Wanted for assault: have you seen this bird?

We like Leicestershire.

Surrey enjoy beating Leicestershire. They beat them in the four day game that turned out to be a three day game, and now they’ve beaten them in the CB40! With all due respect to Leicestershire they probably aren’t one of the stronger sides in division two, but a win is a win where Surrey is concerned. And now that’s four wins on the bounce since the right royal doing over that Middlesex gave them not so very long ago.

I’ve been impressed with the character and the resilience that Surrey have began to show. Not so many years ago when looking as if they were facing an impossible task the old Surrey would have tamely folded and bared their necks to whatever attack was raining down upon them. Even if the quality of the performance on Sunday was only a smidge better than workmanlike, it was gutsy and displayed a self-belief that was often absent at certain points last year.

This was best displayed in the first quarter of the game when Surrey managed to lose their first three wickets rather cheaply. Instead of flapping about like a seagull suffering Montezuma’s Revenge they elected to build the total up gradually, taking singles and consolidating their score rather than swinging the bat willy nilly. The score that they ended up with (206-8) was hardly earth shattering and slightly vulnerable to an assault from the likes of Taylor and Du Toit, but considering the dodgy start it was a more than decent effort. The skipper top-scored for the Lions with 57, whilst Maynard (55), Spriegel (28) and Schofield (26) all pitched in with handy little contributions. I couldn’t help but wonder what the watching crowd were making of it, and if perhaps they were wondering if Surrey could defend their total. If the past was anything to go by it was going to be touch and go!

Sure enough, Leicestershire stormed well into the lead and never looked like crumpling until the spin of Gareth Batty was brought into play. From that moment on the game began to hot up, with Cobb dismissed for 45 and, crucially, Taylor falling victim to some nicely measured bowling from de Bruyn for just 3! Five overs or so of Taylor would have made the difference in the game, and once again the skipper demonstrated a certain tactical cleverness in terms of when he made his bowling changes. Jones and Boyce fell for 3 and a duck respectively, and suddenly things swung back Surrey’s way.

But matters began to get a little hairy thanks to Leicestershire’s rooky wicket keeper Dixey, a man whose name keeps causing my cat all manner of confusion (his name’s Dexy). Every time my poor puddy tat is in the room and Churchy mention’s Dixey’s name, the wee hairy fella keeps staring around him in bafflement! Anyhow, keeper Dixey played an absolute blinder to score 42. Whilst he was in you felt there was a chance that Leicestershire might sneak it back! And then there was that horrible, agonising late partnership between Hoggard of all people who had somehow reinvented himself as a batsman and decided to rain fours and sixes down upon Surrey from the position of a defiantly wagging tail! I mean, honestly! Who told Hoggy he could bat?!? He’s rarely shown signs of it before in such an exuberant manner!

If there was one star in the game I would have to pick Meaker. He’s getting a really useful reputation for knocking over the tail end batsmen, which is an invaluable commodity – especially as dismissing the tail has very often been Surrey’s major weakness. When he cleared up Dixey and Leicestershire were all out for 189 I slumped exhausted back in my seat! What a hard-fought victory it had been for Surrey, and in the end well deserved.

I’m not sure how much longer Surrey are going to have Mr Meaker at their disposal, and whilst it’s a stupendous honour for both players and club I think Surrey might once again find themselves with a weakened bowling attach, with Tremlett, Dernbach and Meaker all involved at various levels of the England setup.

So, three out of three wins for Surrey in the CB40, putting them firmly at the top of their group. Even if it starts to crumble a little from here it’s already a huge step up from last year. I know he’s not necessarily popular with everyone but I think Chris Adams has to take a huge amount of credit for starting to turn Surrey’s year around. The young players who are in the squad or on the fringes of it are those who have been identified as having the right attitude, and those older members the ones with the talent and the dedication to set a good example. It makes for a very good blend indeed.

A final note has to go to the recovery of the poor pigeon that was basically subjected to a vicious assault by a crow and a magpie in front of thousands of Oval witnesses. Hero of the hour keeper Dixey stepped in to pick up the mugged and concussed creature, handing it into the tender care of Bill Gordon who took the pigeon to his hut to recuperate from its ordeal. I have to say that although it made a full recovery I was concerned for its welfare for a while.

Bill still has his cat, doesn’t he? I know mine’s partial to pigeon...

You've been Jigar-ed!

I’ve often wondered what it must be like to evaluate players as the newspapers sometimes do, and score them according to performance, but I think it would be harsh to do this on what unfortunately turned out to be the last day of the game against Leicestershire due to Surrey losing by over an innings. I’m praying fervently that we won’t perform as poorly as a team ever again. Hopefully. She said, crossing fingers, toes and sundry body parts.

In fairness you’ve got to credit the Leicestershire bowling attack and Hoggard’s leadership. The pressure they put the Surrey team under from day one was immense and they thoroughly deserved their win. Naik and Henderson were really on the money both today and yesterday, and following the Surrey first innings capitulation for 236 they must really have fancied their chances of demolishing them for less than their 479 total. And so it proved to be.

I guess what was so disappointing was the fact that having played so well in the previous games leading up to this match, Surrey probably were not expecting to perform so badly. If anything they should have been on a high given their much improved performances in the last three games. The sad thing is that they will now have a loss against their names going in to the T20, although in fairness it’s a different contest, and a fresh slate. That is the way they have to look at it, and I hope they are a hungrier side in the shortest form of the game than they sometimes appear in the county championship. As I have said, it’s not a lack of effort that is proving Surrey’s downfall at the moment, but they look to be missing that vital killer instinct.

If I was going to nominate the best overall performance of the game I would probably give the award to Claude Henderson, just, over Naik. However, although it was in vain I would also highlight Dernbach’s fivefer yesterday and today’s effort with the bat by Younus who managed 77 in the second Surrey innings. Considering his previous tally was a total of 4, I’d say that was more than a pretty decent effort especially given the fact the rest of his team mates had collapsed like a stack of cards around him.

This said my man of the match was actually Mark Ramprakash. Sure, he only got a total of 50 in both innings, and if I were to score him for his performance in the game it would have been a 6 out of 10, but I rounded it up to 9 for just being there. And then I rounded it up to 10 to make up for the one that Craig-Revel Horwood never gave him for the Argentine Tango.

When it comes to standing around on turf all day, Mark Ramprakash is probably the biggest draw in the country. He played well enough but got done by two rather excellent deliveries. But at the end of the day that didn’t really matter, because we are honoured to cheer Mr R and the boys on, no matter how they fare in the game.

Good luck in the T20, Surrey. Get one for the Rampants!