You’ve got to hand it to Surrey. They are possibly the most bi-polar cricket team in the first class game.
One game they are embarrassingly poor. Beaten out of sight. Dispirited. Cowed. You get the idea. Insert negative adjective of choice.
Other times, such as the game against Leicestershire, Surrey look like they could quite comfortably take on – and beat – any team in division two, and possibly a good few from division one. Yes, as you can take it from that pre-emptive waffle, Surrey did win their game against Leicestershire. Now, you can see it as a determined, desperate effort to keep in the hunt for promotion or alternatively you can see it as a bigger club routinely bashing over the worst team in both divisions – one that seems in desperate need of championship CPU. “Nurse! The screens!”
A special mention must go to both Steven Davies and Tim Linley for their respective performances last week in a game that Surrey managed to polish off in three days. Whilst none of the batsmen have been consistently brilliant this year, although de Bruyn probably comes closest to fitting that tag, Davies in particular appeared to be struggling to make any real contributions with the bat. This time he made an eye-catching hundred and helped to pile on the runs in Surrey’s first innings. Linley continues to impress with the ball, this time taking nine wickets in the game. If he stays injury free he has got to be Surrey’s player of the year. In the second innings, a quick-fire 70 plus from the skipper allowed Surrey to make short work of chasing down the combined Leicestershire totals.
Credit where it is due, because after what can only have been an agonising amount of post-drubbing naval gazing, Chris Adams commanded his team to show some fight, and lo – as if the almighty had spoken - so it came to pass. And in not inconsiderable style!
It’s like watching a rather protracted game of ‘Pong’. Back and forward, back and forward...lose...win...lose...win...
Of course, thinking along these lines we should be in for a thrashing by title leaders Northants tomorrow. It’s make or break time, and no mistake! A loss will almost certainly put us out of contention in the promotion challenge and seal the deal for the current runaway leaders. A draw wouldn’t exactly help us, although ironically it would do the world of good to Middlesex in second spot! But if Surrey manage to show the same guts they did against an admittedly inferior side last week, and if all the batsmen and all the bowlers come to the party on the same day, who’s to say what the result might be?
Keep the faith! Remember boys, right here’s where you start paying in sweat!
Oh, no. Sorry. That was ‘Fame’, wasn’t it?
Showing posts with label Leicestershire CCC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leicestershire CCC. Show all posts
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Saturday, 7 May 2011
On the up
Ugh! I have a cold: one that started during the final knockings of the Surrey Leicestershire game. I could feel its germy microbes spreading through my body just as Nathan Buck’s stump decided to go its separate way from the others. But even although I am typing this with a head that feels as if it’s filled entirely with custard my good mood cannot be assuaged: Surrey won their game yesterday in very good time, and with considerable style.
From bottom of division 2 to fourth spot in one fell swoop! I can only assume that winning the two CB40 games has managed to generate a little momentum within the squad, and having the likes of Tremlett and Ramps back must have boosted the team no end. Whatever the reason, Surrey batted supremely and then backed it up with some really fine bowling as well, as they did unto Leicestershire what Middlesex did unto them the week before.
There were standout performances but this truly was a team effort, and this was the most impressive thing about the Surrey display. How many times have they unfairly been called a one-man unit? True, that man in particular played his part but today there was a real sense of coming together, and as the run tally grew so did the confidence in the side. De Bruyn was every bit the solid number 4 batsman and again scored over 60 runs, whilst Ramps fell just 9 agonising runs short of his first century of the season. Credit to him though: to score 91 in just your second innings in the campaign, having not struck a ball in anger since November is very impressive indeed. For Ramps neither the passage of time or injury has diminished his ability to score runs for his side.
Steven Davies came in with licence to swing the bat, which is precisely what he did until getting out for 37, at which point the plug was pulled by Surrey. Then began the almost impossible run chase as Leicestershire faced the unenviable task of having to carve into a sizeable lead of 423 with five sessions remaining! For Surrey there remained the possibility of rain on the fourth day, and so they set about Leicestershire: a contest that on the face of it was every bit as unequal as a Rottweiler taking on a well-chewed slipper...
