SURREY VS ESSEX SPECSAVERS COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP

Surrey have named a 16-man squad    for this week’s Specsavers County Championship match with Essex, starting at Chelmsford on Tuesday.
Ollie Pope returns to the squad while Young wicket keeper/batsman Jamie Smith is also part of the travelling party.
Jason Roy and Jade Dernbach still remain on the treatment table  
Baby face is still away saving England
FULL SQUAD:
Rory Burns (captain)
Gareth Batty
Rikki Clarke
Tom Curran
Dean Elgar
Ben Foakes
Arun Harinath
Will Jacks
Conor McKerr
Stuart Meaker
Morne Morkel
Ryan Patel
Ollie Pope
Jamie Smith
Mark Stoneman
Amar Virdi
No need for a 16 man squad unless the food really is that good at Chelmsford.
Pope in for jacks obviously but will Jacks get in instead of Patel?
The rest of the team picks itself
Over to you chaps  

I would personally have Jacks in for Patel - as I think Jacks is a better bat than Patel, and really Patel's bowling shouldn't be needed (and if we need a part time option - Elgar can more than ably fill that role, as shown by the fact he got Steve Smith out in the recent Australia/SA series)

I am also going to day one tomorrow at Chelmsford with my local cricket club - so I can report back in the evening on the days proceedings! (albeit I will miss the final hour, to get back for something in Norwich)

No offense, but this is one of the games I'm pinning my hopes on you slipping up

That and the game at Taunton.

Thanks, JimBob.

A difficulty for all of us is that we can't tell from here is if there's an injury doubt over any of the squad. Is Smith there for the experience of the ride or is there a concern about Foakes?

If all are fit and ok, I would guess that the five missing out will be Harinath, Patel, Smith, Meaker and Batty. Jacks' 48 last time plus his recent catches should get him the vote imo.

Btw, any of you folks hear anything at the Oval - or anywhere else - about Roy's injury? Must have done something fairly serious to still be out. Utter clown!

Afro wrote:No offense, but this is one of the games I'm pinning my hopes on you slipping up

That and the game at Taunton.

Afro - that's fine although I trust you will understand the Surrey mafia also cheering on Lancs at Taunton this week!

I can understand that.

Our hopes are slim at best tbh. I think you could lose to us and one other game, and still be okay as we would still need to win every game and/or pick up more bonus points than you, which we don’t look like doing.

Be interesting if we did claw back those 2 wins. Getting bowled out for 399 v Yorks and missing the extra batting point by a run could suddenly become crucial

Afro wrote:I can understand that.

Our hopes are slim at best tbh. I think you could lose to us and one other game, and still be okay as we would still need to win every game and/or pick up more bonus points than you, which we don’t look like doing.

Be interesting if we did claw back those 2 wins. Getting bowled out for 399 v Yorks and missing the extra batting point by a run could suddenly become crucial

Yes, I was pleased about that.

Tbf, your guys also do seem to be playing well.

They are playing well, but I think we might put more focus on the Blast which is the weekend before the 4 day game with you.

Gregory is playing out of his skin in both forms

Jacks gets the nod over Patel

Essex win toss and bowl

JimBob / Olly - is there a stream for this one?

Olly - enjoy your day at Chelmsford. Look forward to your report later. Guess you have to get back for tractor racing?

Pope apparently set to come in at 4 - a request from England?

jimbobgooner wrote:Essex win toss and bowl

Interesting choice. As the away side, we could have opted to bowl without a toss. Both sides therefore get what they want.

Chelmsford has been regarded in the recent past as a notorious track to bat on first. Alec Stewart has been extremely scathing about it at members' forums. Thought to be largely responsible for the decision to allow away teams to elect to field first.

Burns and Elgar doing well three-quarters of the way through the first session. 70 odd/1 against decent bowling in far from great batting conditions. Stoneman the one to go for 12.

Burns moving nearer to become the first to a 1,000 Championship runs.

