So Near and Yet So Far...

Surrey v Northants: Day Four

Well, the match finally stopped pinging and ponging, so to speak. The unexpected poor weather and the umpires finally colluded, decreeing that the game be terminated somewhat abruptly. It was a bit inconsiderate of the heavens to choose the last half hour or so to inflict bad light upon proceedings, but there you have it!

I’m sure that Surrey will be mostly pleased with the way they played over the last few days, but no doubt there will be some small amount of sighing when they look back on what might have been. As Chris Adams said, the overall effort was very good but those crucial moments on day one when the batsmen didn’t quite kick on from the excellent starts they got made the overall difference. Another 150 runs and Northants would have been stuffed from the word go. Instead Surrey let them get a very tricky lead.

So, having played one game and with a draw to their credit Surrey sit mid table, with Northants ironically 1 point head of them. Still, to use another overused phrase, let’s take the positives from it. This did look like a genuinely hungry Surrey team. There’s an energy there that I’ve not seen in a good while and a belief that they can do well. Long term, I think this is going to pay off for them. The batsmen at least look as if they have the ability to play a decent innings, as de Bruyn showed with his 90 odd runs before the lunchtime declaration. And the bowlers all performed very nicely, with some of them toiling away without the results they richly deserved for their effort.

Best moment for me: Meaker upending Sales’ stumps for the third occasion in as many encounters. Poor fella! I hope it’s a while before they next meet, because if Meaker does the same thing subsequently then Sales is going to end up with the nickname ‘Bugs’...

It did feel a bit of an anti-climax, with Surrey having claimed five scalps and Northants all-but deciding to throw in the towel as regards the run-chase, with not enough overs left in the day to make the effort worthwhile. Especially after the herculean efforts from both teams to gain the upper hand! But as the game came to an abrupt and somewhat subdued end, and even despite Churchy and Johnny Barran’s best efforts right to the very last ball, most of the Rampants had already turned over to ITV4 where Mr Ramps and Alec Stewart were punditing on the IPL.

Sorry Churchy...