Surrey news/articles

First topic message reminder :

Hi guys

Just a quick one to let you know that I have spoken with All Out Cricket regarding the amount of Surrey fans we have here at 606v2, and they're going to look to provide any Surrey related blogs/news/articles that they have to this section. Given that their office is located near to the Oval, they often chat with the Surrey guys and as such get some good interviews, so hopefully they can get some of those across here for you fellas to get your teeth into.

Cheers

Really hard to say with the bowlers isn't it? Personally I'd like to see either Dunn or Edwards given a real go, Dunn seems to be ahead at the moment. Meaker and Linley are pretty much nailed on. I'm not fussed by Dernbach or Tremlett personally, I'd be inclined to give Curran a go, by all accounts one of our most exciting young talents. The batting looks about right although I could see Wilson instead of Harinath, I hope Roy gets a consistent role in the side and gets a run of games.

I've also discovered (after being very slow on the uptake) that the CC games will be mostly starting on Sundays which is brilliant for me as I don't work on Mondays so I might be seeing a bit more this year.

Definitely going to be interesting with the bowlers Carrot yes!

Given the lack of a true all rounder in the side I think Curran or Jewell should really be given a go to add some batting ballast at 8. Jewell would be my pick there just now as I think he's earned that chance.

Agree with guildford about that likely XI. As said when Wilson returns he could pinch one of the batting spots, or could we even see him used as a 7th batsmen with 4 bowlers? Wouldn't be a fan of that tactic myself but it is an option.

Will be interesting to see how Sibley fits back in when not at school. Do we know when he'll be available? Should certainly put pressure on the yet to be settled middle order players in Harinath, Solanki and Roy. Really hope Roy gets a run of games though. As we've so often said in recent years he's a huge talent. Please can this one kick on!

Also will be interested to see whether Dernbach is slotted straight back into the CC side when he returns from the T20 world cup. Haven't been massively impressed by him in 4-day cricket for a while now so wouldn't be upset to see Dunn or Edwards given a chance at his expense there to be honest!

Surrey have a 2 day game away to Middlesex beginning tomorrow (Thursday). Very much a pre-season friendly as all available members of the squad are expected to play part of the game. A competive element should be added though with several CC starting places - particularly for the bowlers - up for grabs.

Middlesex have named a squad of 14 including Steven Finn.

Surrey going well in their pre-season friendly against Middlesex. Currently 65/0 with Burns on 51 and Harinath on 14. Roland-Jones and Harris opened the bowling. Finn appeared a bit later - figures of 5-2-18-0 so far.

According to the Middlesex twitter feed, Tom Lancefield is playing for Surrey. Presumably on a trial basis. I know that Alec Stewart raised the possibility with Lancefield of him returning to the Oval soon after Adams was sacked but he (Lancefield) had other irons in the fire at the time. Would be good for Surrey to have him back - certainly useful back up. Typically, no mention on the Surrey website!

Replied on the county transfers thread Guildford   

Looking forward to the season!

Useful run out for Surrey on the first day of the friendly.  Runs for Burns and occupation of the crease by Harinath.

Meaker dismisses the wonderfully named Gubbins for 1.  Presumably as a bits and pieces player he's only allowed to open in friendlies

Turned out to be another useful couple of days, that. Wickets for Meaker, Dunn, Linley, Batty and Ansari and some time in the middle for Davies and Ansari.

We have another 2 day game starting Thursday against Essex at Chelmsford.

C'MON ESSEX!!

however i find 2 day games seriously pointless!

For pre season purposes they are useful to give everyone a decent bowl and a bat in preparation for 4 day cricket.

Surrey have named a 14 man squad for the 2 day friendly at the People's Republic of Chelmsford. It's planned that all will take part in some of the game.

Curran called up but no place for Jewell or Winslade. He (Curran) might be in competition with Dunn and Edwards (both in this squad) for one place in the CC opener to Glamorgan.

Wilson is back after Ireland's exit from the t20 World Cup and is joined by Sibley who wags school. Smith still to arrive and Solanki absent for family reasons.