Only one man put up any real fight against a revitalised Surrey, and that man was of course the diminutive James Taylor. During the course of his plucky stay at the crease he was on the receiving end of many brutal deliveries, in fact I’m surprised he’s still in one piece (or possessing all his teeth)! The others, Boyce apart with his 41 runs, all capitulated to the constant Surrey barrage: Meaker cleaning up the tail enders with ruthless efficiency claiming 4 wickets in total, Arafat taking 1, and Dernbach showing exactly why the England selectors came calling at the beginning of the year with a stupendous fivefer! It was only right that the final wicket of Taylor fell to him, and the delight at Surrey’s first victory of the season could be seen amidst the joyous celebrations within the team.
It was another good moment for skipper Rory. He seems to be learning all the time, and if Surrey can claim another victory this weekend over Leicestershire in the CB40 then perhaps the collective fortunes of the team are indeed on the up.
Fingers crossed, eh?
From bottom of division 2 to fourth spot in one fell swoop! I can only assume that winning the two CB40 games has managed to generate a little momentum within the squad, and having the likes of Tremlett and Ramps back must have boosted the team no end. Whatever the reason, Surrey batted supremely and then backed it up with some really fine bowling as well, as they did unto Leicestershire what Middlesex did unto them the week before.
There were standout performances but this truly was a team effort, and this was the most impressive thing about the Surrey display. How many times have they unfairly been called a one-man unit? True, that man in particular played his part but today there was a real sense of coming together, and as the run tally grew so did the confidence in the side. De Bruyn was every bit the solid number 4 batsman and again scored over 60 runs, whilst Ramps fell just 9 agonising runs short of his first century of the season. Credit to him though: to score 91 in just your second innings in the campaign, having not struck a ball in anger since November is very impressive indeed. For Ramps neither the passage of time or injury has diminished his ability to score runs for his side.
Steven Davies came in with licence to swing the bat, which is precisely what he did until getting out for 37, at which point the plug was pulled by Surrey. Then began the almost impossible run chase as Leicestershire faced the unenviable task of having to carve into a sizeable lead of 423 with five sessions remaining! For Surrey there remained the possibility of rain on the fourth day, and so they set about Leicestershire: a contest that on the face of it was every bit as unequal as a Rottweiler taking on a well-chewed slipper...
Only one man put up any real fight against a revitalised Surrey, and that man was of course the diminutive James Taylor. During the course of his plucky stay at the crease he was on the receiving end of many brutal deliveries, in fact I’m surprised he’s still in one piece (or possessing all his teeth)! The others, Boyce apart with his 41 runs, all capitulated to the constant Surrey barrage: Meaker cleaning up the tail enders with ruthless efficiency claiming 4 wickets in total, Arafat taking 1, and Dernbach showing exactly why the England selectors came calling at the beginning of the year with a stupendous fivefer! It was only right that the final wicket of Taylor fell to him, and the delight at Surrey’s first victory of the season could be seen amidst the joyous celebrations within the team.
It was another good moment for skipper Rory. He seems to be learning all the time, and if Surrey can claim another victory this weekend over Leicestershire in the CB40 then perhaps the collective fortunes of the team are indeed on the up.
Fingers crossed, eh?
Thursday, 5 May 2011
Hurrah! All is well at stumps!
Leicestershire v Surrey at the Oval: Day Two
Okay, so here’s the situation after two days of playing Leicestershire at the Oval in the county championship:
We’re actually doing rather nicely! Never thought you’d hear that one, did you? Admit it! When was the last time that Surrey really looked like steamrollering the opposition on day two?!?
Hmm...how to sum up two days? Well, we lost the toss and were surprisingly (well, to me at least) stuck in. I snuck a quick look at the BBC score card just to see who was batting, then resolved not to look at the score until I got home. I walked in the door to see my dad with the Ceefax score on TV, at which point I shrieked at him not to tell me anything. There then resembled a scene straight out the Likely Lads where he endeavoured to spoil the whole thing any way he could, which ended only when I walked up the stairs with him shouting “158 all out!” A total lie, I knew, but bloody irritating nonetheless!
