SURREY VS ESSEX SPECSAVERS COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP

First topic message reminder :

SURREY HAVE NAMED AN UNCHANGED 13-MAN SQUAD FOR THE SPECSAVERS COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP TIE WITH ESSEX, STARTING ON FRIDAY AT THE CLOUDFM COUNTY GROUND IN CHELMSFORD.
No update on Jade still
Full squad
Gareth Batty (captain)
Scott Borthwick
Rory Burns
Sam Curran
Tom Curran
Ben Foakes
Mark Footitt
Stuart Meaker
Ravi Rampaul
Kumar Sangakkara
Dominic Sibley
Mark Stoneman
Amar Virdi
Can't see us making any changes from the middlesex game
Over to you chaps

Sibley out for a golden duck  A recall beckons for His Holiness.  Essex now in with a real sniff of victory.

Corporalhumblebucket wrote:Sibley out for a golden duck  A recall beckons for His Holiness.  Essex now in with a real sniff of victory.

Yep time for either his Holiness or the Baron to take Sibley's place. Really disappointing season so far for Sibley

I guess I can claim Sibley's wicket! He's had a poor game. As JimBob suggests, his place must be in danger. The Pope is probably next in line although don't forget the Baron - our next match is against this lot at Guildford where Baron has done well.

Wheels are coming off. Foakes out

Baby face gone 1st defeat of the season coming up

Curran out - Essex now clear favourites for the victory....

Heavy showers are forecast in the Chelmsford area in the next hour

Tom Curran out now.

Last 10 overs Surrey 27 - 5!

Sanga really does need to protect Meaker.

Not wishing to kick my Surrey friends when you're down : but you are looking to be a bit of a one man team at the moment .

And the old man is going to retire at end of season ! You need to keep him on as a batting coach...

50 partnership between Sanga and Meaker at a fairly rapid rate.    Sanga on to 73*.  Lead currently 213 with minimum of 46 overs left. Required run rate for Essex would still be just under 5 - which is eminently gettable but is just starting to become an outside factor if Essex lose early wickets.

chichestersurryfan wrote:Heavy showers are forecast in the Chelmsford area in the next hour

Where is it

alfie wrote:Not wishing to kick my Surrey friends when you're down : but you are looking to be a bit of a one man team at the moment .

And the old man is going to retire at end of season !  You need to keep him on as a batting coach...

Hi Alfie - hoped you would look in.

Your suggestion of Sanga as a batting coach is interesting and very valid - he'll still be playing t20s round the world next year so we have no hope of getting him on anything like a full time basis but he probably could be persuaded by Stewie and MDV to do the odd few days. Feel that would work well for all.

Your comment about ''a one man team'' is even more valid. We'll need to address that very soon but you'll forgive us if we concentrate for now on getting out of today's jail. Atm, the escape tunnel is looking pretty good ....

Tea lead of 229 40 overs left

Well you're safe now. Meaker has done a (surprisingly) good job with the bat - twice ! Would be all over long ago otherwise...

Essex can bat but I think any title aspirations they might have will be firmly derailed by their lack of bowling firepower. Might stay up though if they can hold it together when Cook goes back on England duty.

Your fellows have everything on paper (perhaps a bit short of batsmen , but not too bad even there ) - plenty of bowling : but you need to start putting it together more regularly...

Hoping they can come back out for Kumar to make it 6 in a row

Hi again Alfie - as the guys here know, I like Meaker. As Stewie says, ''he makes things happen''. Normally with the ball but he's not without ability as regards batting.

I thought Essex would struggle bowling this year following the retirement of both Masters and Napier. However, they've done ok. Porter, Quinn and Wagner all getting amongst the wickets.

As for my take on particular Surrey issues:
* Sibley really struggling and lacking confidence, not a proper replacement for Roy;
* Foakes keeping well and scoring shedloads of runs in the RL 50 but very few in the Championship - not too worried, I'm sure it's just one of those things and they'll come;
* We don't seem to know whether to use Tom Curran as a stock or strike bowler with the consequence that he too often fails at being either;
* Sam Curran has potential but may not be as good as people have been suggesting and, in any case, we are currently too reliant on him;
* We lost too much balance when we allowed Ansari to walk out [I've no issue with him wanting to do something else but was unhappy with the timing and suddenness of it].

Very early days atm (and only Olly would be suggesting more ) but keep an eye out for Amar Virdi - he's a teenage offspinner who's been ripping apart other second teams for a year and just made a fine debut in this match.

Guildford ...noted, thanks.

On Foakes : you fellows rate his glove work highly , I know. But if he is ever to challenge for Higher Honours he will need to make FC runs...