Meanwhile, Somerset and Afro having a very good morning at Taunton. Lance 48/4. Afro's man Gregory with the first wicket and then Croft stumped advancing to Leach. I'm sure JimBob woud not have been impressed!

Sign of the pitch at Taunton with Bess and Leach both playing and Leach bowling within the first hour

guildfordbat wrote:Burns and Elgar doing well three-quarters of the way through the first session. 70 odd/1 against decent bowling in far from great batting conditions. Stoneman the one to go for 12.

Burns moving nearer to become the first to a 1,000 Championship runs.

Meanwhile, Somerset and Afro having a very good morning at Taunton. Lance 48/4. Afro's man Gregory with the first wicket and then Croft stumped advancing to Leach. I'm sure JimBob woud not have been impressed!

If Croft’s dismissal sounds bad for a first morning, take a look at Alex Davies’s (third wicket on the clip).

https://twitter.com/somersetccc/status/1036931518436974592?s=21

Leach has definitely been gifted his two wickets

Half centuries for Burns and Elgar give Surrey a solid platform for some batting bonus points.

Looks like Somerset match could be over in two days the way wickets are tumbling.

JDizzle wrote:

guildfordbat wrote:Burns and Elgar doing well three-quarters of the way through the first session. 70 odd/1 against decent bowling in far from great batting conditions. Stoneman the one to go for 12.

Burns moving nearer to become the first to a 1,000 Championship runs.

Meanwhile, Somerset and Afro having a very good morning at Taunton. Lance 48/4. Afro's man Gregory with the first wicket and then Croft stumped advancing to Leach. I'm sure JimBob woud not have been impressed!

If Croft’s dismissal sounds bad for a first morning, take a look at Alex Davies’s (third wicket on the clip).

https://twitter.com/somersetccc/status/1036931518436974592?s=21

Flipping heck! Like catching practice in the garden. Thanks for the link, JD.

Surrey 201/3 in the 77th. One bonus point for JimBob but it doesn't look like there'll be more than 3.

guildfordbat wrote:Thanks, JimBob.

Btw, any of you folks hear anything at the Oval - or anywhere else - about Roy's injury? Must have done something fairly serious to still be out. Utter clown!

I was told the bat rebounded very close to his eye and damaged an eye socket and also caused a lot of swelling. I think he has/had an appointment with a specialist some time this week to see if he needs surgery.

Gripping day of championship cricket - think surrey are on top at the end of it too. Will explain and post more later tonight!

Voice of the Beehive wrote:

guildfordbat wrote:Thanks, JimBob.

Btw, any of you folks hear anything at the Oval - or anywhere else - about Roy's injury? Must have done something fairly serious to still be out. Utter clown!

I was told the bat rebounded very close to his eye and damaged an eye socket and also caused a lot of swelling.  I think he has/had an appointment with a specialist some time this week to see if he needs surgery.

Thanks, Beehive. Stupid thing to do but could be concerning - eye injuries have ended several careers down the years.

Meanwhile, 256/4 at close seems a solid enough position although we haven't done much to move the game along and are certainly going to be some way shy of maximum batting points. Await Olly's report with interest.

shame Burns or Elgar couldn't make the three figures score they deserved

guildfordbat wrote:JimBob / Olly - is there a stream for this one?

Olly - enjoy your day at Chelmsford. Look forward to your report later. Guess you have to get back for tractor racing?

sorry Guildford just seen this
there is a stream on the Essex website but you have to register first

22 wickets on Day 1 at Taunton...ball turning ..ok I am not a neutral observer...but any chance of a wicket inspection by the Authorities I wonder?

chichestersurreyfan wrote:22 wickets on Day 1 at Taunton...ball turning ..ok I am not a neutral observer...but any chance of a wicket inspection by the Authorities I wonder?

Hi Chichester - possibly although at least two of the wickets were due to atrocious batting, see JDizzle's post and link above.

