SURREY VS YORKSHIRE SPECSAVERS COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP

Surrey have named a squad of 13 for this week’s Specsavers County Championship match with Yorkshire at Guildford.
This week’s squad contains all 11 of the side that played in last week’s defeat to Somerset at the same ground with all-rounder Jordan Clark and wicket keeper-batsman Jamie Smith the additional two options. Both would make their Specsavers County Championship debuts for the Club if selected.
Sam Curran (hamstring), Ollie Pope (shoulder) and Conor McKerr (heel) remain unavailable through injury while Arun Harinath, Gus Atkinson and Stuart Meaker all miss out having picked up injuries in last week’s 2nd XI match with Sussex.  
There is no place in the squad for Freddie Van Den Berg.
Worrying there is no update on the fitness of Amar Virdi
FULL SQUAD
Rory Burns (c)
Gareth Batty
Scott Borthwick
Jordan Clark
Rikki Clarke
Matt Dunn
Dean Elgar
Ben Foakes
Will Jacks
Morne Morkel
Ryan Patel
Jamie Smith
Mark Stoneman
As you know if it was up to me Elgar and Stoneman would be left out but it probably wont happen
Over to you chaps

JimBob - cheers although I fear the game may be abandoned without a ball bowled and no eleven chosen. The forecast from Monday onwards is dreadful.

Sam Curran and Ollie Pope were both at Guildford some of last week doing fitness exercises during the lunch interval. I thought Pope would have some form of protection on his shoulder but there didn't seem to be anything there - that might be encouraging for a return later this season.

Cheers Jimbob. Clark to miss out for sure. I'd bring in Smith for Stoneman and send Elgar up to open but I expect Stoneman will keep his place with Smith to warm the bench.

It's been great to see Dunn doing so well on his return. I haven't looked at the figures but it's seemed as though Clarke hasn't been taking wickets as regularly as he has the last couple of years, which becomes more of an issue now we're basically playing a 4 man attack.

Just confirmed - no play before lunch which will be taken early at 12.30.

The best I can say is that although the weather in the area isn't good (light drizzle on and off since 7 am), it's not nearly so bad as yesterday's forecast.

Early lunch called. Weather forecast suggests no play today and heavily interrupted for the whole game.

guildfordbat wrote:Just confirmed - no play before lunch which will be taken early at 12.30.

The best I can say is that although the weather in the area isn't good (light drizzle on and off since 7 am), it's not nearly so bad as yesterday's forecast.

Looking at the radar, a heavy band due to hit around the time lunch starts. I guess being an outground drainage is not excellent - how good are the covers?

LondonTiger wrote:

guildfordbat wrote:Just confirmed - no play before lunch which will be taken early at 12.30.

The best I can say is that although the weather in the area isn't good (light drizzle on and off since 7 am), it's not nearly so bad as yesterday's forecast.

Looking at the radar, a heavy band due to hit around the time lunch starts. I guess being an outground drainage is not excellent - how good are the covers?

Drainage isn't normally too bad but it has been very dry recently and so the water may rest on top before eventually seeping in. The covers are nothing special - adequate to protect the wicket but not enough of them to cover much of the outfield.

My guess is that there'll be no play today, particularly in view of your comment about the heavy band hitting around lunchtime. However, there is also currently a light breeze which should help and perhaps give at least a small chance of play today or tomorrow which is better than I thought last night.

Always a shame when weather disrupts games at outgrounds. For the first time in something like a hundred years, we have a game in York next week. Then our next game is the reverse fixture of this one at Scarborough. These kind of games are fantastic occasions. I hope you do get to see a decent amount of play.

play abandoned for the day

Match starting on time on day 2. Groundstaff deserve medals after the torrential rain in the area yesterday afternoon and last night!

Yorks elect to field. Understandable. Going to be easier to get bowling bonus points than batting ones and you don't know how much of the rest of the match will be able to be played.

BIG news. Burns not playing due to a back issue. Smith comes in for CC debut and Foakes captains. Clark also makes CC debut with Batty missing out.

I'm not there today but hope to follow on stream now and again.

Strictly speaking only Jordan Clark's first CC match for Surrey

I am hoping he does not repeat last years feats when he managed one of the most impressive hat tricks in the history of the game (Williamson, Root & Bairstow)

Jordan Thompson makes his first class debut today, with David Willey not travelling south due to family reasons.

Looks like a trouble free first half hour for Surrey.

LondonTiger wrote:Strictly speaking only Jordan Clark's first CC match for Surrey

I am hoping he does not repeat last years feats when he managed one of the most impressive hat tricks in the history of the game (Williamson, Root & Bairstow)

Tiger - Obviously nothing else counts as far as the Surrey mafia are concerned.

Does your debutant Thompson bowl? If not, you look a bit light in that department, yes?

He is a bowling all-rounder.

61 for Stoneman. Best he's done this season (I think) but still not enough

Green shoots of being actually able to bat here...!

Patel goes lbw

Borthwick

212 for 4 at tea

50 for Foakes

There is no way Sam Curran can retain the baby face nickname if Jamie Smith continues to get a run in the the Surrey side. He’d struggle to buy a lottery ticket!

50 for Smith

JDizzle wrote:There is no way Sam Curran can retain the baby face nickname if Jamie Smith continues to get a run in the the Surrey side. He’d struggle to buy a lottery ticket!

Three wickets in an over and we're back in trouble. Foakes, Jacks and Smith all gone

Disgraceful from Jacks

struggle to get 300 now

I managed to get along to the ground soon after lunch.