Although not involved in this game, I understand that Lancefield is back at the Oval and is effectively trialling. In my view, we shouldn't delay in signing him up. With Sibley unlikely to be much available until after A-levels in late June, Pietersen at the IPL and Solanki potentially out for a while, there's very little batting in reserve.

Carrotdude wrote:For pre season purposes they are useful to give everyone a decent bowl and a bat in preparation for 4 day cricket.

Gary Wilson is certainly being given decent batting preparation. Even though he was dismissed yesterday, he is now having another knock in Surrey's first innings!!

Never really a game but nonetheless some decent practice against Essex. Runs currently easier to get than wickets. A century for Roy and half-tons for Burns and Wilson - particularly important, given my understanding that Solanki could be missing for some time. Our top wicket takers were Meaker and Curran with just 2 each from the two days.

I don't know why Harinath didn't bat. The club web site continues to raise more questions than answers. It also provides no guidance on the availability of Curran and Sibley whom I would guess will now be unavailable until after their A-levels in late June. Added to that, I haven't seen when Smith is due to return - must be very soon.

Ah well, a 3 day first-class fixture coming up on Tuesday against Cambridge MCCU at Fenner's. The team for that should give a strong pointer to the XI who will be chosen for the CC opener against Glamorgan at the Oval a week tomorrow.

guildfordbat wrote:I haven't seen when Smith is due to return - must be very soon.

There is a captain's press day at The Oval on Thursday, so he'll be in the country by then.

Shelsey93 wrote:

guildfordbat wrote:I haven't seen when Smith is due to return - must be very soon.

There is a captain's press day at The Oval on Thursday, so he'll be in the country by then.

Lets hope so!   Thanks, Shelsey.

Jade Dernbach may be in a bad way after today's WT20 match -and difficult to see England persisting with his selection! Surrey management may need to do a bit of rebuilding with him out of the limelight.

[quote="Corporalhumblebucket"]Jade Dernbach may be in a bad way after today's WT20 match -and difficult to see England persisting with his selection! Surrey management may need to do a bit of rebuilding with him out of the limelight.[/quote

Or arrange a transfer to Sussex!   

guildfordbat wrote:

Corporalhumblebucket wrote:.......
Or arrange a transfer to Sussex!   

 Well, Sussex worked wonders with Chris Jordan, so maybe they can work an even bigger miracle with Jade!

It will be interesting to see what happens with Dernbach at Surrey. Assuming full fitness I'd think Linley, Meaker and Tremlett would start as the front-line seam attack and with the youngsters pushing for places too he might therefore have to make do with 2nd XI cricket? He'll obviously be first choice in the shorter formats.

You joke about a transfer but perhaps it wouldn't be the worst thing for Jade if this is the end of his England career for now.

Shelsey93 wrote:It will be interesting to see what happens with Dernbach at Surrey. Assuming full fitness I'd think Linley, Meaker and Tremlett would start as the front-line seam attack and with the youngsters pushing for places too he might therefore have to make do with 2nd XI cricket? He'll obviously be first choice in the shorter formats.

You joke about a transfer but perhaps it wouldn't be the worst thing for Jade if this is the end of his England career for now.

Shelsey - I pretty much agree with your comments about the front-line seam attack. Your assumption about full fitness is significant though; Meaker had two ops in the close season whilst there is usually some doubt hanging over Tremlett. I think there's a good chance there'll be some rotation of the seamers in the first few CC matches, especially so as not to overtax Tremlett.

Possibly we might anyway start the season with 4 seamers. However, that still wouldn't guarantee Dernbach a CC place.

I was thinking a couple of weeks ago that might create an opportunity for Jewell, particularly with his better batting of all the seam bowlers. However, he was overlooked for the Essex friendly which doesn't bode well for his chances of selection. Possibly, Edwards or Dunn might be given the role of a 4th seamer. I suspect Dunn is narrowly the leading contender today.

I also thought then that Batty would lose out to Ansari. However, I now feel there's a fair chance that both might play - Batty as the lead slow bowler and Ansari predominantly as a batsman in place of the absent Solanki. That would weaken the batting but increase the chances of our taking 20 wickets. Tricky.

