Surrey vs Birmingham Bears T20 Blast semi final

Surrey have named a fourteen man squad for the NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day at Edgbaston on Saturday.
Kevin Pietersen and Kevin O’Brien are both included having returned from playing in the Caribbean Premier League.
The Surrey quad for the NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day at Edgbaston on Saturday 23rd August :
Gary Wilson (capt)
Zafar Ansari
Gareth Batty
Rory Burns
Steven Davies
Jade Dernbach
Matthew Dunn
Aneesh Kapil
Azhar Mahmood
Kevin O’Brien
Robin Peterson
Kevin Pietersen
Jason Roy
Chris Tremlett
burns,kapil and tremlett to miss out imo

Hi Jimbob - you may well be right.  Certainly think Burns and Kapil are likely to miss out. I imagine it would then be a choice between Tremlett and Dunn. The latter has performed well in T20 but I suppose there is a possibility that he might be regarded as missing peak match fitness? One of those plus Dernbach, Azar Mahmood, Batty, Peterson, Ansari (and maybe O'Brien) offers plenty of options.

I'm with JimBob on the three most likely to miss out but fully understand where the Corporal is coming from in his comments about Dunn.

Whatever the final eleven, Dunn and Kapil (plus Curran only missing through injury) have made great progress to be in the squad ahead of the likes of former England t20 internationals Meaker and Solanki.

On paper at least, we look strong with a range of options. Just maybe ....

Morning lads Surrey win the toss and bowl
Burns, Kapil and tremlett miss out

Good call on the eleven, JimBob.

All the "experts" are banging on about what a great bowling line up the Bears have. Hmmm. Patel - yes but ... Rankin and Hannon-Dalby?? Not so sure. Hope that doesn't jinx it.

Morning all,

I was disappointed with the pitch used last year for finals day (too slow and low), but this one looks a beaut for batting on. Ian Bell really showed his class before being out somewhat unfortunately.

Can the Surrey spinners bring things back a bit in the middle-overs?

Surrey have plenty of firepower in their line-up so will back themselves to chase up to 180 I'd have thought.

Hi Mike - don't know if you've seen Matt Dunn before. I really like him. Full of pace and intelligent aggression. The four day stuff is more his game at the current time but he has enough nous to hold his own in t20s ahead of Meaker and Tremlett. Fine athletic fielder too.

I like him. Seen a bit of him on TV admittedly. Seems a thinking bowler and comes onto the bat a bit quicker than you think.

Is Evans Warwickshire's best hitter to bring in at this stage? I would have thought someone like Woakes might be a better bet.

A couple of balls have held up a bit.

Last 3 overs will be interesting. 180 is about par I reckon. Surrey will be hoping to restrict to 170odd whilst Warwickshire will be hoping for a couple of really big overs to get up to 185+.

well that will probably take some chasing. Great finish by Porterfield, who at one point I think had 20 from 25 balls (or similar). Still, Surrey certainly have great quality in their batting, so it's not out of reach by any means...

Really poor last couple of overs from Surrey that. Far too one-dimensional, everything was full and straight. Where were the back of a length slower balls or cutters? Where were the wide yorkers? Too predictable (and at best one out of two balls in the right area anyway) and the batsmen set themselves easily. Mahmood's slower ball was a particular lowlight, just right in the slot and given the field predictable - you could tell Porterfield had set himself for the slower ball but even he must have been delighted to find it just full of a length on off-stump.

A couple of really good shots from Porterfield who played quite the innings - his clip over mid-wicket for 4 off what was a pretty good attempt at a yorker was the pick for me.

195 is quite a few above par. Chaseable, but will need a big one from one of the guns up front you'd feel.

194 for the Bears off their 20. Must be strong favourites to win this semi-final now.

Heard Ricky Ponting say in a Masterclass programme on Sky just before this game - "Not many good sides are an ordinary fielding side." Spot on. Our fielding let us down today - Davies looks like a lost sheep.

Add to that some inconsistent bowling. Dreadful first balls from Mahmood and Peterson and a horrific spell from Dernbach. Thought Ansari should have had at least one over - maybe also O'Brien to take the pace off the ball. Not all said with hindsight.

Ansari not being used was mystifying.

"Strong favourites" might be a bit much though. 60-40 ish for me.

Mike - come on, you know a cricket supporter always looks on the gloomy side!