Whilst Somerset look well set for the win, handy at least from our point of view that they missed out on any batting points.

No problem about the stream, JimBob - might try and look in some time, thanks.

chichestersurreyfan wrote:22 wickets on Day 1 at Taunton...ball turning ..ok I am not a neutral observer...but any chance of a wicket inspection by the Authorities I wonder?

you would hope so Chichester
fair to say batty and burger van will get a game there

jimbobgooner wrote:

chichestersurreyfan wrote:22 wickets on Day 1 at Taunton...ball turning ..ok I am not a neutral observer...but any chance of a wicket inspection by the Authorities I wonder?

you would hope so Chichester
fair to say batty and burger van will get a game there

Suspect Burger Van may be crocked. Not in this 16 man squad or playing in the seconds' game away to Worcs.

On the wicket inspection at Taunton, we’ve been here before. I think the quality of batting has to be questioned. At least 3 of Leach’s wickets in the 1st innings were gifts. Two of Overton Js were Yorkers. Runs were still scored at a rate of 3/4 an over.

Didnt look dodgy and the fact that they have prepared a turning pitch instead of a seamer shouldn’t count against them. If more teams did it, perhaps we’d be able to play spin better.

Fair chance Somerset/Lancs may be over by around tea on day 2!

Runs seemed to be an enormous struggle at Chelmsford in sessions two and three. Harmer in particular had remarkably economic bowling figures. Interesting to hear Olly's take on the pitch. Sometimes in the past Surrey were very prone to allow themselves to become totally becalmed against even fairly average spinners (Rayner springs to mind!).

Afro wrote:On the wicket inspection at Taunton, we’ve been here before. I think the quality of batting has to be questioned. At least 3 of Leach’s wickets in the 1st innings were gifts. Two of Overton Js were Yorkers. Runs were still scored at a rate of 3/4 an over.

Didnt look dodgy and the fact that they have prepared a turning pitch instead of a seamer shouldn’t count against them. If more teams did it, perhaps we’d be able to play spin better.

Whilst I do agree with you (and JDizzle in the past), the rumour on social media tonight seems to be Lancs have already raised it with the ECB, and are said to be "furious" with the state of the pitch...worth watching at least...

As for the Surrey game today - good to see Jacks in the side - and also good to see Meaker and Dernbach going through their paces on the outfield during the breaks. Suggests Dernbach's groin issue isn't serious.

Toss wise - I can see why Surrey wanted to bat, and Essex wanted to bowl. It was overcast all day, so I suppose Essex thought they could take advantage of that, whereas Surrey probably saw a dry wicket and thought they didn't want to bat last on it.

Overall I say Surrey are ahead in the game - because I think they've put themselves into a fantastic position to put 350+ on the board on a wicket which is already showing signs of serious turn. Harmer was getting it to spin past the edge of Burns and Elgar in the first session, one ball in particular evaded the keeper and batsman and was taken by 1st slip - off the pitch!

I thought Essex bowled magnificently. Siddle and Harmer in particular bowled with fantastic control. I thought Surrey batted magnificently too, Stoneman only really gifting his wicket away. Burns and Elgar battled brilliantly for their runs, and Foakes/Jacks saw out a very difficult final 45 minutes against the new ball too. The reason why Surrey are on top, is because of Essex's fielding, which was quite frankly woeful. I counted at least 4 dropped catches, 3 in the slips which must have already cost upwards of 100 runs (Burns was dropped in the 30's iirc). Had those chances been taken, the scoreboard would be looking very different. There was also 3 occasions where a fielder let the ball through his legs for a boundary, which on a slow scoring day was poor, and I wasn't impressed with Pepper behind the stumps either.

Surrey's slow scoring rate is just a testament to the pitch, bowling and conditions in my opinion. As said above, the pitch is already turning and Harmer bowled with great control, but it's a very promising sign for Virdi that there was so much spin. The ball also isn't really coming onto the bat great, which I think suits Morkel/Curran more than it does Porter/Cook, and one would presume will only become a little slower and lower too. And as noted originally, it was overcast all day, hardly great batting conditions.

