Iron, like a Lion in...Wormsley! (Sorry, Mr. Marley)

Today the Lions finally went head to head with the Unicorns! It sounded suitably mystical. I dare say the players emerged from the back of a magical wardrobe wearing antlers and goat skins...

No Churchy, though, although he did a sterling job keeping us up to date via Twitter. I guess it must have made quite a nice day, relaxing and watching the cricket, without having to deal with all the technicals that are part of the job. Wormsley looks a rather pretty little ground from the pictures I’ve seen, but I think the lack of tech capability was the reason there was no commentary. There were a number of disappointed Rampants, who find that Churchy helps to get us through the mundane things in life, such as ironing! Still, I think that’s a good excuse to put the ironing to one side!

It may come as an interesting sidenote to remark that the Lion is the symbol of England, and the Unicorn the symbol of Scotland. This being the case, it came as no surprise to see the Lions beating up the Unicorns again. Albeit in a slightly more genteel manner!

It turned out to be a fairly facile win in the end for Surrey. The powerhouse combo of RHB and Steven Davies got the game off to a flyer, with the skipper posting a frisky 52 and Davies a magnificent 101. It was also great to hear that Walters achieved a very handy 78. Jason Roy managed 8 today and whilst he clearly has a huge future ahead of him, he’s still learning on the job, so to speak. I think we have to forgive him any low scores at this stage in his career. Spriegel made a cameo of 4 towards the end, with Ramps contributing a small but nonetheless welcome 7 not out. With 273-4 posted it was always going to be a steep mountain for the Unicorns to climb.

I have to admit that the only players I knew from the Unicorns team were former Surrey team mates Murtagh and Saker! I think I may vaguely recollect Knappet from some place, but I couldn’t swear to it. And for all that the Unicorns are a weaker side in general, if it acts as a shop window for some of their players then their being in the competition is a worthy endeavour. It was lovely to see that Saker made 40 not out today, but ultimately it was in a losing cause as the Unicorns made 207-8.

The win keeps Surrey in third place. Somerset are still in control of the group despite being beaten by second placed Sussex on D/L. I have to confess to being a bit of a Somerset fan on the quiet. In the same way that Surrey had, for so long, forgotten how to win Somerset are a team bursting with quality and confidence. Any losses are usually swept to one side, and the behemoth trundles onwards. One day, hopefully, Surrey will regain that winning feeling.

On a slightly different tack, it’s amazing to see how cricket seems to crop up in so many different places. Being a bit of a closet Dr Who fan, I heard this rather amusing dialog from one of the audio dramas, where the Doctor discovers the Earth has inexplicably become perfect, with not a single disaster, man made or otherwise, to blight its newfound serenity:

"Where are the political scandals? Disasters? Binge-drinking celebrities all over the front page? Can't you see, it's all good news! As for the sports pages...Graeme Swann...100 not out?!?"

You know you’ve made it when you get mentioned in Doctor Who!

Twisting the knife

Surrey v Northamptonshire: Day one at the Brit Oval

Okay: I admit it. I did have a few concerns as to how Surrey would handle the return to championship cricket.

So many times in the past good teams in both the first and second divisions have come back to the four day game once the T20 – or ‘happy slapping’ – season is over and feverishly continued to play shots as if they were suffering from ‘St Vitus’ dance!’ With this in mind, I left for work feeling optimistic if cautious. And I’m glad to say I was a good girl. I didn’t peek at the BBC cards once during the day other than to confirm that Surrey was batting first.

My curtailed listening to the commentaries means that I have no idea of the circumstances surrounding the Surrey wickets that fell. I have no idea if they played like trees, or if they were unlucky, or indeed thought “hang on a moment, I’ll just give this a bit of a bash towards the Peter May stand and...oh, b*gger. I’m out!” So if any of the team were in T20 mode, I missed it!

One batsman was definitely not playing a round of ‘crash bang wallop’: Mark Ramprakash constructed a beautifully crafted innings (from the point where I heard it, which was around 91 not out), full of his trademark shots, making sure he was there at the other end whilst rotating the strike to let the other batsmen set about the Northants bowlers. And how RHB set about them, and no mistake! The two deadly assassins formulated their own way of neutralising the opposition: the skipper bludgeoning them cudgel-like with a barrage of fours and sixes, whilst the maestro Ramprakash preferred to slowly twist the knife into the wounded Northants beast.

It’s a flowery description, but I like it!

Let’s start at the beginning. Surrey decided to give young Lancefield a go, which I liked the idea of, and he formed one half of the opening partnership with Steven Davies. Unfortunately it appears that Davies went for 5, bringing Mr R on to the field of play pretty early in the morning. Lancefield seems to have played nicely for his 31, but when he was dispatched by the wonderfully named Chigumbura, the skipper decided to make his own mark on the game. Having survived one or two dodgy sounding moments, he and Mr R formed a two-pronged, stylistically and diametrically opposed partnership that flourished after lunch. Content to give the captain free reign, the maestro continued to do his own thing whilst RHB became almost frenzied in his approach!

