Mr Jekyll or Mr Hyde?

 
Oh dear...that was a tad disappointing.

The only reason I say ‘disappointing’, considering I have been blithely predicting a Sussex victory in this game for ages, was that at the start of the Surrey innings the total looked rather gettable! I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who thought the score was about par at most. I bet the Surrey boys were thinking much the same! So now it’s difficult to know whether the Sussex score was below par and Surrey just threw the chase away, or whether the score was better than originally anticipated. One thing is certain: Sussex deserved to win, and after the first three or so overs you have to say they bowled pretty well.

I had high hopes when Prior (out for 5), McCullum (34) and Goodwin (28) were back in the hutch. Especially Goodwin, who has a nasty habit of taking a game away from you when he gets into his stride. He’s not my favourite player by any stretch of the imagination – and I’m pretty sure most of the Rampants will probably hold similar views – but he’s undeniably a big danger with the bat. I think it would be fair to say there was a certain degree of rejoicing when his wicket fell! And when Smith went for 23 my confidence unexpectedly soared for the first time.

What Sussex did do well, and something that Surrey haven’t really managed at any point so far in this contest, is that the team contributed with twenties here and thirties there. With Surrey it’s usually ended up being a two or three man rescue mission, with the odd partnership clicking at the right time to enable a win. After Smith, Hodd scored 23 and Nash scored 32. Okay, the rest of the lower order didn’t quite do it but it was enough for a reasonable total to be posted. Gatting was out for 9, Keegan run out for a comical duck and the soon to be school teacher Martin-Jenkins not out on 1. I would like to say at this point how much I like Robin Martin-Jenkins and wish him all the best for his future. County cricket’s loss is very much the education system’s gain!

With 159 needed to win, Surrey must have been licking their lips. The first couple of overs seemed to back this up with the opening partnership finally really clicking like they should, with RHB in particular looking extremely dangerous. His score of 24 off 13 balls was impressive, and it was a real pity that he holed out to Smith at that point. Taking 18 or so off the first over made it seem like the chase was going to be child’s play! Alas, it was not to be. Ramps came in at three, but was stumped for 8 by Hodd. Even then there didn’t seem to be too much pressure as there was still plenty of batting to come. The pivotal point unfortunately came when Symonds got himself out on 1, having faced only 2 balls. Every time you try to rebuild in T20 you run the risk of leaving yourself too much to do in terms of run rate, and if you should lose further wickets your goose is well and truly basted!

I felt sorry for Symonds, especially after his heroics against Kent, but I also felt sorry for the crowd who would have, arguably, come to see him wallop some really big sixes. I should call big, nasty Sussex all manner of names for spoiling the fun – especially of Liz and her grandson Samuel (who was attending his first ever professional game of cricket) – but then again it is big, nasty Sussex who are at the top of the table. And not without good reason, either!

Davies was, I felt, in the words of Princess Leia, Surrey’s “only hope”. Credit where it’s due, he scored 35 today and looked in very good touch but got out just at the time when he was most needed to stick around. That sounds a bit silly, I know. There’s never really a good time to get out, is there? But it sort of fell away from Surrey after that. I don’t know if the spirits flagged a touch or whether it was too much for them to get back in the game at that point, but the last real batting partnership of Walters (who seemed to be just about everywhere in the field today!) and Younus Khan couldn’t quite get into top gear.

Walters made 10; Batty came in and was stumped for 3 whilst Younus managed 11. It was pretty clear at that point the game was as good as up for Surrey. Nel attempted to swing the bat in a last ditch attempt to make the score a little more respectable and was bowled for 4, Schoey was bowled for 15 and Linley was the final victim, bowled for 1 to wrap up a comprehensive and well deserved victory for the Sharks. Tremlett was left 4 not out at the end.

I have to say the game panned out exactly how I had initially expected it to, so there shouldn’t really have been much feeling of despondancy, and yet oddly enough this is the one game that Surrey have played where I have felt a tiny bit down at the end. I realise how daft that sounds considering the debacle of the first couple of games. Again, the bowlers did pretty well today for Surrey, over all. The batting once again seemed to falter at crucial moments.

In some respects the Sussex and Surrey T20 game mirror’s the overall state of affairs with both teams in all competitions. Sussex remember how to win, feel as if they have a natural right to be up at the top, and have a cohesive unit to put the plans into place. Surrey have all the talent but it doesn’t all come together in one game. Sometimes Younus will fire. Sometimes Ramps. Sometimes RHB or Symonds. We haven’t really seen them all turn up to the party on the same day. It’s as if the engine is primped to perfection but the oil still isn’t quite flowing. No doubt they’ll get there soon, but for the moment it’s all a little Jekyll and Hyde: one day brilliant, the next not so...and you never quite know which Surrey is going to turn up.

But enough of such pontificating. This blog was never really supposed to be deadly serious. As I mentioned earlier, our very own Rampant Liz and her grandson were attending the game today in the hope of seeing the odd six hurtling towards the stands. The quote of the day definitely came via Sanneh, having received a text from Liz when Ramps came in to bat. Apparently, Liz had complained that Joe Gatting was standing in front of her, blocking her view, and she couldn’t see Mr Ramprakash.

Sanneh couldn’t resist pointing out that she should be relieved it wasn’t his uncle Mike or she wouldn’t be able to see the pitch...