SURREY VS LANCASHIRE SPECSAVERS COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP

SURREY HAVE NAMED A FOURTEEN MAN SQUAD FOR THE SPECSAVERS COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP GAME AGAINST LANCASHIRE AT THE KIA OVAL STARTING ON TUESDAY.
Ravi Rampaul returns to the squad after playing in the recent Caribbean Premier League and Amar Virdi is named in a Championship squad for the first time.
Jason Roy is unavailable for selection having joined up with the England squad for the One Day Series against Pakistan. Zafar Ansari is unavailable due to a back injury sustained during the Championship game against Warwickshire.
Gary Wilson returns from ireland duty.
There is no place in the squad for Jade Dernbach or James Burke and sadly Matt Dunn remains on the treatment table.
The Surrey squad to play Lancashire in the Specsavers County Championship at the Kia Oval on Tuesday 23rd August, Wednesday 24th August, Thursday 25th August and Friday 26th August :
Gareth Batty (capt)
Rory Burns
Sam Curran
Tom Curran
Steven Davies
Ben Foakes
Mark Footitt
Arun Harinath
Stuart Meaker
Ravi Rampaul
Kumar Sangakkara
Dominic Sibley
Amar Virdi
Gary Wilson
very difficult to choose the three to miss out so i'll go for Wilson,Ravioli and Footitt
unless sibley is the second spinner virdi has to start
Over to you chaps

As much as I'd like to see him given a go, with the possibility of relegation still on the table I doubt they play Virdi this time

Virdi, Harinath and Wilson to miss out for me

Sibley as a second spinner an obvious risk - but he could do it

so foakes at 5 and sam curran at 6 olly
christ what a tail

jimbobgooner wrote:so foakes at 5 and sam curran at 6 olly
christ what a tail

Whoops didn't see that Roy wasn't there!

Burns, Sibley, Sangakkara, Davies, Harinath, Foakes, S Curran, T Curran, Batty, Meaker, Footitt

Is my XI!

cheers olly

Thanks, Jimbob.

Difficult to say, but I would guess Olly's selection may well be right.  It could depend on what shape (literally and metaphorically ) Ravioli is in. In general Surrey don't like to change a winning team too much. So I think it's fairly likely Surrey would stick with both Footitt and Meaker rather than bringing in Ravioli. I would expect Wilson to miss out.

Agree with everyone else. Wilson, Virdi and Rampaul to miss out.

As expected Wilson, Virdi and Rampaul miss out

In shocking news, Gareth Batty lost the toss!!! Lancs chose to bat first, and Sam Curran had Proctor LBW early to have Lancs 20-1

Half an hour after lunch, Lancs reduced to 99-5. Not what I (and maybe one or two others) was expecting but delighted to see it!

Normal service resumed Simon

Meaker's got his second. Should be aiming to bowl them out for under 250 here.

Looking like a fine for slow over rate

A last wicket partnership developing here...already 40plus!

Last wkt pair again

jimbobgooner wrote:Looking like a fine for slow over rate

Points deduction in CC. however the authorities have been very generous this season in making allowances.

Pleased to see Sam Curran doing well. He looks a real prospect already, and if he could gain just a touch of pace as he fills out could easily be our Mitchell Starc. Was surprised earlier in the season when people said CurranT was a bigger talent.

jimbobgooner wrote:Normal service resumed Simon

287 all out. I agree it's frustrating, especially when 9 10 and Jack bosh it around. But would I have settled for that total when we lost the toss and they chose to bat? Yes, absolutely.

It might be that their top order underperformed/our bowlers did wonderfully well, then their lower order made the runs decent players should be able to on this track. As Lord Boycott of Gloom'n'Doom says, however, 'you can't tell until both sides have batted'. Nine batsmen into double figure with a top score of 56 suggests like a missed opportunity. ...IF... we can bat sensibly and post a big first innings total.

Good response from Surrey....all in all a very good day....Burns dropped off the penultimate ball of the day

Very pleased, overall, with Surrey's performance today, considering we lost the toss.  OK there were the frustrations of several lower order partnerships, but to bowl Lancs out for less than 300 on a day 1 pitch looks like a good performance - and most encouraging that we reached 50 - 0 by the close.

Agree with the Corp - a good effort on a day 1 pitch to bowl a team out for under 300 I think

Really need to ram home this good start to our innings tomorrow- will need to build a lead of ideally 100-150 to negate the effect of having to bat 4th

In an ideal world, maximum batting points and a lead of 200+.

PS: where on earth will Harinath bat if he's not opening??

Excellent first hour for Surrey with Burns bringing up a half century, and the opening partnership progressing past 100

A real opportunity for these two to take the game away from Lancs - let's hope they take it

150-0 at lunch

Magnificent morning session for Surrey - a real opportunity to take this game by the scruff of the neck this afternoon

Both openers back in the hutch shame third degree got out yet again in the eighties

Jimbob - certainly a shame but the fact that a lot of the Lancastrians got out after starts suggests it's not a pitch that gets easy to bat on.

Sanga and Harinath doing a good job. We need them to get us to 220-230 at least and then they and the middle order can build on that to hopefully put together a big lead.

50 for kumar

The Baron departed for 21, but Sangakkara has taken a liking to Kerrigan so far and moves to a 47 ball 50

Alec Stewart predicting Ansari to be in test line up in Bangladesh on BBC R5L. Is he injured at the moment?