In the end the skipper reached what appears to have been a breathtaking century at a run a ball, but then finally his luck ran out on 102 when Chigumbura struck again to end a powerful and frenetic innings.

This brought Afzaal to the crease, but it seems he only made 7 today. It’s just not going right for Usman at the moment.

Stewart Walters played a jaunty cameo and made 31, the same as Lancefield, with six 4s and one 6 for just 20 balls, another victim of the dreaded Chigumbura, to whom I apologise for making him sound like some kind of tropical disease. At this stage the game could have gone either way. Sure, the master was still there but with most of the batting back in the hutch it would only have taken one more wicket for Surrey to potentially kick-start one of their famous collapses.

And then young Mr Spriegel stepped up to the plate, the perfect foil for Ramps, as both men took their turn to face the strike and kept the game ticking along. Neither man seemed troubled overly, with Mr R (having hit his 1000th run earlier that morning, for the 20th time in his career and the ninth time in a row) bringing up century number 112. The cricket gods we often refer to must have decided to redress the balance for the terrible thing that happened in the last game, where they deprived poor Ramps of a nailed-on century following a faulty scoreboard tally! Today should have been his fifth century of the season; instead it was his fourth, but it was no less magnificent for all that.

Both batsmen are there at the end of the day, with Spriegel on 85 not out, hopefully set to become Surrey’s third centurion of the game, and Ramps on 137 not out. The plan would appear to be to bat long and hard – and hopefully once. They will need to rack up a few more runs yet and hope to get Peters out for a ridiculously low score when Northants wield the willow, but with these two at the crease, anything seems possible. Definitely Surrey’s day today.

Let’s hope the boys got plenty of ice at the close of play...along with maybe a celebratory diet Coke for Mr R!

It isn’t over ‘til the fat laddie swings...

That title's a bit cruel, given how fond I am of Cosgrove. Today, alas, more or less saw the end of Surrey’s chance of progression (not that those chances were great anyway), but as I keep attempting to remind myself, T20s only a bit of fun. It’s the cricket equivalent of Dali’s wobbly, melting clocks. It’s not the Mona Lisa and it’s not a masterpiece by Titian or Renoir. It’s still art and it has broad appeal to many, though. Nowt wrong with paintings of people with both eyes on the side of their face. I used to draw like that...

Surrey’s up and down form has of late been more akin to a dead sheep pickled in Formaldehyde and suspended upside down in a tank but, for all that, today’s game (final nail in the T20 coffin as it was) at least provided some thrilling moments. Stewie Walters got a well deserved 53; his first half century in the contest. And on the Glamorgan side of things we got to see a whole lot more of Cosgrove. As one wag recently said, if telly puts 10lbs on to your frame then Cosgrove has eaten a lot of tellies...

Firstly, from a Rampant point of view, Mr R was sadly not playing as it appears he damaged his shoulder during the run out in yesterday’s game. Fingers crossed it’s nothing too serious. However, with Davies back from Lions duty and Lancefield opening again it looked like it might be an interesting match. So it proved: and that was without mentioning the streaker! Whilst I love a good streaker during a game you do have to wonder why they do it. A bet? Because they’ve had several skinfuls? Whatever, they have to have a huge...brass neck.

Surrey won the toss and opted to field first. RHB is improving in the tossing stakes! Unfortunately it seemed to take the Surrey bowlers a little time to get used to the slower conditions and whilst they were doing so Glamorgan – and Cosgrove in particular – were making hay. 75 runs were on the board before Allenby eventually obliged Meaker by getting out. For a while Surrey flattered to deceive as Meaker struck moments later by removing recent hero Maynard without scoring, but then Glamorgan went back to scoring as they liked. It didn’t even look as if another wicket was going to occur.

Fortunately for Surrey, the next six wickets fell in rapid succession. Just as it appeared as if Cosgrove would launch himself (figuratively, as it would take one heck of a canon to propel him through the air) towards a century Tremlett struck, getting him for 76. And then came the deluge of wickets: Wallace for 5, Dalrymple for a well made 33, Wright for a duck, Harris for 1 and Croft run out without scoring. From what had looked a hopeless situation Surrey’s bowlers had managed to pull it right back. It was a valiant effort from Meaker and Tremlett, with some good fielding from Schofield to boot, although in retrospect I bet they wish they could have struck a few overs earlier.

Having recovered from the amusing sight of Chris Tremlett in a girl’s wig (not during the game, but as shown in a photo by his housemate Michael Brown), we all listened in as Surrey responded by immediately losing Steven Davies without scoring. I’m sure most people were holding their heads in their hands and thinking ‘here we go again’, but Lancefield played a good knock and put on 22. Others around him didn’t fare quite as well, with Jason Roy out for 17 and RHB for 11. Symonds also scored 22, although he got out just as Surrey needed a batsman to really kick on.