A very good day of Championship cricket. If Surrey can post 350-400 in their 1st dig, they will be in with more than a good shout to win this one...

Glad you enjoyed the day Olly, despite play being very attritional at times.

We'll do well tho to reach 400 without Dernbach to bolster the tail!

Many thanks, Olly. A fine rounded summing up of the day.

My realistic aim from here would be to bat until just after lunch and post 370.

As regards the Somerset discussion - I would always far rather see a tight low scoring game than 600 versus 450. However, even if my team is winning in the former, I don't want it all over on day 2. As so often in cricket and life, it's a question of balance. From the scores alone today, it would seem appropriate for a pitch inspector to look at the current Taunton track although that doesn't necessarily mean further action should be taken.

Thanks for the report, Ollie, sounds very encouraging for Surrey’s prospects in this match. The way we have bowled in recent matches, plus the old ‘scoreboard pressure’ and a reasonable weather forecast until Friday means we should stand a chance...

3 overs to get 15 runs needed for the third batting point...not looking likely

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:3 overs to get 15 runs needed for the third batting point...not looking likely

Well Curran takes 13 runs in 4 balls off Siddle, and Surrey need 1 run from 2 overs to get that 3rd point. Lovely stuff

Essex 10-2

Essex 80 - 5, with Rikki Clarke taking the latest two wickets.  A good day so far for Clarke who scored a valuable half century.  Virdi not bowled yet in Essex innings.  So far, so good today.

Now 87 - 8. Clarke and Tom Curran doing their best! One more wicket for a third bowling point.

McKerr doing his best to be dropped next game

must have read my message

follow on enforced

Agree with enforcing the follow on - apparently very gloomy and overcast, see if we can get them 3/4 down by close of play

somerset

jimbobgooner wrote:somerset

Thanks for that in depth analysis, JimBob.

More seriously, that result is a real boost for us as well as being a big blow for Afro and his boys.

I was out most of today and so was only able to catch the scores from time to time. A shame bad light ended play early but still a very good day for Surrey. The 4 man seam attack is working so well first dig. Clarke is having an excellent season and proving a first rate signing - as well as his wickets and late order runs, his slip catching is top notch.

Well played Surrey today - this turn of events appears amply to justify Surrey's approach to batting yesterday. And Olly was certainly right to suggest that Surrey's score on day 1 was a good one.

Even tho some play lost to bad light late in the day, Surrey were probably quite fortunate that the weather was deemed playable for most of the day, considering the other match in the far south east, at Canterbury, was plagued by bad light stoppage all day.

Great day for Surrey today and I think you are winning yourself a championship.

Will be good to see the championship won by the best team playing good cricket, rather than the weather having a big impact.

In terms of Somerset, we play to our strengths but it is that which has been our undoing. Not sure about the match fixing statements, especially when we fell foul of an agreed result when we lost the championship are couple of years ago.

But this year compared to last is a huge improvement, our youngsters have another year under their belts, and now we can switch our focus to the blast, and then we’ll be back fighting next year.

Well done Surrey, thoroughly deserved

Afro - I'm still taking nothing for granted but it's certainly looking very good for us. Many thanks for your comments.

I understand about playing to your strengths. Just as I was wittering on about last night though, there has to be a degree of balance. It can't be good for the game and spectators who want to watch a CC match when it's all over a bit after tea on day 2 with neither side reaching 200 and both dismissed once before getting to 100.

Thanks too from me, Afro, for those generous comments about Surrey. Certainly not counting chickens not least as we've seen sides struggle to score a very low 4th innings target! I'd have thought Somerset have what it takes to be realistic contenders for the cc. Certainly their bowling - maybe at times the top of their batting order hasn't always fired.