With an Ashes tour looming he might be a chance as reserve keeper : but those runs would I think be an essential requirement.

Will be a bad result for us to draw this game...after having you guys 30-5 on the first morning, we really should have gone onto win, points dropped :/

Wisden - it's been a tremendous turnaround from Surrey and especially Sanga to (presumably) come away with a draw. However, as you suggest, Essex really should have won having got into such a dominant position after the first hour of play.

Oh yeah, can't knock the comeback and the brilliance of Sanga, however we really have thrown it away, it's a real shame, but we are still having a cracking season thus far

alfie wrote:Guildford ...noted, thanks.

On Foakes : you fellows rate his glove work highly , I know.  But if he is ever to challenge for Higher Honours he will need to make FC runs...

With an Ashes tour looming he might be a chance as reserve keeper : but those runs would I think be an essential requirement.

Alfie - yep, understood. Foakes is with the Lions next week (as are the Currans) so he's certainly on England's radar. Be interesting to see how he gets on then.

Kumar goes for 84

Match drawn

Sanga's brilliance is no surprise at all.  But remarkable that Meaker more than held his own in match defining, substantial partnerships in both innings.

The bar in the officers' mess is open now for anyone wishing to toast Sanga for his astonishing achievements   And maybe a    or two for Meaker!

jimbobgooner wrote:Kumar goes for 84

A shame but a magnificent effort.

A mixed bag from Surrey in this match. We got into trouble in both innings when batting (as Wisden suggested, it should have been fatal when collapsing to 31/5 in the first hour on day one) but recovered extremely well. Both times, Meaker played a vital support role to King Sanga. We stuck at it with the ball and Virdi on debut particularly impressed.

Next stop - Friday week. The home of cricket.

Edit and PS: Hadn't seen the Corporal's post when I submitted mine above. Great minds re Meaker.  I can't find my wallet atm so please add tonight's drinks to my tab, Corporal!

Good fight back - crucial to not lose these type of matches if you're going to make a serious title challenge

Five matches played by Surrey so time for a few reflections.

I don't think I'm alone in being a little seduced by that opening victory over Warwickshire. We've found it tougher since then and been reminded what a strong competition Division One is.

Without forgetting we're second in the table I can't help feeling the loss of Ansari has hit our chances hard, even though his batting had seemingly been in decline for a while now. Has not only left us with the Currans batting a place higher than ideal but it also means we cannot really rest/rotate them as none of the other bowlers should realistically be batting higher than nine. It would be handy if Meaker's batting renaissance at Chelmsford were to continue.

We're also missing Roy at the moment. I think there's been more than one game where he may have enabled us to push on and look for a win rather than just save a game. His form is a worry though and he badly needs time in the middle. After spending the IPL carrying drinks there's now a serious prospect he may end up doing the same in the Champions Trophy.

I think Footitt was just rotated out at Chelmsford. I think we may see him, Meaker, Rampaul and Dernbach dropping in and out of the team, especially if they are going to have to bowl as many overs in unhelpful conditions as they have so far this season.

Team selection for the next game will be interesting. Harinath, Pope or Sibley ? Virdi or Batty ? Footitt in for who ? Then the biggest question of them all. Can we end the Guildford hoodoo ?

Hi Beehive - a warm welcome back and good points well made (not just because some of them tie in with my comments yesterday above ).

You make a particularly valid point that Ansari's departure leaves us ''with the Currans batting a place higher than ideal but it also means we cannot really rest/rotate them as none of the other bowlers should realistically be batting higher than nine''. Following on from that, it would be concerning imo to have 9, 10, Jack featuring Virdi, Rampaul and Footitt. That may end up counting against Virdi despite such a promising start.

I smiled at your reference to ''the Guildford hoodoo''. It's true we've done badly there in the last few years. However, that wasn't always the case. My thoughts of Guildford games immediately turn to Ali Brown peppering cars in the Woodbridge Road whilst Saqlain and Bicknell ran through sides - I'm obviously too old!

I too well remember the days when Woodbridge Road was a metaphorical fortress Mr bat but it's been quite a few years now since Surrey won a Championship game there so my hoodoo comment stands.

It would be nice if I could see part of a winning performance for Surrey when I make my last ever visit to the ground next week as it's a ground that holds many great memories for me. I was there when Ali Brown scored a double hundred in a one day game against Hampshire and when KP scored 234 not out against Lancashire. Then there was Jimmy Ormond's hat trick against Middlesex and four wickets in all in the over and Martin Bicknell's 9-47 versus Leicestershire making it sixteen wickets in the match.

I'll be interested to see how the improvements are coming along and whether the friends of Guildford refreshment tent will still be serving their bacon rolls and their home made cakes. Long live the outgrounds.