Young At Heart

Short match report, day one: Surrey v Bangladesh at the Oval

I personally found day one of this game rather interesting, for a number of reasons. From a Surrey perspective it was more curiosity, as the team was stacked full of promising youngsters that I had heard many good things about, but never actually seen. Or rather heard, as it’s difficult to see someone via the radio. I know Churchy’s good, but that would exceed even his abilities. If RHB had actually been captaining the average age of the squad would have reached 15.3, all of which has left me feeling extremely old. And it’s not a feeling I much care for either!

Where was I? There were one or two familiar faces: Chris Schofield standing in as captain as RHB probably had homework to do. Sorry, the age gag is getting a bit old (although it's the only thing that is). Usman Afzaal, probably missing the chance to leap Total Wipeout-style on his buddy Ramps, was also in the squad – presumably to get significant, confidence boosting time at the crease. Additionally it was great to see the return to Matthew Spriegel, who was in the first team a fair amount last year, with the result that I think everyone sees him as a seasoned pro rather than the young man he still is.

Lancefield interests me, in that he’s a possible to make a first team championship debut at some point. You get the feeling that he’s almost knocking at the door...just reaching for the handle, in fact. And Laurie Evans really deserves another chance. Perhaps with Michael Brown still on the sick-list he’ll get the chance to open with Harinath?

Young Mr H has actually impressed me over-all. He’s not afraid to take it slow, and quietly accumulate whilst his partner does his own thing. The Rampants like him so much; in fact, we gave him the nickname ‘Turtle’. He may be slow, but he always gets where he wants to in the end! And we shouldn’t forget our other first-class debutant, young Mr Dunn. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do against a side that fairly bristles with experience and international class players.

A quick word, then, about Bangladesh. I really like their team, and I found their enthusiastic supporters to be lots of fun. Usually, these kinds of matches can be played as glorified county games to an audience of one man and a Pekinese called Trixie, but they had a nice little atmosphere building throughout the day, reaching to a crescendo as the mighty Ashraful came into the attack. I’m sort of torn between wanting Surrey to do well and hoping to see Bangladesh at their best, taking the fight to the boys.

Firstly, the brilliant: Matthew Spriegel scored his highest ever total with the bat for the first team and finished 108 not out. If he doesn’t get to slot back in at, say, six in a team that looks at least one batsman light then it will be a shame. The equally brilliant Meaker also showed how good he could be with the bat, coming agonisingly close to a maiden hundred and falling a mere six short in the end. Again, this was Meaker’s highest first class score, following on from his best haul with the ball in the Gloucestershire game.

The, er, not so brilliant: I’m afraid poor Afzaal didn’t really get going as we hoped he would. A few dramatic shots, one very nice stroke for four, and then out for a total of six runs. Probably not what either Usman or Chris Adams was hoping for. Captain Schoey managed one run less, but made five more than chirpy Gary Wilson who had a nice stroll to the crease, faced two balls, and had a less pleasant stroll back to the pavilion...

Evans looked quite comfy, and it was a surprise when he got out on twenty two as it appeared that he was going quite well. Harinath was playing his usual game, although the shot he got out on didn’t sound the best, and in the end he went for n-n-n-n-nineteen, as Rory Bremner might have said.

The real pleasant surprise was Lancefield, who scored an impressive forty seven. He must have been kicking himself when Spriegel and Meaker scored so heavily. I keep thinking of Geoff Boycott saying “them’s my runs”, but Lancefield made a good impression on his debut, and it won’t have done him any harm.

A surprise declaration made by Schoey on the fall of Meaker’s wicket meant that Surrey had posted 318, mostly scored by M&S. I’m not suggesting Meaker and Spriegel start their own food and clothing empire, but if they do I would like to complain that I can never get my size of bra without having to get under wiring. Maybe I should just shove two Tiflex balls into a small hammock and sling it underneath my arms for the same effect...

Ahem.

So much for day one: some good, some indifferent. All of which leaves me a bit puzzled. I love trying to second-guess Chris Adams and I am curious as to what he will do in terms of the championship games. Do you dare drop Afzaal, and give him a chance in the second team to re-discover his form? Do you, perish the thought, drop Ramps in similar fashion, who hasn’t looked out of touch as such but has only managed two competitive totals in his games so far? By the way, that was just me thinking out loud because if Mr Adams dares to drop Ramps I will come down to the Oval and ping him with a lot of large rubber bands. It may not sound like a deterrent but I am an extremely good shot...

On another note, Mr Meaker (I always think of Rentaghost when I hear that name) managed to hit a pigeon that got in the way of his shot. I was just thinking that the Kennington Pigeon Murderer had reappeared, but thankfully for the birdie in question it managed to stagger away minus some feathers. The search for a nickname for Stuart Meaker continues, as I am not calling him the Kennington Pigeon Plucker...

Oh, and on a completely different note, my spellcheck wants Arun Harinath to be known as Arran Hairnet. Spellcheck Cricket: maybe it'll catch on!