I have a guilty secret. My teddy bear is called ‘Cosgrove’.
The last time I had the pleasure of being at the Oval was at the back end of last year, to watch a Ramps-less Surrey take on Glamorgan. The obligatory foray into the Oval shop ensued with the result that Annabel and I purchased a Surrey teddy each. Being a fan of the newly retired club skipper, Annabel called hers ‘Butch’. I on the other hand decided to find a name that seemed a little more appropriate and found inspiration on the field of play in the formidable shape of Glamorgan’s Mark Cosgrove.
Well, there is a definite resemblance in terms of physique, you have to admit!
But there remains the inescapable truth that, for all his lack of sveltness, Cosgrove is one heck of a player on his day. And sure enough the CB40 match between Glamorgan and Surrey turned into a humdinger of a game! With Surrey having lost the toss Glamorgan opted to bat first which meant that the Lions reply would be mostly under the lights. Cosgrove scored a robust 61 before Gareth Batty bowled him, and received some strong support from the mighty T Maynard along the way. Little scores from the rest of the dragons’ team contributed to a total of 223 which, it must be said, looked a bit light and Surrey must really have fancied their chances at chasing it down.
Now, I’m not one for picking performances apart as that is a job for the analysts, who know a bit more about it than I do. Additionally, if someone such as me can spot a flaw in an individual’s innings then the chances are that person has already noticed it themselves. Suffice it to say therefore that Surrey has a bit of a problem when Ramps is out of the equation. That’s not idle hero-worship either. The captain kicked things off nicely at the top of the order before dismissed by Waters for 21. With Steven Davies still absent, his place was given to Stewart Walters who has an amazing amount of skill but somehow it just hasn’t seemed to come good for him overall. Walters was eventually given out LBW for 18.
Ramps and Afzaal, batting together as so often happens put on a nice little partnership. It’s a sort of Thaw and Waterman ‘good cop/bad cop’ double act at the crease. Afzaal unfortunately bailed out on 23 and left Ramps to keep ticking along with Spriegel for company. Mr R made a solid 40 before Owen removed him. At this point I’m pretty sure the boys back on the Surrey balcony must have been holding their heads in their hands a touch, for what had seemed like a simple run chase was beginning to resemble a slow motion wrestling match in pink custard...
But cometh the hour, cometh the man. King for a day and Rampant favourite Chris Schofield, who took to the field following what must have been one of the most embarrassing moments of Gary Wilson’s fledgling career when he ran himself out for a fourth ball duck (and with the TV cameras capturing the moment in its humiliating gruesomeness) proceeded to bed in with first Spriegel, and then Gareth Batty. The latter played a brave Butcheresque innings on one leg, having suffered from what appeared to be a particularly unpleasant bout of cramp, with Stewart Walters acting as runner. I have to admit I had my fingers crossed at this point as I think I remember Butch being ‘run-out’ when Walters was acting as runner for him on one occasion.
Hats off to Batty though, as he managed 22 before he was caught, and with he and Schofield getting their heads down it gave Surrey the advantage once again. Tremlett came in for a small but steady 6 run cameo, and with Andre Nel, playing with a finger that had been dislocated only the day before, they nudged their noses in front on the line, winning by two wickets.
There was no doubt that Schoey’s 64 not out would win him man of the match. Quite possibly it was his best innings for Surrey. Special commendation also for Batty in that heroic stand, for Nel in helping to see them over the line, and a mention for Ramps for the 40 runs he contributed when he must have been fairly exhausted following his titanic 300 plus effort in the Middlesex game. I hadn’t expected to see him play in the Glamorgan match. These county cricketers are tough lads!
Surrey currently fill second place in their group table and have won every game played so far. Things are fortunately going much better for them in the shorter format of the game than in the championship. There have been one or two well known, dare I say respected, people who have had a go at Surrey’s lack of togetherness as a unit, and that they are filled with ‘individuals’, big egos and non-team players. I can’t comment on this, as I am not part of the dressing room (I imagine letting Rampants into the dressing room would be considered unwise anyway), but then again neither are these gentlemen either. I would however like to make one tiny point in Surrey’s defence.
Look at the four players I commended in winning the game for Surrey, and tell me if being an ‘individual’ is such a bad thing!
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