Surrey Players - A bright future?

First off, I just want to say hi to all the Surrey fans on here. I'm new to this forum and I'm hoping to be relatively active on it (mostly discussing Surrey-related things).

Recently, I've been thinking about some of the Surrey players and their international ambitions and I'm wondering what everyone thinks about certain players' Test hopes.

As a jumping off point, here are my (very rough) guesses as to how many Test matches the players will have by the time they retire.

Rory Burns - 20 - Hard to really judge at this point, but I can see him getting a few as a backup, though I don't reckon he makes enough hundreds to be a regular Test opener
Arun Harinath - 0
Steve Davies - 0 - Has sadly probably missed his opportunity
Jason Roy - 15 - Sure to get a chance if he sticks around the one day sides, but for me he's too heave/leave to prosper in Test cricket (though it hasn't stopped Misbah)
Zafar Ansari - 100+ - Looks like the real deal. A genuine top 6 batsman who could develop into a frontline international bowler, especially with the current state of English spin bowling
Dom Sibley - ? - Haven't seen any of his batting so probably best left to others, but all I've heard about him has impressed me
Gary Wilson - 0
Ben Foakes - 50 - Bairstow's no long-term keeper, so either Foakes or Buttler will soon enough take over as England keeper. I can see their respective fortunes ebbing and flowing as different management teams prioritise different skills
Tom Curran - 30 - He needs to put on a bit of pace if he wants to nail down a spot, but could get some play as a Bresnan-type line and length bowler
Mark Footit - 0 - His injury has come at the wrong time. With so much young talent around the country coming through (including the Currans), it was probably this year or never for Footit
Sam Curran - 100+ - The sky's the limit really. Injuries look like the only thing that could hold him back from a very long and successful career
Matt Dunn - 2 - Surrey don't seem to trust him to keep things consistent and he's not quite fast or tall enough to make up for that at international level
James Burke - 0

Would be very interested in everyone's thoughts

The only ones I can ever realistically see playing for England in tests are Roy, Ansari and T Curran.

Foakes, Burns and Sam Curran are outside bets for me - the rest no way unfortunately

And welcome to the board!

Hi James - a warm welcome from me as well.

I tipped Roy for the very top after first seeing him in a seconds game several years ago and am not going to give up on him now. How many Tests though he and any of the others might play is beyond my guessing. Just too many unknowns for me.

I do think Burns is an interesting possibility. I feel he might do a job but, as you say here and I've mentioned elsewhere, he needs to convert more of his fifties into hundreds to get the selectors taking proper notice.

Hope you'll pitch up on the ''versus Durham'' thread which I'm sure the ever reliable JimBob will be putting up tomorrow.

Thanks both for the welcome!

Olly - why so (comparatively) negative on Sam Curran's hopes? Just the usual not knowing how a youngster will push on or anything particular that gives you pause?

Guildford - I'll be sure to make an appearance

I suppose the ECB have the chance now to rename the team to Surrey and The Rest of England (and Wales) with all these 100 cap players coming our way

Joking aside, it's hard to see much of the above coming to pass. To pick on your 100 cap club specifically:

Ansari will have to displace Moeen, who I know most people assume is not that good but I personally like him, he gets a lot of action on the ball, has a knack of taking key wickets and will continue to improve

Sam Curran we just don't know. He is still at school, so it will be a matter of if he can kick on over the next 2-3 years and in particular add some extra pace that he will need for Test cricket

Obviously the Sam Curran one is more in hope than expectation at this age, but I really do rate Ansari and I think that before long we'll see him as a regular in all three England sides. Moeen is a good player and I'd continue picking him in the absence of anyone better, but soon enough I think Ansari will be pushing hard for that place.

James100 wrote:Thanks both for the welcome!

Olly - why so (comparatively) negative on Sam Curran's hopes? Just the usual not knowing how a youngster will push on or anything particular that gives you pause?

Guildford - I'll be sure to make an appearance

He's only a 17 year old kid at this stage - he could go onto to be a great, but at that stage there are so many unknowns to come I can't predict he'll go on and be that - unfortunately not many boy prodigy's fulfill their talent in sports

From the little I have seen, I rate Sam Curran's potential higher than Tom. I haven't seen anything special from Tom C (yet!) that makes me think he has the little bit extra quality for international cricket.

Hi JD - I suspect that Tom Curran is a bit faster than you give him credit for although his greatest strength currently is probably his ability to quickly find a length and maintain it. That certainly did the trick last season in Div Two where he took 70 odd wickets. Bags of stamina too - played in virtually every game in all formats last season being Surrey's "go to" bowler. Whether that is enough at higher levels remains to be seen but I wouldn't rule him out.

Sam Curran is a tremendous prospect. Definitely a better batsman than Tom. Not as fast with the ball as his right armer brother but some of his (Sam's) left arm deliveries seem mighty difficult to play being whipped in and keeping low. That all said, still too many unknowns for me to bank on him having a Test career ... And not knowing for sure is part of the game's enduring attraction.

Cheers for that reply Guildford. Admittedly I have seen very little of Tom but, I do agree that he clearly has the stamina and the body to hold up to a lot of overs and he must do something right to take the 70 wickets he did last year. However, I am yet to see where that little extra bit of class required to take wickets at the top level (Test matches, especially) will come from.

I watched a bit more of Sam, as he played in the U19 World Cup where I was really impressed by his ability to swing the new ball and being a left armer also gives you something different, especially in the shorter forms which is the main reason I like him to play more for England than Tom. That's before you get on to his batting, which a lot of people seem to believe will be better than his bowling. Ironically, one of the things he will have to prove (that Tom does not) is will his body will hold up to lots of cricket, certainly if he is going to be an all rounder going forward.

Welceom, James, from me to. I think there is a chance Ansari might play a bit for England. To be honest I would be rather surprised if he was to become an England regular, year in year out. This is beacuse I am a bit doubtful as to whether his batting will prosper at international level. Ansari's bowling may continue to improve to the extent that he becomes a front line international spinner. Anyway, let's hope he promptly gets a century in this match.....