Ah. Well...not too sure I’ll be writing any celebratory poems about the fabulous Surrey victory over Gloucestershire at the Oval.
Mostly because we lost.
It was a thrilling game from a listening point of view, mostly because it was fairly twisty turny in nature. These always make for the most interesting matches, but whilst the ability to capitalise on these unpredictable games and win through in the end is vital – as was the case in the Derbyshire game – until Surrey learn to steamroller opposition into submission from the start and boss the game, like the best sides, they’re not going to be consistent enough to be promoted. We may win the odd game here and there and ride our luck, but it’s not the stuff that champions are made of.
I was only disappointed in terms of the fact Gloucestershire have gone above Surrey in the championship. As I said, it was a fabulous game – and but for captain Gidman’s fine innings it may very well have gone the other way. In fact, until the last three quarters of an hour Surrey may well have been favourites to roll Gloucestershire over. But at the end of the day neither side made an especially large total of runs, save from the match winning contribution of the aforementioned Gidman, de Bruyn (66) in the first innings and Ramps in the second (75).
I felt a wee bit sorry for Matthew Dunn. Having been drafted in to the side on the back of his fantastic effort in the last championship game, the young man was hardly tossed the ball. I hope this doesn’t knock his confidence, but provided Surrey persevere and nurture his talent I don’t see why he shouldn’t continue in the same line as his wonderful debut.
Surrey’s fielding was a tad erratic; I think it would be fair to say. Having singled this aspect out as the one area in which the most improvement had been made in recent years there was some sloppy work on display from the home side, along with some tough chances put down and the odd dolly dropped. Whilst I wouldn’t go as far as to say it cost us the game, when you consider how tight it was at the hinder end you can’t help but wonder what might have happened if the skipper had managed to hang on to that Gidman catch on the third (and last) day. Poor Maynard also had a torrid time in the field and with the bat. He put down two catches and made a total of 3 runs over both innings.
Runs were definitely hard to come by, especially on that second day when the cloud cover came down. I had the fantastic experience of listening to de Bruyn and Ramps toughing it out via my new phone. I can see it’s going to be an expensive but worthwhile little gadget to have, especially at work! I’m hoping that second innings will play the man himself into some form. It’s not that he’s been in bad nick, but the new seamer-friendly Oval wickets are not really doing the batsmen any favours. Ironic, considering the amount of time I’ve wished that we could have some wickets which would improve the chance of a result being obtained. Now I kind of wish we could go back to how it was!
To indicate how difficult batting was (I’m using only the Surrey batsmen here) I’m posting the scores obtained in two innings:
Roy: 40 + 2 = 42
Hamilton-Brown: 1 + 26 = 27
Ramprakash: 30 + 75 = 105
De Bruyn: 66 + 13 = 79
Davies: 1 + 14 = 15
Maynard: 3 + 0 = 3
Batty: 2 + 23 = 25
Arafat: 44 + 8 = 52
Dernbach: 19 + 7 = 26
Linley: 12 + 1 = 13
Dunn: 0 + 0 (not out both times)
The standout performances were de Bruyn and Ramps, and from the highlights I have to say I think the latter seems to be running a bit better between the wickets. Hopefully as the season goes on the better his knee will feel (mind you, if he did want to aim for a miraculous recovery then the Kent game next month would be quite good, as there will be a small Rampant presence at the Oval that match)! I also have to give credit to Arafat who looked confident and more than useful with both bat and ball this game. Fingers crossed he can continue in this fashion as he’s come in for a little disparagement in certain quarters for a less than overwhelming start to his career as a Surrey player. Personally, I always say if I can’t do better myself it’s probably inadvisable to throw criticisms around.
Doesn’t stop me catching myself doing it from time to time though. Hey-ho: nobody’s perfect!
Whilst nobody covered themselves in glory it is difficult to pinpoint which of the many factors contributed most of all to the defeat. If one or two more batsmen had taken their time rather than throw their wickets away, perhaps a greater total might have been reached. If those catches had been held maybe inroads could have been made upon the Gloucestershire batsmen. If the sun had – literally – shone on the Surrey batsmen for longer instead of hiding behind perpetual grey cloud whenever one of their number wandered down the steps, batting may have been a less thankless task. So many variables...
But, such is the fickle nature of cricket. A sneaky win would have had all the moaners and groaners rubbing their hands with glee. Dropped catches would be put to one side. There would be no complaining about the wicket, or batsmen getting out to silly shots. The only note of castigation would be regarding the price of the Oval beer! People are only happy if they are winning. Very few will be level-headed enough to give Gidman the praise he deserves or refrain from denouncing Chris Adams as the second coming of Satan.
The question, of course, is not whether the fans can quickly get over the second loss in the season...but can the team?
And in the meantime, if people need a reason to be cheerful, may I direct them to the lovely photo at the top of the page?
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