just 11 points ahead of us. That means that a victory this week would propel us above them and Somerset into 6^th place, which would make things look a bit rosier and install some much needed belief into the dressing room. It might be a good time to play them as well as Chris Woakes is with England, but Boyd Rankin and Keith Barker have both been named in their squad meaning their bowling still looks relatively strong.

A good start is an absolute must tomorrow, because if we allow Warwickshire to get on top, they have the ability to hurt a side when they are down. Hopefully we can have a successful first day and force home a victory over the next 4, with the weather set fair for the whole week.

Game ends in draw at Derby

As expected the County Championship match between Derbyshire and Surrey has petered out into a draw on the final day at the County Ground.

The result doesn’t suit either side as both are still yet to register a victory in the competition this season, with relegation looking a real possibility unless their form can be turned around.

We started the morning on 362-4, trailing by 90 runs, with Davies and centurion Ponting unbeaten at the crease. It was clear that there had been a chat before the day’s play and that we would try and set something up and force a victory later on as both batsman, especially Davies, batted at a high tempo throughout the morning. Ponting went past his 150, the first player on debut for Surrey to do so, and Davies also brought up his half century at over a run a ball as we took the lead just over an hour into the day’s play.

However, just as we looked to up the rate even higher, Davies was caught in the deep off Wainwright for 59. Wilson came in and looked busy, but attention turned to Ponting who was nearing a double century, but on 192 he looked for a quick single off Durston and was run out. An outstanding innings from Punter, a great way to start his 2-month stint with us, and I think run out was the only way Derby were going to dismiss him!

Shortly after lunch the declaration came on 563-8, after Wilson (45) and Batty (15*) hit some lower order runs, and our lead moved onto 101. The pitch was still a belter to bat on though and it would have been remarkable if we managed to roll the hosts over in less than 2 sessions. Tremlett started tightly but the other bowlers couldn’t back him up, and Chesney Hughes batted superbly to distinguish what little hope we did have of picking up a win.

When Tremlett was brought back on for his second spell, he removed Billy Godleman with Derby still 25 in arrears, but when they went to tea on 101-1 the game was all but over. Trem was kept on after the tea break and picked up two quick wickets, first bowling centurion from the first innings Wayne Madsen with one that kept low, and then bowling Hughes for a superb 68 to put a few jitters into the Derbyshire camp.

However, that was the last wicket to fall, as the captains shook hands just after 5 with Derbyshire on 164-3.

Even though the draw was expected it is still quite disappointing. These are the games that we need to win if we are going to stay in this division. I can understand that the pitch was brilliant to bat on and we lost most of the first day to the weather, but the bowling on the first day wasn’t the best, and that allowed Madsen and Chanderpaul to score quickly and put their side into a commanding position. And also today, where I know that it was always going to be a massive task to get a victory, our bowlers didn’t start well enough. Early wickets would have worried the home dressing room slightly and then you never know what might happen. However, that wasn’t to be and the inevitable draw was the outcome.

Next up we face Essex in the YB40 tomorrow evening Live on Sky before the start of the Guildford Festival on Wednesday. This year we come up against champions Warwickshire in the Championship, and even though they haven’t started the year as well as they would have liked, it is sure to be a tough task. We haven’t won a 4 day game at Guildford for over 10 years now, so now is the perfect time to change that.

Harinath and Ponting star on Day 3

Sumptuous centuries from Arun Harinath and debutant Ricky Ponting have dominated the third day’s play of the County Championship game between Derbyshire and Surrey.

Harinath hit 154 and Ponting is unbeaten on 120 as Surrey closed on 362-4, trailing Derbyshire’s first innings score of 452 by 90 runs.

With us starting the morning on 35-1, Derbyshire knew that early wickets would put them into a great position considering we were still over 400 runs behind. However, Harinath and Solanki made sure that that wasn’t going to happen, by batting sensibly on a pitch that was still really suited to the batsmen. Harinath was scoring fluently, taking a liking to the spin bowling of David Wainwright throughout the morning session, but Solanki found things a bit tougher. After being struck on the side yesterday by Mark Foottit, he suffered a barrage of short stuff and was clearly uncomfortable at the crease.

However, he managed to get through that spell and helped Harinath to his half century, but in the last over before lunch Solanki was caught off Durston for 35. A rather fortuitous wicket for the hosts, as the ball rebounded off ‘keeper Johnson and into the gleeful hands of short leg; not the greatest time to lose a wicket. We started the afternoon session on 137-2, and off just his second delivery Ponting got off the mark with a couple off Durston and immediately looked at home.

The Aussie legend ticked along at his usual effortless pace and supported the stubborn Harinath who didn’t give the Derbyshire attack a chance. He eased his way towards three figures and brought up his first century of the summer in perfect style with a six over long on off Durston. It had been a splendid innings and had come off 224 balls with 13 fours to accompany that maximum.

Around the time that Harinath reached 3 figures, it became somewhat clear that a few of the Derbyshire players were ill as they had to leave the field at numerous points. Umpire Nigel Cowley also fell unwell and Ian Salisbury had to stand at square leg in his place for a quarter of an hour or so. Ponting didn’t let that affect him though as he moved to his half century with a pull through midwicket off Wainwright; finally an overseas signing immediately making an impact. The partnership went past 100 and a second batting point was achieved just before the tea interval in which we went in on 255-2.

The pair continued on their merry way in the evening session, as Harinath found the boundary at regular intervals, bringing up a brilliant 150 40 minutes after tea. Attention then turned to Ponting who was heading towards his century, but before he could get there Harinath looked to pull Wainwright and was bowled for 154. A top knock from the young man, coming when it was very much needed by his side. A couple of overs later the moment came, when Ponting inelegantly pulled Durston to the boundary. His hundred had come off 149 balls with 13 fours and had been a pure master class like many we have seen before.

Zander de Bruyn joined Ponting and the pair took us towards the close before Wainwright bowled the South African for 11. It was a perfect time for Zander to get some runs but once again he has failed. Davies joined Ponting to take us to the close just the 4 down.

So what a day for Harinath and Ponting. Firstly, it is fantastic to see Arun get rewarded for his hard work. He has always been able to bat time at the crease, but has often batted at too slow a pace to get a substantial score. However, that wasn’t the case in this innings as he batted at a good tempo and showed huge confidence by bringing up his century with a six. In regards to Ponting, what more can you want from your overseas batsman in his first game? Simply superb throughout but that’s what you expect from the second leading run scorer in test history, right?

Looking at the game as a whole, it is very unlikely that a result will come out of it. After Derby reached 452, our job was just to make sure we didn’t lose the game, because if we did we wouldn’t only be bottom of Division One, but it would have seriously dented what confidence was left in the dressing room. I don’t think Derby will want to try and set up a game tomorrow because the pitch is still good to bat on and claiming 10 wickets in say 2 sessions, looks a tough ask.