In the meantime Walters had taken on the Ramps mantle of accumulator and was quietly going about his business. Alas, whilst his score was creeping ever upwards, so did the run rate. Overs were coming and going with alarming frequency, as were the Surrey batsmen as Spriegel fell for a duck and Schofield, who sounded a little lame in the foot, departed for 5. It was pretty much looking like curtains for Surrey at this point, until Walters and Nel began to get on a last minute charge with fours and sixes galore. But when Nel went for 9 the brief spark of hope was snuffed, and with Walters not really seeing much of the strike in the last few overs Glamorgan kept up the pressure, winning by 10 runs.

A mere 10 runs sort of sums up Surrey’s T20 effort this year. There have been flashes of brilliance from Symonds, Davies, Roy and Ramps with the bat, and with Tremlett, Nel, Spriegel and Dernbach with the ball. We’ve really missed Dernbach in the latter stages of this contest: I think that shows in some of the tighter finishes. There has also been some really heinous cricket as well from virtually all the players at some point. Yes, Surrey has improved markedly but I suppose the sad thing is that there were at least three games which perhaps they should have won. And had we done so, we’d have been in a mighty fine position to go through to the next stage.

Oh, well. C’est la vie! T20, just like wobbly clocks, is fine but it doesn’t make the world tick!

And besides, if there was no T20 we wouldn’t have had this fabulous quote from Mark Church:

“We've all done it in the back garden up against the coal bunker...”









(He was talking about providing ones’ own commentary whilst playing an imagined innings at Lords, btw. Just in case you were wondering!)

Ninety-nine is the new hundred!

It seems like an age since the last championship game. I’m sure it’s probably been a matter of weeks but somehow it feels longer than that. Today saw the start of a four day knock against Derbyshire at Chesterfield. I would just like to start the entry in this blog by saying that fate, so often a first class meddler in the game of cricket, needs a good old fashioned kick in the knee caps.

I gathered three things from my surreptitious glances at the BBC card during the day. Firstly, Usman Afzaal was back in the squad, something I was quite glad about. His form has been all over the place this year but the bottom line is he’s far too good a batsman to be left out the team, and his experience is sorely missed. Secondly, still no sign of Jade Dernbach. I fear his side strain may well keep him out for a little while yet. And thirdly, Ramps was not out on 40 something!

I caught some of the game as I managed to sneak home from work slightly earlier than usual (it can be a blessing to have too much flexi time). Earlier in the day we lost RHB for 24 and Harinath for 16. Not the most auspicious of starts, but at least they took the shine off the ball! From there on in, Younus Khan and Ramps set about steadying the ship and managed to hang on together for a while, which left me trying to count on my fingers working out how much flexi I had to play with.

You see, I was convinced this game was going to bring another century for Mr R. I could feel it in my fingers...feel it in my toes, as The Troggs once sang. And so I headed home, not at all surprised to find the man himself still in and going well on 81, this time with Usman Afzaal batting with him (Younus having gone for 45) at the crease and going equally well. As it turned out, Afzaal went for a well made 73, totally justifying his inclusion in the squad. It would be nice to think he will have taken a lot of heart from this innings. He and Mr Ramprakash always seem to bat well together. Walters came in, settled down and looked positive from the beginning. And then...

Do you ever get this terrible sense of foreboding? One that tells you that because it’s the most unlikely thing to happen, it almost certainly will? Because as the score ticked around from 93, then upwards to 99, I couldn’t help but cross my fingers...

Note to self: crossing fingers doesn’t work with cricket.

The fact that Mr R was bowled one short of his 112th century when the scoreboard at the ground had erroneously indicated that the landmark had already been reached – even although the man himself and most of the spectators would have realised this was not the case – was certainly ironic. It so upset poor Jean that she declared that she was “going off for a sulk, and maybe do something irrational - like hoovering or somesuch!”

You can always tell an upset Rampant if they have a Hoover in their hands.

Celebrating 99 is unusual, although if it’s any consolation, it sounds as if it was a very good one! And an important one in the context of the game, where a familiar semi-collapse occurred when Ramps got out. Wilson, deputising with the gloves for Steven Davies who was on Lions duty, made 6 with the willow whilst Batty was bowled for 4. Nel went for a third ball duck with Walters showing a certain authority at the crease until departing for 53. At stumps, Tremlett had managed 15 not out and Linley 2 not out. I should however mention the rather smart fivefer that Groenewald took today which, along with the three from Jones, was extremely impressive.