As it transpired Surrey fell short of a third bonus batting point by a nostril hair, something that will have irked them, as they were all out for 294. With the wicket displaying a distinctly green tinge to enable the Surrey pace attack to blitz the opposition into submission the batsmen seemed to find it difficult to get in, or indeed stay in, as they might on the old, dry wickets prepared by the lovely Bill Gordon. But as it later transpired it was to be a decision of pure brilliance.
The problem of the opening spot was solved by the captain gallantly going against all usual inclinations and dropping down the order, his new batting partner the talented Jason Roy. It’s great to see Jason, or Trigger as we call him, nail down a slot in the squad even if it isn’t where he would prefer. I’ve heard people say he would be better at three, and he probably would feel more at home there, but I’m afraid he’s going to have to bide his time as that particular berth is taken at the moment! He can wait his turn. The King is still in his parlour! As Chris Adams said, his time will come when the likes of Ramps and de Bruyn finally hang up the bat, but in the meantime he has the opportunity to play his own game at the top of the order, with license to tonk the ball as he sees fit!
Alas, it didn’t work very well on day one, as Roy made a somewhat inauspicious 5 before being given out lbw to one Matthew Hoggard. Ramps seemed to play very well, which came as a great relief to all who must have been wondering how the injury might have affected his ability to run. It certainly didn’t alter his ability to hit the ball! He eventually got out to a really good piece of bowling by Nathan Buck, a talented individual who actually seems to be one of the few people who can get the maestro out repeatedly! Thirty seven may not have been up there with his best efforts, but from someone who may have been trying to get rid of the cobwebs accumulated from sitting on the sidelines it wasn’t too bad in the context of the game.
The skipper made a useful 41 (de Bruyn making one less) whilst Maynard stole the first innings with a frisky 70. Down the order Arafat contributed 44 at exactly the right time, and although the score looked considerably smaller than would have been expected the bowler friendly wicket soon turned to bite the Leicestershire batsmen in exactly the same way it had the home side.
The total achieved by Leicestershire on day two was a rather lowly 183, thanks largely to a magnificent display of fast bowling from Meaker who took four wickets, but the others all chipped in with two for Dernbach, two for Tremlett and one for Batty and Arafat. There are plenty of dangerous players in the opposing team but primarily I’m thinking of James Taylor, who appeared dwarfed next to the considerably statuesque figure of Jefferson (think Don Estelle next to Dave Prowse in his Vader heyday and you have the right idea). He is the one man in the side that needs to be nipped out quickly. Surrey will have to hope they can do so again when they next get the chance because if they don’t there’s a danger he might somehow contrive to make the game a safe draw for Leicestershire. Topple him and that becomes a less frightening reality.
Jason Roy stepped up to the plate, as he often has done when given the chance, with an eye-catching innings of 76 – equalling his highest ever first class score. I say eye-catching but it was more breathtaking, at least in terms of the short amount of time he accumulated his runs. The skipper fell for 14 this time, leaving Ramps to come in and hit his first 50 of the season. At the end of play he had managed a classy 53 not out, with de Bruyn playing counterpart with 14 not out. Fingers crossed both can really kick on tomorrow. Nobody would expect Ramps to get a century in his first game back from injury, but he does seem to have the habit of scoring big in his primary match of the season. Sooner or later he is going to break the 35,000 first class runs barrier and whilst he may not celebrate statistical milestones that is one that probably should be savoured. There are not too many people in the future are going to manage it.
So, Surrey will head off tonight much the happier of the two sides. The lead already is substantial, and at the time of writing this de Bruyn and Ramps are still there, waiting to twist the knife further. Tune into @surreycricket on the internet because an hour or so of those two at the crease and it won’t be pretty for Leicestershire...
Okay, so here’s the situation after two days of playing Leicestershire at the Oval in the county championship:
We’re actually doing rather nicely! Never thought you’d hear that one, did you? Admit it! When was the last time that Surrey really looked like steamrollering the opposition on day two?!?