LondonTiger wrote:Alec Stewart predicting Ansari to be in test line up in Bangladesh on BBC R5L. Is he injured at the moment?

Has a back injury so is missing this game - should be back soon

3rd batting point

jimbobgooner wrote:3rd batting point

...and this is where we really need the middle and lower order to come to the party against what should be a tiring attack. Doom laden scenario is 350 all out. Happier outcome is 500+. Let's not forget we're only four down and their last five added 188...

Foakes gone only 30 ahead

Need to eek out a lead of at least 100 here

Davies gone

4th and final batting point

The Currans at the wicket now with Norah +2 to follow. Hmm. We need a lead of at least 100 to feel moderately in control of the game. 14 out of the first 16 dismissed in this game made double figures but none more than 88. Weird.

After a excellent morning session we've made a right pigs ear of that

SimonofSurrey wrote:The Currans at the wicket now with Norah +2 to follow. Hmm. We need a lead of at least 100 to feel moderately in control of the game. 14 out of the first 16 dismissed in this game made double figures but none more than 88. Weird.  

Strange indeed Simon - run rates throughout the match have also been fairly pedestrian by modern standards. Suggests the pitch has something in it for the bowlers - but if batsman apply themselves can make scores.

Overall a good day for Surrey - but they've missed an opportunity to take full control with nobody going on to make that really match defining score

Just returned from the Oval, where I spent a very hot day indeed with Chichester.  Funny sort of day really with Surrey going along in fits and starts. 

Batting looked fairly straightforward in the morning - very few alarms for Burns and Sibley. But we then got terribly bogged down in the hour after lunch. Lancs (Jarvis) bowled a tight line and basically the two openers ground to a halt after lunch and were dismissed through frustration. Later on Davies had been going well, but he too got slower and slower - his innings was throttled and then he too was out due to frustration.  Credit to the Lancs bowlers for reining Surrey back in through tight bowling. 

Sanga, of course, was in a different class.  He scored his runs much more quickly.  Although Harinath only got 21 he did at least help Sanga to get things moving again.  Useful late runs from Sam Curran helped to ensure that we should have some sort of worthwhile lead. 

I was just listening to the interview with Sibley.  He agreed with Church that Surrey had not got as many runs as they ought. He also rather dismissed Church's suggestion that the pitch was offering more help to the spinners.

The pitch being used has a very short boundary - it's easy to see why inaccuracy (eg from Meaker) is likely to be heavily punished.

cheers corporal

Thinking of short boundaries - it's a mystery to both Chichester and me why - when there is a very short boundary on one side of the ground offering excellent views - some spectators choose nevertheless to sit on the terracing on the opposite side of the ground where they are a very great distance from the action.  Perhaps they have gone for a day out to catch up on their knitting or to do a crossword?  Or perhaps they only feel comfortable if they are at least 30 yards away from any other spectator? 

Really Enjoyable day today for my first day of cricket this year! Excellent company with the Corporal too....Surrey started really well this am and looked in total control....Both Sibley and Burns played some good shots...Lanc bowled tidely and some good fielding saved a number of boundaries...as lunch approached the rate of scoring slowed appreciably....post lunch both Sibley and Burns became almost totally be lame and scoring dried up and it became almost painful to watch!..there was a palpable sense of relief when Sibley was out... And Burns followed shortly thereafter....It was very odd...the bowling was tight but the pitch seemed to be playing much as it had before lunch. Both Sangakara and Harinath injected a sense of urgency...even though Harinwth scored modestly he certainly got the innings going again....Sangskara was pure class...and worth paying then entrance money just to see him score 70 or do..Davies batted well although again he became somewhat becalmed towards the end of his innings...there was a time when Davies and Sangakara were both batting together that a score of 400 plus on the day looked very possible. It was a real shame when Sangakara was out soon after tea...again the innings became somewhat moribund after he was out but Tom Curran played some good shots towards the end....all in all a good day for Surrey...could have been better....equally a lot worse.. A real good crowd in....and good company and a lovely couple of Pints of Old Hen went down well...here endeth my report of the day!

Just read the Corporal's report having already submitted mine.....fortunately unlike Corbyn and Branson, ours seem to be on the same lines

Thanks for the reports chaps - excellent stuff.
We are in a good position.......could've been better in my opinion, but at half way, I'd certainly take this after losing the toss. Hopefully accumulate another 60+ runs, and then our 4 pronged pace attack, with Norah waiting in the wings, can wreak revenge for the Old Trafford embarrassment!

386 - 6. Lead up to 99. Useful runs from the Currans. 

Worth noting that all three other Div 1 matches have delayed starts due to rain.

Sam Curran 53*

Jarvis hit for 17 in that over....

Becoming quite absurd just how good Sam Curran already is - I genuinely think he could play for England next summer

Tom Curran falls for 25   But a very useful contribution to an excellent partnership of 70. Sam Curran on 67*.

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Becoming quite absurd just how good Sam Curran already is - I genuinely think he could play for England next summer

He's an awesome talent, Olly, No doubt about it!

The runs this morning will increase pressue on Lancs. But also mean that if Lancs bat strongly in second innings they will need to bat well into the last day before they could consider setting a target.

Sam Curran 75* now has his highest first class score.