Over and out

After four long years and over 700 posts I have decided to hang up my blogging boots. I always said that I would continue to write the blog as long as it was fun, and after my recent two week break it became clear that the blog was more of a chore than a joy. It always surprised me how much time blogging took up! I'm looking forward to going to the Oval without having to take notes on every last wicket and boundary.

It has been fun for the most part. Plenty of ups and downs. When I started out the blog was merely a means by which I could vent my frustrations, so the fact that anyone else ever came to read was a constant source of amazement to me! Thank you to everyone who has commented and engaged with the blog over the years, I hope we'll all continue to support Surrey with gusto.

The Surrey blogging mantle is in fine hands anyway, Lewis Winter writes the Surrey Fan Blog here. I will of course continue to tweet inane rubbish on my @SurreyCricBlog twitter feed so if you want to discuss all issues Surrey cricket related come and find me there. There will also be the occasional blog from me on the ESPNCricinfo County Cricket Supporters Network, here.

Thanks everyone!

Josh

Kevin O'Brien joins for crunch Hampshire tie

Surrey waved goodbye to Glenn Maxwell on Monday, and by today we're saying hello to another new face, this time Irish allrounder Kevin O'Brien who joins for the final three fixtures of the T20 group stage.

O'Brien is most famous for having hit a 50 ball century in the 2011 World Cup, the fastest in the tournament's history, but he's also got previous in the Twenty20 Cup. In 2011 he hit 119 from just 52 balls for Gloucestershire against Middlesex. He also has 44 wickets at 25 in this format for good measure. It would seem that with qualification for the latter stages still in the balance the management have opted for O'Brien's experience over the raw talent of, say, Tom Curran.

The squad and a possible XI is as follows:

Steven Davies
Jason Roy
Ricky Ponting
Gary Wilson
Kevin O’Brien
Azhar Mahmood
Zafar Ansari
Zander De Bruyn
Jon Lewis
Gareth Batty
Jade Dernbach

Bench: Vikram Solanki, Chris Tremlett

Who makes way for O'Brien is the only real question. I would guess he's most likely to come in for Maxwell as a straight swap, but its possible that we could opt for the extra batsman having only posted one big score this season. Facing a powerful Hampshire side, that might not be the worst idea. In that case, O'Brien may play ahead of de Bruyn with Solanki replacing Maxwell. The bowling attack is unlikely to change, though Jade Dernbach will be looking for more support than he got from his colleagues on Monday night.

Hampshire are really flying in the T20 this year having won every game where there's been a result, including a five wicket defeat of Surrey at the Rose Bowl. Michael Carberry has led the way hitting 194 runs at a strike rate of 150 in his five games, though the rest of their batting has been less impressive. Their bowling attack has shared the wickets liberally, Danny Briggs has six while Mascarenhas, Tanvir and Dawson have four apiece.

Surrey's run of four wins was ended by Essex on Monday, and we have slipped to fourth in the table but we have two games in hand over Middlesex who are just two points better off. As we play them and bottom of the table Kent next week, tomorrow's game is crucial in getting the upper hand in the race for qualification. Our batting has thus far failed to click. Davies and Roy have looked strong at times but both have just the one fifty, while the middle order power has failed to materialise. I hope Gary Wilson bats up the order and O'Brien has one of his good days, if that happens we'll give Hampshire a very tough game.

Winning streak grinds to a halt

With depressing inevitability the Surrey Cricket Blog curse struck again tonight. After four successive T20 wins Surrey came a cropper against an impressive Essex outfit at the Oval.

Gareth Batty won the toss and decided that setting a total and fielding in the slightly cooler evening air was the best bet. When Jason Roy took 10 runs off Shaun Tait's first over it looked a good shout but once Steven Davies fell to Graham Napier's first delivery the home side struggled for momentum.

Jason Roy mad a good looking 30 before he was run out attempting a very tight second run. I'm not sure whether it was Ponting's or Roy's call but it never looked on. Glen Maxwell,  playing his final match, batted at four which I found surprising given Gary Wilson's form and the time left in the game to build an innings. As it was Maxwell struggled to find his timing in plodding to 16 off 18 deliveries without hitting a single boundary. Ponting was gamely trying to force the issue but he was also still not at his fluent best.