Hmm...how to sum up two days? Well, we lost the toss and were surprisingly (well, to me at least) stuck in. I snuck a quick look at the BBC score card just to see who was batting, then resolved not to look at the score until I got home. I walked in the door to see my dad with the Ceefax score on TV, at which point I shrieked at him not to tell me anything. There then resembled a scene straight out the Likely Lads where he endeavoured to spoil the whole thing any way he could, which ended only when I walked up the stairs with him shouting “158 all out!” A total lie, I knew, but bloody irritating nonetheless!
As it transpired Surrey fell short of a third bonus batting point by a nostril hair, something that will have irked them, as they were all out for 294. With the wicket displaying a distinctly green tinge to enable the Surrey pace attack to blitz the opposition into submission the batsmen seemed to find it difficult to get in, or indeed stay in, as they might on the old, dry wickets prepared by the lovely Bill Gordon. But as it later transpired it was to be a decision of pure brilliance.
The problem of the opening spot was solved by the captain gallantly going against all usual inclinations and dropping down the order, his new batting partner the talented Jason Roy. It’s great to see Jason, or Trigger as we call him, nail down a slot in the squad even if it isn’t where he would prefer. I’ve heard people say he would be better at three, and he probably would feel more at home there, but I’m afraid he’s going to have to bide his time as that particular berth is taken at the moment! He can wait his turn. The King is still in his parlour! As Chris Adams said, his time will come when the likes of Ramps and de Bruyn finally hang up the bat, but in the meantime he has the opportunity to play his own game at the top of the order, with license to tonk the ball as he sees fit!
Alas, it didn’t work very well on day one, as Roy made a somewhat inauspicious 5 before being given out lbw to one Matthew Hoggard. Ramps seemed to play very well, which came as a great relief to all who must have been wondering how the injury might have affected his ability to run. It certainly didn’t alter his ability to hit the ball! He eventually got out to a really good piece of bowling by Nathan Buck, a talented individual who actually seems to be one of the few people who can get the maestro out repeatedly! Thirty seven may not have been up there with his best efforts, but from someone who may have been trying to get rid of the cobwebs accumulated from sitting on the sidelines it wasn’t too bad in the context of the game.
The skipper made a useful 41 (de Bruyn making one less) whilst Maynard stole the first innings with a frisky 70. Down the order Arafat contributed 44 at exactly the right time, and although the score looked considerably smaller than would have been expected the bowler friendly wicket soon turned to bite the Leicestershire batsmen in exactly the same way it had the home side.
The total achieved by Leicestershire on day two was a rather lowly 183, thanks largely to a magnificent display of fast bowling from Meaker who took four wickets, but the others all chipped in with two for Dernbach, two for Tremlett and one for Batty and Arafat. There are plenty of dangerous players in the opposing team but primarily I’m thinking of James Taylor, who appeared dwarfed next to the considerably statuesque figure of Jefferson (think Don Estelle next to Dave Prowse in his Vader heyday and you have the right idea). He is the one man in the side that needs to be nipped out quickly. Surrey will have to hope they can do so again when they next get the chance because if they don’t there’s a danger he might somehow contrive to make the game a safe draw for Leicestershire. Topple him and that becomes a less frightening reality.
Jason Roy stepped up to the plate, as he often has done when given the chance, with an eye-catching innings of 76 – equalling his highest ever first class score. I say eye-catching but it was more breathtaking, at least in terms of the short amount of time he accumulated his runs. The skipper fell for 14 this time, leaving Ramps to come in and hit his first 50 of the season. At the end of play he had managed a classy 53 not out, with de Bruyn playing counterpart with 14 not out. Fingers crossed both can really kick on tomorrow. Nobody would expect Ramps to get a century in his first game back from injury, but he does seem to have the habit of scoring big in his primary match of the season. Sooner or later he is going to break the 35,000 first class runs barrier and whilst he may not celebrate statistical milestones that is one that probably should be savoured. There are not too many people in the future are going to manage it.
So, Surrey will head off tonight much the happier of the two sides. The lead already is substantial, and at the time of writing this de Bruyn and Ramps are still there, waiting to twist the knife further. Tune into @surreycricket on the internet because an hour or so of those two at the crease and it won’t be pretty for Leicestershire...