As for Dernbach, I'm sure he'll get some CC opportunities this season but it'll be important for him to take them. If he doesn't, both player and Surrey might welcome a transfer.

Squad of 12 named for the 3 day match at Cambridge.

My complete guess is that Meaker will miss out and be rested to ensure in plays in the first CC match beginning on Sunday at home to Glamorgan (he had two ops over the winter and has already bowled a fair bit in the pre-season friendlies).

Team in possible batting order:
Burns
Sibley
Ansari
Davies
Roy
Wilson
Batty
Curran
Tremlett
Linley
Dunn.

Surprised that Sibley and Curran are in the mix - had expected their school studies to rule them out. With next week being half-term, they could also both be in contention for the CC opener. However (as per Shelsey and now the club website), Smith returns this week which suggests that Sibley might not be needed then anyway.

No places for Harinath, Edwards, Winslade and Jewell. Solanki again absent and I believe that could be for some time.

Meanwhile, van den Bergh (aka Burger Van) expected to play tomorrow for Durham MCCU in their 3 dayer against Derbys.

where is Solanki?

Absence described by the club as ''due to family reasons which are of a private nature''.

Some of you guys might be interested in a Division Two season preview that I contributed to for DEC - http://deepextracover.com/2014/03/31/dec-predicts-the-division-two-hopefuls/#.UzmgrPldWSp We seem to have fallen into the saying Surrey will do well trap...

Thanks, Shelsey. Good stuff. Mind you, we'll know who to blame if it turns out to be a jinx!   

Shelsey - thanks.  (Like the prediction for Leics. 8th place would be an achievement.   )

Should have seen it coming - Tremlett is the one to drop out with a minor back spasm. Same old, same old!

Surrey 180-5

Meanwhile, Surrey have just announced the re-signing of Azhar Mahmood for this season's t20 and one day games. Not a great surprise - Alec Stewart dropped a heavy hint at a members' forum in the winter. As well as his record, the thing going for Azhar is that he now has British citizenship and is therefore no longer classed as an overseas player.

now bowls at a top speed of 70mph... will swing the new white ball though, and add some firepower to the batting..

Changing fortunes for Surrey throughout day one at Fenner's. Ended the day well on top but not without batting concerns.

From an alarming 24/3 to an apparent recovery of 201/5 to a very disappointing 218 all out. Ansari top scored with 54 and looks set to take the place of Solanki up the order. 30 odd for each of Wilson, Roy and Batty. That was about it with the tail failing to wag - new season, same story.

After that came Meaker time as the students were skittled for a feeble 54. Stunning figures of 6/6 off 6 overs for the Surrey paceman. A couple of wickets as well for 'Clive' Dunn as he too showed they don't like it up 'em! That'll certainly help put him in contention for a place in the CC side.

Sensibly declining to enforce the follow on and so get more time at the wicket, Burns and Sibley saw out the one remaining over. Important for several to get runs under their belts tomorrow.

Meanwhile - Nightmare on County Ground, Derbys for Freddie! Given the captaincy of Durham MCCU, his side were dismissed for just 67 and then Derbys knocked up a lead of 200 plus by stumps. 4 runs with the bat and no wickets from an expensive 5 overs - the Burger Van won't be able to serve up too many more helpings like that!

guildfordbat wrote:

Meanwhile - Nightmare on County Ground, Derbys for Freddie! Given the captaincy of Durham MCCU, his side were dismissed for just 67 and then Derbys knocked up a lead of 200 plus by stumps. 4 runs with the bat and no wickets from an expensive 5 overs - the Burger Van won't be able to serve up too many more helpings like that!

Durham MCCU are remarkably poor, not only at county level but in comparison to the other MCCU sides. It is somewhat unfathomable that they get annihilated every season - a Samit Patel 256 and 18 all out v Durham met them last year and the year before that - because they have always had a couple of FC players in their team. As well as van der Bergh they have Cameron Steel who turned out for both Somerset and Middlesex in 2nd XI cricket last year with them.

Having played with, well netted with, some of thise players and knowing what standard some play club cricket; some of the players who played today are never, ever near FC standard (not including Steel and VdB as I've never seen them play). They have a good coach in Foxy Fowler, but there is only so much he can do with limited talent. Although they always seem to do reasonably well at BUCS level, they are hampered some what by some of the more talented cricketers also being quality rugby players and that takes preference.

