SURREY VS NOTTINGHAMSHIRE SPECSAVERS COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP

Surrey have announced a 14 man squad for the specsavers county championship game against Nottinghamshire starting at Trent Bridge on Sunday.
Aaron Finch will be Surrey’s overseas player for the game.
Sadly Jason Roy and Tom Curran miss out through injury and match fitness.
FULL SQUAD:
Rory Burns (captain)
Gareth Batty
Scott Borthwick
Rikki Clarke
Sam Curran
Jade Dernbach
Aaron Finch
Ben Foakes
Will Jacks
Morne Morkel
Ryan Patel
Ollie Pope
Mark Stoneman
Amar Virdi
Batty,Jacks and Patel to miss out most likely.
Over to you chaps

Cheers, JimBob.

Getting Finchy for this match - particularly with Roy missing - is a smart bit of work by Stewie and co. If he can bring along just some of his white ball form, that should make for entertainment and put us in a decent position.

I agree with you on the three most likely to miss out. Given the weather we've been having and more of the same forecast next week, I suspect the cricket management would like to find a place for Batty. It's hard though to see how he can be squeezed in. Drop Virdi? Yes, but that doesn't achieve much as it still leaves us with one front line spinner plus a bit of buffet bowling from Borthwick. Drop / rest one of the seamers? Possible but the 4 we seem like going with (Morkel, Sam Curran, Dernbach and Clarke) look good and strong.

A left field choice would be to rest Dernbach, drop Stoneman, draft in Batty and keep Patel moving him up to open and using him also as a 4th seamer. Nah, almost certainly over thinking things! Stick with the three you suggest on the bench.

Thanks Jimbob. Unless it's a square turner I think we're looking at choice between Virdi and Batty. (Probably Batty to miss out).

I think it's then likely to be a choice of one from Stoneman, Patel and Jacks. I would go for Patel as the guy has not let us down batting wise and keeps chipping away with useful, if unspectacular runs. (And he has had a magic bowling arm once this season.) But I guess they will keep on picking Stoneman for the entire season (Maybe he has secured a secret guarantee along lines Sibley was seeking! )

Another possible option would be to rest Dernbach and to play Patel and either of Stoneman or Jacks. This would still leave a reasonable bowling attack with Morkel, Curran, Clarke, Virdi and Patel.

Stoneman picked ahead of Patel which I think really doesn't send the right message, Patel has batted much better than Stoneman this season.

James100 wrote:Stoneman picked ahead of Patel which I think really doesn't send the right message, Patel has batted much better than Stoneman this season.

Hi James - certainly understand your reasoning. I would actually have left Stoneman out a few matches back. We probably all agree on him having it in him to produce a match winning score (and more so than Patel) but the question still arises as to how many chances do you give him. I don't think even his greatest supporters would suggest an infinite amount.

Tough on Patel as you say. It's almost as if he's been up against Sam Curran for selection here with no other ways of fitting him in considered.

Although we'll lose Finch, we should have both Elgar and Roy to go into the batting mix for some of the later matches. Stoneman will surely have to come up with the goods before then if he is to hang onto his place.

94 for 5 at lunch excellent session

Yep, an excellent session as JimBob says.

Electing to bowl wouldn't have been my call - I'm nearly always a bat first traditionalist for the Championship - but no argument from me that the scoreboard shows Burns knew what he was doing. Pleasing as well that the wickets have been shared out amongst the seam bowling quartet - good not to be overly reliant on one particular bowler.

Important now to make this impressive start count ....

Notts missing a few players with the bat, and our XI looks really strong. Big chance to put some real breathing space between us and them this week

Excellent morning for Surrey. I was fearing the worst as the second wicket partnership developed. Haven't seen a replay but sounds like an excellent catch by Patel on as a substitute fielder.

Wessels counter attacking after lunch - hit Morkel for three successive boundaries...

Corporalhumblebucket wrote:Excellent morning for Surrey. I was fearing the worst as the second wicket partnership developed. Haven't seen a replay but sounds like an excellent catch by Patel on as a substitute fielder.

Wessels counter attacking after lunch - hit Morkel for three successive boundaries...

All I've seen is a showing from a static wicket to wicket camera which doesn't include Patel!

Fletcher proving a pain

jimbobgooner wrote:Fletcher proving a pain

Gone now though. Not too upset - everyone likes Fletch.

Ball and Gurney have put on over 40...annoying to say the least!

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Ball and Gurney have put on over 40...annoying to say the least!

baby face gets ball

Annoying last wicket, but if you’d said we’d have them all out for 210 by tea on day one after inserting I’d take that. Now a crucial final session in store

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Ball and Gurney have put on over 40...annoying to say the least!

Yes, and especially that last man Gurney was able to top score with 29 not out. Annoying also that his stand with Ball took Notts beyond 200 and got 'em a batting point.