Saturday, 28 August 2010
Why cricket will always need wise old heads
I got distracted by You Tube last night, and by the time I remembered I should be writing up some kind of report my eyes had given up and the little grey cells had started to shut down. However, better late than never!
Actually, I have to say it’s been a very disjointed season for me and it’s difficult to be accurate sometimes with what I report, as I have a tendency to only hear the last third of a day’s play if it’s on a week day. I can’t listen back to them anymore, so basically I have to rely on my impressions from the other Rampants. That said, I think I may have been amused had I been able to listen in to Surrey’s declaration bowling yesterday morning. It may have been a couple of years since Ramps last turned his arm towards a wicket, and young Harinath even took a turn!
Leicestershire eventually declared on 123-0, and with Surrey forfeiting their second innings there was something there for both sides to go for. I think a lot of credit must go to both teams for setting up the final day’s play the way they did: so often these matches will simply peter into a dull draw where there is little to play for other than to add runs or wickets to personal tallies.
As it turned out a draw did end up as the final result, but there was nothing dull about it! I suppose Leicestershire had the most to lose – and gain – from the result, as they still had an outside chance of sneaking up the table into the second promotion spot, whereas Surrey are trying to scrape themselves off the second from bottom spot. The draw didn’t assist either team but will have basically killed of any hopes Leicestershire had in what has proven to be a dramatic and angst filled season off the pitch.
Still, it wasn’t for lack of effort and gumption on the home side’s part. Smith went lbw for 23 to Cheetham, Boyce made 44 before being bowled by Batty, but the killer partnership from a Surrey point of view was the stand between Du Toit, whose magnificent 122 runs took away any likely chance of a Surrey victory, and the equally brilliant 106 by Paul Nixon. When both men were finally dismissed, and with Taylor going for a first ball duck, there seemed an outside chance of getting the required wickets for a win. New made 2 runs, White 7 and Henderson 3, but it was too late at that point and with Leicestershire finishing 338-8 Surrey will be left wondering ‘if only’. Had Du Toit and Nixon been dismissed earlier in the day then perhaps things would have gone Surrey’s way, but it was not to be.
I have to say I rather like Nixon as a player. I believe he and Du Toit are out of contract at the end of this year: I hope they manage to find new teams.
With so many players moving at the end of the season, due to personal/financial/geographical reasons, it appears to be open season in terms of speculation. Pietersen will need to find a new county. Sidebottom is moving on. Amjad Khan too. Apparently, every one of them is coming to Surrey. At this rate Geoff Boycott’s late granny will be moving to Surrey! Heck, Michael Vaughan’s daughter’s tortoise will be joining Surrey!
So, as the season winds down towards its climax and with less than a month left until the end perhaps it is interesting to note that whilst there are some new young bucks on the scene, like Adam Lyth for Yorkshire, the wise old sages are still doing it for their teams. Dominic Cork, who I never really cared for to start with but who has grown on me somewhat over the past seasons, has had a fantastic season with Hampshire. Ali Brown looks likely to be in the County championship winning side in Nottinghamshire, and has contributed vital runs when required. And of course Ramps continues to score copiously for Surrey. How long these three gentlemen may continue is open for debate, but if they have the hunger and desire to play then hopefully we may see them next year for their respective counties.
You can’t manufacture experience when all is said and done.
Actually, I have to say it’s been a very disjointed season for me and it’s difficult to be accurate sometimes with what I report, as I have a tendency to only hear the last third of a day’s play if it’s on a week day. I can’t listen back to them anymore, so basically I have to rely on my impressions from the other Rampants. That said, I think I may have been amused had I been able to listen in to Surrey’s declaration bowling yesterday morning. It may have been a couple of years since Ramps last turned his arm towards a wicket, and young Harinath even took a turn!
Leicestershire eventually declared on 123-0, and with Surrey forfeiting their second innings there was something there for both sides to go for. I think a lot of credit must go to both teams for setting up the final day’s play the way they did: so often these matches will simply peter into a dull draw where there is little to play for other than to add runs or wickets to personal tallies.