Azhar Mahmood struggled to score quickly too, he came and went for 12 off 11. When Wilson did appear at number six he only had nine balls to make an impact. He managed 13 runs to drag Surrey's total to what looked like a defendable 148, considering the impressive form of our bowlers. That was despite a superb final over from Shaun Tait who looked too hot to handle for everyone but Roy. Ricky Ponting finally top scored for his side with 65, although the timing of his dismissal - with just 13 balls remaining and leaving two new batsmen to face them - was frustrating.

The Essex innings began in aggressive fashion as Hamish Rutherford looked to take the attack to the Surrey bowlers. He raced to 30 from 17 balls by the fifth over before a Jon Lewis slower ball foxed him and he was well caught in the deep by Ansari.

That proved a rare success for Surrey's bowlers as Greg Smith then took over the run scoring baton. Rutherford's aggression had allowed Smith the time to bed in but once his Kiwi partner was gone he played beautifully. I thought Gareth Batty missed a couple of tricks tactically tonight, specifically in holding back Dernbach's second over until the 12th, and not bowling Maxwell at all after his first over went for just four. Zander de Bruyn meanwhile was given two overs which disappeared for 22 runs. If he's going to bat no higher than 8 in this format his captain will want better control. We also let ourselves down in the field, Jon Lewis and Azhar Mahmood were predictably lethargic and cost us probably 15 runs.

Essex duly delivered the win with seven balls remaining with Owais Shah unbeaten on 46. The result leaves us with four wins and two defeats after six fixtures. We've dropped from second to fourth (below Middlesex!) in what looks like a very tight group. A win against flying Hampshire on Friday will get things back on track though.

Five in a row the aim for Surrey

It seems that Surrey rather enjoyed my time out of the country, winning four Twenty20s and drawing a Championship game with Notts. A creditable draw too, save for a disastrous first innings from the home side. Attention turns back to the T20 tournament again now as we play Essex this evening.

A 13 man squad has been named, and a possible XI is below:

Steven Davies
Jason Roy
Ricky Ponting
Gary Wilson
Glenn Maxwell
Azhar Mahmood
Zafar Ansari
Zander De Bruyn
Gareth Batty
Jon Lewis
Jade Dernbach

Bench: Vikram Solanki, Chris Tremlett

Throughout this season and last we seem to have been employing the old "cobble together as many runs as possible and then strangle the opposition" tactic that was so successful in the 2011 CB40 campaign. What is different about this season though is that we have a lot more firepower in our batting lineup, in addition to a fine and varied bowling attack. On paper at least our batsmen should be giving our bowlers a lot more breathing space.

Davies and Roy have been largely effective at the top but thereafter all but Gary Wilson have been something of a disappointment. Ricky Ponting in particular has been unable to replicate his masterful Championship form, instead continuing his IPL T20 form with just 35 runs from 40 balls. Perhaps he's due an explosion of batting prowess, or perhaps his best T20 days are behind him. The lack of runs in the middle order may be down to failing to find the right combination of the "Floating Four", Wilson, Maxwell, Mahmood and Ansari. Take Wilson out of the equation and the remainder have contributed only 168 from 149 balls between them in five games. If the right combination is found then no total will be out of sight. Maxwell, incidentally, will be playing his last game for the club and while he's been a useful contributor, perhaps his departure will create a space for Tom Curran to be blooded in the First XI?

If the batting has misfired, the bowling has been peerless. Dernbach and Mahmood's variations have stifled teams at the top and particularly at the death, while Jon Lewis has been a surprisingly effective addition to this year's attack. Ansari and Batty have been effective in keeping run rates in check and while de Bruyn hasn't, he has collected more wickets than everyone bar the excellent Dernbach. With big boundaries likely at the Oval again the bowlers will be confident of defending most totals north of 140, though it would be nice to have a bit more room for error tonight.

And despite being demolished by Middlesex last week for 74, room for error is what you need against a side like Essex. With Shah, Bopara, ten Doeschate, Rutherford and Foster in their top order runs should not be as hard to come by as they were against our London rivals. Indeed in their very next game Essex chased down 171 with four balls to spare against Sussex. Shaun Tait will lead their bowling attack and after just one wicket in his first three games he has started to find his feet, returning 4-26 against Sussex. If Tymal Mills plays as well it could well be the quickest attack at the Oval this year.

As I'd hoped when the competition started we are proving quite a handful in this format and with five fixtures left to play we are well placed to progress. Two wins against Sussex and a win against Middlesex in recent weeks would be very nicely augmented by victory over Essex tonight.