If Linley can work the strike and get Tremlett to face as many balls as possible we may yet manage to garner some runs before the whole team is out, but I suppose this moves the game along apace. The main fear is that Rogers will once again inflict a lot of damage on Surrey’s bowling attack. The south London outfit will be hoping that Nel and Tremlett get him out early tomorrow morning, or else their target of 364 may soon be swallowed up.

As for Mr R, he currently leads the chase to be the first to 1000 runs this season, five ahead of Adam Lyth in Division One. At the time of typing the pack looks like this:

Ramps: 959
Lyth: 953
Peters: 883
Rodgers: 865
Rudolph: 739

Best of luck, sir! Only 41 required in the next innings!

Now. Where did I put that hoover...

Schofield: A man for all seasons

I have a guilty secret. My teddy bear is called ‘Cosgrove’.

The last time I had the pleasure of being at the Oval was at the back end of last year, to watch a Ramps-less Surrey take on Glamorgan. The obligatory foray into the Oval shop ensued with the result that Annabel and I purchased a Surrey teddy each. Being a fan of the newly retired club skipper, Annabel called hers ‘Butch’. I on the other hand decided to find a name that seemed a little more appropriate and found inspiration on the field of play in the formidable shape of Glamorgan’s Mark Cosgrove.

Well, there is a definite resemblance in terms of physique, you have to admit!

But there remains the inescapable truth that, for all his lack of sveltness, Cosgrove is one heck of a player on his day. And sure enough the CB40 match between Glamorgan and Surrey turned into a humdinger of a game! With Surrey having lost the toss Glamorgan opted to bat first which meant that the Lions reply would be mostly under the lights. Cosgrove scored a robust 61 before Gareth Batty bowled him, and received some strong support from the mighty T Maynard along the way. Little scores from the rest of the dragons’ team contributed to a total of 223 which, it must be said, looked a bit light and Surrey must really have fancied their chances at chasing it down.

Now, I’m not one for picking performances apart as that is a job for the analysts, who know a bit more about it than I do. Additionally, if someone such as me can spot a flaw in an individual’s innings then the chances are that person has already noticed it themselves. Suffice it to say therefore that Surrey has a bit of a problem when Ramps is out of the equation. That’s not idle hero-worship either. The captain kicked things off nicely at the top of the order before dismissed by Waters for 21. With Steven Davies still absent, his place was given to Stewart Walters who has an amazing amount of skill but somehow it just hasn’t seemed to come good for him overall. Walters was eventually given out LBW for 18.

Ramps and Afzaal, batting together as so often happens put on a nice little partnership. It’s a sort of Thaw and Waterman ‘good cop/bad cop’ double act at the crease. Afzaal unfortunately bailed out on 23 and left Ramps to keep ticking along with Spriegel for company. Mr R made a solid 40 before Owen removed him. At this point I’m pretty sure the boys back on the Surrey balcony must have been holding their heads in their hands a touch, for what had seemed like a simple run chase was beginning to resemble a slow motion wrestling match in pink custard...

But cometh the hour, cometh the man. King for a day and Rampant favourite Chris Schofield, who took to the field following what must have been one of the most embarrassing moments of Gary Wilson’s fledgling career when he ran himself out for a fourth ball duck (and with the TV cameras capturing the moment in its humiliating gruesomeness) proceeded to bed in with first Spriegel, and then Gareth Batty. The latter played a brave Butcheresque innings on one leg, having suffered from what appeared to be a particularly unpleasant bout of cramp, with Stewart Walters acting as runner. I have to admit I had my fingers crossed at this point as I think I remember Butch being ‘run-out’ when Walters was acting as runner for him on one occasion.

Hats off to Batty though, as he managed 22 before he was caught, and with he and Schofield getting their heads down it gave Surrey the advantage once again. Tremlett came in for a small but steady 6 run cameo, and with Andre Nel, playing with a finger that had been dislocated only the day before, they nudged their noses in front on the line, winning by two wickets.

There was no doubt that Schoey’s 64 not out would win him man of the match. Quite possibly it was his best innings for Surrey. Special commendation also for Batty in that heroic stand, for Nel in helping to see them over the line, and a mention for Ramps for the 40 runs he contributed when he must have been fairly exhausted following his titanic 300 plus effort in the Middlesex game. I hadn’t expected to see him play in the Glamorgan match. These county cricketers are tough lads!

Surrey currently fill second place in their group table and have won every game played so far. Things are fortunately going much better for them in the shorter format of the game than in the championship. There have been one or two well known, dare I say respected, people who have had a go at Surrey’s lack of togetherness as a unit, and that they are filled with ‘individuals’, big egos and non-team players. I can’t comment on this, as I am not part of the dressing room (I imagine letting Rampants into the dressing room would be considered unwise anyway), but then again neither are these gentlemen either. I would however like to make one tiny point in Surrey’s defence.

Look at the four players I commended in winning the game for Surrey, and tell me if being an ‘individual’ is such a bad thing!