As it turned out a draw did end up as the final result, but there was nothing dull about it! I suppose Leicestershire had the most to lose – and gain – from the result, as they still had an outside chance of sneaking up the table into the second promotion spot, whereas Surrey are trying to scrape themselves off the second from bottom spot. The draw didn’t assist either team but will have basically killed of any hopes Leicestershire had in what has proven to be a dramatic and angst filled season off the pitch.
Still, it wasn’t for lack of effort and gumption on the home side’s part. Smith went lbw for 23 to Cheetham, Boyce made 44 before being bowled by Batty, but the killer partnership from a Surrey point of view was the stand between Du Toit, whose magnificent 122 runs took away any likely chance of a Surrey victory, and the equally brilliant 106 by Paul Nixon. When both men were finally dismissed, and with Taylor going for a first ball duck, there seemed an outside chance of getting the required wickets for a win. New made 2 runs, White 7 and Henderson 3, but it was too late at that point and with Leicestershire finishing 338-8 Surrey will be left wondering ‘if only’. Had Du Toit and Nixon been dismissed earlier in the day then perhaps things would have gone Surrey’s way, but it was not to be.
I have to say I rather like Nixon as a player. I believe he and Du Toit are out of contract at the end of this year: I hope they manage to find new teams.
With so many players moving at the end of the season, due to personal/financial/geographical reasons, it appears to be open season in terms of speculation. Pietersen will need to find a new county. Sidebottom is moving on. Amjad Khan too. Apparently, every one of them is coming to Surrey. At this rate Geoff Boycott’s late granny will be moving to Surrey! Heck, Michael Vaughan’s daughter’s tortoise will be joining Surrey!
So, as the season winds down towards its climax and with less than a month left until the end perhaps it is interesting to note that whilst there are some new young bucks on the scene, like Adam Lyth for Yorkshire, the wise old sages are still doing it for their teams. Dominic Cork, who I never really cared for to start with but who has grown on me somewhat over the past seasons, has had a fantastic season with Hampshire. Ali Brown looks likely to be in the County championship winning side in Nottinghamshire, and has contributed vital runs when required. And of course Ramps continues to score copiously for Surrey. How long these three gentlemen may continue is open for debate, but if they have the hunger and desire to play then hopefully we may see them next year for their respective counties.
You can’t manufacture experience when all is said and done.
Thursday, 26 August 2010
Enough of the rain already!
Today it rained a lot.
As batting in flippers is virtually impossible there was no play possible at all. I wonder if the fielding practice involved diving for bricks? Virtually every game in both divisions of the county championship appear to have been demolished by the weather today, so Surrey and Leicestershire aren't alone in their misery.
All Surrey have to do to win the game is:
a) Bowl Leicestershire out - twice - in one day. C'mon Tremlett, you know you can do it!
b) Hope that it doesn't rain any more.
If it does, it'll be time for the cable knit swimming trunks to come out.
As batting in flippers is virtually impossible there was no play possible at all. I wonder if the fielding practice involved diving for bricks? Virtually every game in both divisions of the county championship appear to have been demolished by the weather today, so Surrey and Leicestershire aren't alone in their misery.
All Surrey have to do to win the game is:
a) Bowl Leicestershire out - twice - in one day. C'mon Tremlett, you know you can do it!
b) Hope that it doesn't rain any more.
If it does, it'll be time for the cable knit swimming trunks to come out.
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
It takes a wolf to savage a fox...
It was a tale of two batsmen today. And, thankfully from the Rampants point of view, one of them was the maestro!
It must have looked a bit dodgy in the first half of the day. Having been stuck in by a Leicestershire side, whose off field antics had already garnered headlines prior to the match, Surrey lost both openers Harinath and Lancefield within four balls. You have to admit, 11-2 isn’t the greatest of starts, and no doubt caused hearts to sink once more amongst the Surrey support.
The skipper came in and played his usual game. I know there’s been criticism in certain quarters regarding RHB's ability to grind out a huge innings and certainly today will again have given grist for the mill, but at least his 36 from 37 balls gave Surrey some much needed impetus whilst Ramps quietly went about his business at the other end. It sounds as if Nathan Buck put in a really good display with the ball at the start for Leicestershire, but as Surrey headed towards lunch both Davies and Ramps seemed to be weathering the storm. Shortly after lunch however, it appears that Surrey surprisingly lost Davies for 19. I say surprisingly because very often this season he has proven to be one of the anchors when things have gone wrong in the batting ranks.