Saving me and you folks time, I would recommend a brilliant report on cricifo from Paul Edwards. He highlights a lot of good performances - Foakes, Smith, Patterson, Thompson and most of all the groundstaff who made it all possible.

Impressed by Smith on CC debut - clean cover drives standing out as well as him hardly ever hitting the ball in the air. Foakes played his part there, regularly chatting to Smith in the early part of his innings. Yorks' debutant Thompson also played an important role for his side - a couple of early order wickets and kept it tight throughout, especially important as Olivier wasn't on the field a lot of the time (presumably some injury).

Forecast suggests some play tomorrow but little or none on Thursday. Realistically it looks a drawn game with the real battle for bonus points. It's 2 points each atm and would guess it'll be 3 each by 11.30 tomorrow if the rain holds off.

PS Tremendous post by JDizzle about Smith's young looks!

Just to add - I'll need to watch Jacks' dismissal on the club website to see if the ball did anything but on first sight it looked as awful as JimBob posted!

Clark gets us to the 3rd and final batting point
1 wkt for Clarke with a e
and that's stumps

jimbobgooner wrote:Clark gets us to the 3rd and final batting point
1 wkt for Clarke with a e
and that's stumps

I went along for the morning and had enough sense to have a pint with a couple of mates and then head for home soon after play was stopped shortly before lunch.

Not many highlights although I saw the great Pillans training with his new Yorkie team mates before the start. Saddo that I am, I also enjoyed the game within a game as Clark and Dunn edged us over the line to a 3rd batting point and then Clark biffing a couple before exiting to a skyer.

Morkel and Dunn were good with the new ball sharing the opening 12 overs and unlucky not to bag a wicket. Jordan Clark must have been a welcome relief for the Yorks batsmen and looked as ordinary as he did in the RL 50.

Forecast remains poor for tomorrow. Suspect that's it for this game. If so, 8 points each. Ok after 2 defeats on the bounce but last season seems like a lifetime ago.

guildfordbat wrote:

jimbobgooner wrote:Clark gets us to the 3rd and final batting point
1 wkt for Clarke with a e
and that's stumps

I went along for the morning and had enough sense to have a pint with a couple of mates and then head for home soon after play was stopped shortly before lunch.

Not many highlights although I saw the great Pillans training with his new Yorkie team mates before the start. Saddo that I am, I also enjoyed the game within a game as Clark and Dunn edged us over the line to a 3rd batting point and then Clark biffing a couple before exiting to a skyer.

Morkel and Dunn were good with the new ball sharing the opening 12 overs and unlucky not to bag a wicket. Jordan Clark must have been a welcome relief for the Yorks batsmen and looked as ordinary as he did in the RL 50.

Forecast remains poor for tomorrow. Suspect that's it for this game. If so, 8 points each. Ok after 2 defeats on the bounce but last season seems like a lifetime ago.

Think we're at the point now where we just need to make sure we stay in Div 1 and progress guys like Jacks/Smith et al so they are better and ready for next year.

On another note - anybody heard when Virdi will be fit?

Hi Olly - I spoke to Spills and Paul Edwards (cricinfo) when I arrived this morning. They both said how well Smith played yesterday and clearly regarded him as a more than decent prospect.

The situation with Virdi is odd. When the club do mention him not being in a first team squad, they refer to his fitness needing strenthening but he's playing 3 dayers for the seconds and bowled 20 overs on the reel for Sunbury in the Surrey Championship on Saturday. There's a members' forum meeting during the Warks game later this month. I'm sure Virdi will be asked about then - keep you posted.

Wet and yucky here as expected. Reckon the game will be called off this morning.

I see that play has actually started. With a wicket already Surrey could easily get a bowling point (or 2)

And there we go, first bowling point, two bowling points.

It is staggering that they are playing! Here about 3 miles away and in the vicinity it is chucking down and has been most of the time since 7 am!

Very handy to get some more bonus points today - might put JimBob in a better mood for when we have next week off.

Well I think they are off now, conditions look as if they were challenging and Jordan Clark almost got another hat trick against Yorkshire.

Yorkshire 8 down is there time to get 12 more wkts ?

follow on enforced
38 overs to get 10 more wkts

5pm reached and they shake hands on a draw

Bad light saves Yorkshire

It was only 4 overs lost to bad light.

Just came here to chuckle at Surreys season and my predictions after spotting this gem https://www.londonnewsonline.co.uk/rory-burns-not-writing-off-surreys-title-hopes-yet/
Seems bad luck is kicking in now too.

Whats the reason Burns sat this out?

Gooseberry wrote:Just came here to chuckle at Surreys season and my predictions after spotting this gem https://www.londonnewsonline.co.uk/rory-burns-not-writing-off-surreys-title-hopes-yet/
Seems bad luck is kicking in now too.

Whats the reason Burns sat this out?

Bad back.

I thinks Burns was trying to make the point that there's still a lot of the season to go and no side can rule anything in or out at this stage. That's fair enough but to mention Surrey and winning the Championship this year in the same breath was unnecessary, unrealistic and asking for trouble.

One thing I was pleased about was Burns commenting on how well Matt Dunn has taken his unexpected chance this season. He's bowled well and with some deserved personal success after a very rough few years.

We are missing several players this season and that is an obvious problem as keeps being said. However, another less highlighted problem has been that too many of the players coming into the side to fill those gaps - Dunn and Smith in the Yorks game aside - have not taken their opportunity.