Quite why Clarke is bowling two overs on the trot in the PP is rather mystifying to me, and Roy cashes in, taking 26 from the over, all boundaries. Impressive hitting, but you got the feeling Clarke had no idea where to bowl after about two balls of that... Certainly given WASP a bit of a boost...

The WASP thing I find faintly ridiculous.

You've got to love Jason Roy though. casually takes 26 off an over without really looking like he's trying much.

Rankin should really have been bowling a while ago. Tall, hit the splice of the bat, don't allow Roy to just swing through the line with impunity. Poor captaincy.

50 for Roy off 19 deliveries

I'm sorry but this guy is not in England's ODI squad... why?

Turned this game on its head. Surrey marginal favourites now (which isn't to say they will definitely or even probably win, but they are pretty well placed).

Top edge from Roy to Woakes. Out for 58. KP time

Mike Selig wrote:The WASP thing I find faintly ridiculous.

Thank you. Totally agree.

guildfordbat wrote:

Mike Selig wrote:The WASP thing I find faintly ridiculous.

Thank you. Totally agree.

I find it more amusing than ridiculous. Particularly earlier in the summer when it was new and the Sky commentary team couldn't stop mentioning it every other minute.

Porterfield puts down a chance off Pietersen. Could be costly...

No I stick to ridiculous. The idea that you can somehow quantify with a precise percentage a team's chance of winning a match is ridiculous. Either the game is in the balance, or one team is slight favourites, or strong favourites, but anyway this is meaningless as a team's chances of winning or losing don't depend on some statistical formula but on the cricket which they will play.

Pietersen out, not his best innings, far too many dot balls there.

Warwickshire have an opening here. If they can get the required run-rate up to 11 and 12 an over that really puts the pressure on.

Surrey have plenty of hitters down the order still, but whether they can produce or not... well no statistical formula can tell (sorry for labouring the point).

or perhaps not... game still very much in the balance here though, 10.5 needed, hardly impossible.

Inevitably some of Surrey's momentum went with Roy. Pietersen now gone - typically this season he only just reached double figures and at less than a run a ball. Surrey stuttering at the moment - need a good over and soon. I don't see Davies and Wilson firing at the rate we need ....

KP really has been dog poo all season, barely scored above a run a ball ever...

Just to say that might have been Pietersen's final innings in English cricket. Even if so, the passing won't be confirmed for some time and I'll leave the obituaries to others.

Surrey have really gotten stuck in these middle-overs. Not proactive enough in looking for the singles. Good bowling and pressure from warwickshire.

Still got some hitters, but one of these two or Peterson is going to have to score a 30 off 12 or so to get Surrey home.

Poor bowling at the close from Surrey, brilliant batting from Roy and then the rest of the batting has well and truly mucked up the chase.   

Innings falling away badly now. Once you look past Batty and Roy Surrey havent been very competitive.

Corporalhumblebucket wrote:Innings falling away badly now.  Once you look past Batty and Roy Surrey havent been very competitive.  

Sadly, yes. Too many poor individual performances and certainly a poor team performance.

After Roy appeared to have got us back in with a shout, we let it drift away. Pietersen, Wilson and O'Brien used up 36 balls (ie 6 overs) in making a combined 28 runs - that's never going to be enough on finals day.

Warwickshire, sorry Birmingham played the more solid cricket. A bit of a shame as I think Surrey are the more exciting team, but Birm fully deserve the win.

Surrey had moments when they looked nervous - possibly a sign of a side not used to the business ends of tournaments.

Onto the 2nd semi now.

Thanks for the memories Jade (...and good luck with your new County next season) How the hell did he get the nod over Tremlett - who has contributed well with the bat too as a mid-innings pinch hitter this year ?!). If Jade had gone for even 10 less in his four overs it would have changed the dynamic of the match immeasurably.  

Time to give the myriad other good quicks on our books greater exposure.

SimonofSurrey wrote:Thanks for the memories Jade (...and good luck with your new County next season)  How the hell did he get the nod over Tremlett - who has contributed well with the bat too as a mid-innings pinch hitter this year ?!). If Jade had gone for even 10 less in his four overs it would have changed the dynamic of the match immeasurably.  

Time to give the myriad other good quicks on our books greater exposure.

If only that was true. Just back from hols to see that Dernbach and KP were their usual dreadful selves. This season has started badly and faded away after a promising middle.