With young Jason Roy padded up and waiting, if required, to make his first class championship debut, Gary Wilson (who seems for good or ill to be saddled with ‘chirpy’ before his surname to the extent where people will believe this is actually his name) took to the field and immediately set about rebuilding with Ramprakash, to great effect. Wilson had a very fine innings earlier in the season against Middlesex and grabbed the opportunity he’d been given by Chris Adams with both hands. He’s certainly proved himself as a middle order batsman this year, and it will be interesting to see whether he manages to sneak into the team for the remaining games of the season. I think given his performance so far in this outing you could safely say he’d earned it.
His previous best was surpassed today by some distance, and at stumps he was just six short of a maiden first class century. It’s not ideal going into the next day, and I’m sure even a super-confident man such as Wilson will experience the odd jangling nerve tonight. Still, it will certainly be worth the wait if he gets there tomorrow! And of course, the ever remarkable Ramprakash remains, as lean and hungry as a wolf stalking its prey, with twenty three more runs required to make his own piece of batting history. Should he convert his 179no overnight to 200, he will become the county’s leading scorer of double tons, clearing Jack Hobbs tally. I’m sure the Master won’t mind if the modern Maestro sneaks past him: Hobbs has more than enough incredible records of his own, most of which will never be surpassed.
If Ramps and Wilson stick in and bat as they did today, Leicestershire could very well be looking heavenward for salvation tomorrow and praying that the reported heavy rain intervenes on their behalf!
It must have looked a bit dodgy in the first half of the day. Having been stuck in by a Leicestershire side, whose off field antics had already garnered headlines prior to the match, Surrey lost both openers Harinath and Lancefield within four balls. You have to admit, 11-2 isn’t the greatest of starts, and no doubt caused hearts to sink once more amongst the Surrey support.
The skipper came in and played his usual game. I know there’s been criticism in certain quarters regarding RHB's ability to grind out a huge innings and certainly today will again have given grist for the mill, but at least his 36 from 37 balls gave Surrey some much needed impetus whilst Ramps quietly went about his business at the other end. It sounds as if Nathan Buck put in a really good display with the ball at the start for Leicestershire, but as Surrey headed towards lunch both Davies and Ramps seemed to be weathering the storm. Shortly after lunch however, it appears that Surrey surprisingly lost Davies for 19. I say surprisingly because very often this season he has proven to be one of the anchors when things have gone wrong in the batting ranks.
With young Jason Roy padded up and waiting, if required, to make his first class championship debut, Gary Wilson (who seems for good or ill to be saddled with ‘chirpy’ before his surname to the extent where people will believe this is actually his name) took to the field and immediately set about rebuilding with Ramprakash, to great effect. Wilson had a very fine innings earlier in the season against Middlesex and grabbed the opportunity he’d been given by Chris Adams with both hands. He’s certainly proved himself as a middle order batsman this year, and it will be interesting to see whether he manages to sneak into the team for the remaining games of the season. I think given his performance so far in this outing you could safely say he’d earned it.
His previous best was surpassed today by some distance, and at stumps he was just six short of a maiden first class century. It’s not ideal going into the next day, and I’m sure even a super-confident man such as Wilson will experience the odd jangling nerve tonight. Still, it will certainly be worth the wait if he gets there tomorrow! And of course, the ever remarkable Ramprakash remains, as lean and hungry as a wolf stalking its prey, with twenty three more runs required to make his own piece of batting history. Should he convert his 179no overnight to 200, he will become the county’s leading scorer of double tons, clearing Jack Hobbs tally. I’m sure the Master won’t mind if the modern Maestro sneaks past him: Hobbs has more than enough incredible records of his own, most of which will never be surpassed.
If Ramps and Wilson stick in and bat as they did today, Leicestershire could very well be looking heavenward for salvation tomorrow and praying that the reported heavy rain intervenes on their behalf!
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