Mixed fortunes for Surrey, as has been said.  Ansari got his head down on what, presumably, was a somewhat difficult pitch.  I have visisions of there being a few matches this season when Anasari or Harinath dig in almost scoreless for very long periods while the likes of Roy and Solanki come and go, playing breezy cameos at the other end.  Excellent to see Meaker and Dunn in the wickets.

Let's hope the berger van has a better day tomorrow. Must be very dispiriting captaining a side if they are repeatedly and easily crushed...

JDizzle wrote:Having played with, well netted with, some of thise players and knowing what standard some play club cricket; some of the players who played today are never, ever near FC standard (not including Steel and VdB as I've never seen them play). They have a good coach in Foxy Fowler, but there is only so much he can do with limited talent. Although they always seem to do reasonably well at BUCS level, they are hampered some what by some of the more talented cricketers also being quality rugby players and that takes preference.

Thanks for that, but is there any reason why they would be worse than the other sides?

I guess perhaps less elite cricketers are going to leading universities than was once the case, but that still wouldn't explain why Durham are particularly weak. You'd think that super-talented cricketers would take Graham Fowler's presence into account when making choices. Who is the coach at Leeds/ Bradford, who seem to be the best of the MCCUs in recent seasons?

No. They really shouldn't be that much worse. They do seem to hold their own against the other MCCU sides, so they shouldn't be as miserable as they have been against the County sides.

A cursory google search suggests it is Andrew Lawson (?!), who apparently played FC stuff in SA, but that is it. No-one particularly, or at all, famous. I do wonder if it is mainly down to Durham being bigger on their rugby and now football than ever before, but they should definitely be better than they are.

A good day for Surrey as they took control against Cambridge Uni. Much needed time in the middle and runs for several - Davies leading the way with an uundefeated ton. Unless, I'm misreading things he seems set to bat at 4 in the CC opener with Ansari taking the place of Solanki and batting one spot higher. Devastating bowling from the Viscount to finish the day - not quite up there with Meaker's 6/6 yesterday but 3/5 off 7 overs will more than do!

Meanwhile, a slightly better day for the Durham students although they remain miles behind against Derbys.

As it happens, all the MCCU sides have been struggling with the bat against county sides in this round of matches. Their first innings scores were 54, 67, 93, 102, 112, 139.

these surely don't count towards f/c averages and records do they?

CF wrote:these surely don't count towards f/c averages and records do they?

I think the (rather odd) position is that for each of the MCCU sides the first two (three day) games of the season against first class counties do count as first class, but not any thereafter.  Not sure what the rationale for that is!

Decent run out for Surrey against Cambs with nearly all the players getting either runs or wickets.

CF wrote:these surely don't count towards f/c averages and records do they?

Yes, these round of matches do although some later in the season don't - at least that's what happened last year!

Meanwhile, a comfortable win for Surrey achieved just before lunch on the final day. Last 3 wickets taken by Tom Curran - that might just be enough to get him a CC debut on Sunday.

The Burger Van served himself a duck at Derbys but a mix of determined batting by others and bad light enabled his Durham MCCU team to escape with a draw at Derbys.

A respectable f/c debut for another with Surrey connections down at Hove - Mike Burgess, wkt keeper / batsman, who came through the Surrey academy and has played the odd second XI game. Following his first innings score of 26, he made 49 today to help Loughborough MCCU get away with a draw against Sussex.

I understand that Graeme Smith flew to South Africa last night to attend a South Africa Cricket Board conference. Now, I realise this must have all been arranged some time ago and I know he doesn't miss any game time for Surrey whilst he's away for a few days. Furthermore, I probably wouldn't even be mentioning it had we won our opening CC fixture against Glamorgan. However, coming swiftly on the heels of an embarrassing last day stuffing, it doesn't help impressions and adds to the unease voiced by Goochie yesterday on the ''v. Glamorgan'' thread.

-------

https://www.606v2.com/viewtopic.forum?t=56445