That all said, they are all out now for 210 and I would have snatched your hand off at 11 o'clock this morning if offered that. We are in a fine position and have plenty of time to get a positive result. Don't blow it!

Annoying last minute partnership. But, even so we're now assured of - at worst - one fewer bonus point than Notts. And hopefully we may do a fair bit better than that. Odd sort of innings with Notts scoring at a cracking rate while losing all those wickets. Be interesting to see how Surrey go about things. Stoneman's form has been so poor this season that any score in excess of say 25 would seem like a bit of a bonus.

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Annoying last wicket, but if you’d said we’d have them all out for 210 by tea on day one after inserting I’d take that. Now a crucial final session in store

Olly - just seen this which is almost identical to my last post. Great minds think the same - ok, similar minds!

rocky off to a flyer

Watching the stream on Trent Bridge and they mention a short boundary one side - helps explain the rate of scoring today

highest score of the season for rocky

jimbobgooner wrote:highest score of the season for rocky

And now at 61/0 the follow on avoided.

guildfordbat wrote:

jimbobgooner wrote:highest score of the season for rocky

And now at 61/0 the follow on avoided.

50 for rocky

rocky goes for 86

50 for burns

1st batting point

STUMPS lead of 13 almost the perfect day

That is as about a perfect a days cricket as you can get from Surrey!

Set themselves up fantastically in this game - and really should be looking to bat the whole day tomorrow and into day 3, with the platform set. If Finch gets in, with this short boundary...there could be some serious carnage.

churchy said it will be overcast for the next 2 days
I will wait for the verdict from corporal

Superb performance from Surrey today Watched a fair chunk of the live stream during Surrey innings. Magnificent batting by Burns after Stoneman got us off to a lightening start. Great to see Stoneman finally getting some decent runs.

It seems clear from the feed that any bowler going for under 4 an over with the short boundary and very fast outfield is doing well in terms of containing runs. Even though Surrey's batting was dominant there were still a scattering of false strokes every now and again to suggest that good bowlers will take wickets through the match.

The live feed is curious - very good quality visually, but the positioning of the camera is strange - you can't actually see the wicket keeper. Should think Finch is looking forward to batting on this pitch! On such a fast scoring pitch we really should be looking to secure full batting points and a really sizeable lead.

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:That is as about a perfect a days cricket as you can get from Surrey!

Set themselves up fantastically in this game - and really should be looking to bat the whole day tomorrow and into day 3, with the platform set. If Finch gets in, with this short boundary...there could be some serious carnage.

Spot on. Brilliant day.

some milestones reached along the way 10,000 first class runs for rocky and 7,000 for Burns

jimbobgooner wrote:churchy said it will be overcast for the next 2 days
I will wait for the verdict from corporal

I predict that it not will be "overcast" for the next two days. There will be cloud from time to time - but I think it generally be fairly light cloud. #Corporalforecasting

100 for Burns

Sam recovering some batting form. Currently on 63 not out

Watched the stream of that session and whilst Curran and Clarke batted very well, Notts seem to have completely lost their heads - constant short pitched nonsense bowling, which is being pelted all over the place and some awful fielding based on what comms are saying.

Continue to grind them into the ground post tea and have an hour or so at them tonight I say

Surrey innings finally comes to an end on 592, meaning there's a massive first innings lead of 382. Notts fought back well in the morning innings - shame that Pope was out for 30 as he was batting majestically at the time. Among the plus points were (a) not throwing the advantage away as, after early loss of wickets, Surrey could easily have fizzled out with a lead of around 100 (b) almost reaching 600 despite minimal contribution from three big guns (Finch, Foakes and Pope), (c) Curran finding some overdue batting form (d) managing to deny Notts a third bowling point (e) Stoneman finally getting runs (f) another very fine innings from Burns; and (g) Rikki Clarke showing he's still got plenty of appetite to score runs (d) Virdi and Dernbach hitting sixes. All very positive!

4 more wkts needed for corporal to open the bar

make that 3

1 to go

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS GET IN WHAT A WIN
corporal do the honours

''An outstanding team performance ... They look like a side destined to win the Championship.'' - Mark Church.

Magnificent performance by Surrey - the bar is open!

This is a seriously good run of performances in the county championship, with yet another innings win. Our last results, working backwards:

Surrey bt Notts by innings and 183 runs
Surrey bt Yorks by 7 wickets
Surrey bt Somerset by innings and 69 runs
Surrey bt Hants by innings and 58 runs
Surrey bt Yorks by innings 17 runs

Morkel clearly makes a big difference to the bowling attack, but others have also contributed well. And Surrey's batting has been brilliant.

Ridiculous win really, and those run of results the Corporal has posted are quite frankly ludicrous, especially considering during them numerous players have been missing for various reasons.

I will be at the next CC game against Lancs - hopefully I'm not the jinx!!!

Whatever happens there is such a gap now, it is very tough to see Surrey not winning the title this season