Adams sticks to his guns for Worcestershire match

Chris Adams has gamely refused to bow to the pressure created by a dispiriting defeat to Middlesex, naming the set of players who travelled to the Home of Cricket last week. Jacques Rudolph was a late withdrawal due to family reasons. It is of course right that he is given the time and space to deal with the personal issues affecting him.

The squad and possible XI is as follows:

Rory Hamilton-Brown
Steven Davies
Mark Ramprakash
Zander de Bruyn
Tom Maynard
Jason Roy
Chris Jordan
Gareth Batty
Jon Lewis
Stuart Meaker
Jade Dernbach

12th man: Tim Linley

I think Adams is right to resist major changes, Hamilton-Brown and Lewis aside no one really impressed at Lord's but it was a very tricky pitch, the likes of which we probably won't encounter again this season. The absence of Rudolph does though mean that the issue of who will open rears its ugly head again. Chris Jordan was the man tasked with the job in the game against Sussex and while he didn't fail completely, he certainly didn't look at ease in that position. Adams may want to stick by his man, but I would personally prefer Hamilton-Brown or de Bruyn is given the job temporarily.

The only question mark remaining is which of Tim Linley or Stuart Meaker gets the nod. There was no indication that Meaker's omission from the Lord's game was injury related so he should be ready and raring to go. Once into his stride Linley didn't bowl badly in the first innings and was barely needed in the second, but there's that niggling feeling that a fired up Meaker might have dealt with the Sussex tail better last week. Meaker also offers more with the bat.

Adams could elect to omit an allrounder and play Meaker and Linley. I think this unlikely, the tail is already too long with Jordan at seven, he or Batty any higher in the order than they currently are would not be a good idea. While the pair didn't have the best game at Lord's, Batty got good turn at the Oval vs Sussex and is needed to keep the over rate down - this cost us a penalty point against Middlesex.

Jason Roy should get his chance and will hopefully seize it with both hands. His last couple of Second XI innings have produced runs but not in huge number. A haul of runs might have a knock-on effect on Mark Ramprakash. The rumblings about Ramps have been ongoing for some time and an impressive game from Roy will probably amplify these.

Worcestershire are a dangerous side. In their only Championship game this season they shot out a strong Nottinghamshire side for 118, before Notts turned it around in their second innings. The usual suspects will pose a challenge for Surrey, the likes of Moeen, Solanki, Klinger and Kervezee in the batting and newly crowned Cricketer of the Year Alan Richardson spearheading the bowling.

The team spirit of this side is readily acknowledged so while the loss to Middlesex will have hurt, they won't dwell on it. They will expect to beat Worcestershire but won't take it as a given. The weather might stand in their way though, the forecast is for consistent rain over the next few days so it could be a fight over first innings bonus points.

Middlesex ambush sees Surrey to defeat

The task of seeing Surrey to victory was at least as tricky as expected and in the end we came up three runs short as Middlesex pulled off an impressive heist.

In reality this is a game we should have won, but Hamilton-Brown may look back on his decision to bowl first as the moment where ultimately the game was lost. Yesterday and today saw the pitch become almost unplayable as 25 wickets went down for next to nothing. Batting last was always going to be a tough ask.

Plenty happened in between the toss and Jade Dernbach's ill-advised shot just after midday though. When we'd reduced the opposition to 129-7 we really should've stepped on the throat but Middlesex resisted expertly. Similarly if only we could've cobbled together another five runs in our first innings we might've had a different ending.

This morning Maynard and Hamilton-Brown would have been tasked with ticking off the remaining 46 runs but neither lasted the course. The captain was more tentative than last night perhaps wary of being seen to be overly aggressive on a very difficult surface. In the end the final six wickets fell for just 36 runs, six more than Middlesex's final six second innings wickets managed, but not enough to get us over the line. It was a high pressure situation with relatively few runs required, but I think some of the decisions to take singles very early in the over cost us dear today.

I think Adams may rue his decision to select two allrounders who contributed 12 runs and three wickets over the four days. If de Bruyn is going to play such a prominent role in games such as these, do we really need five alternatives? Meaker may also have been more adept in finishing off Middlesex's tail on day one but with the conditions as they were Adams could be forgiven for thinking Linley was the better option.

It's incredibly frustrating to lose a game by such a tiny margin and maybe it is unfair to be overly critical. I think the selection was wrong, but a margin of three runs across the match suggests it wasn't disastrously so. An incredibly difficult surface and opposition bowlers who did very little wrong make for very competitive cricket, but that's what division one is all about.

A defeat is a blow but the cricket comes thick and fast now. The players will dust themselves off and come back next week expecting to put this loss out of their minds.

Game in the balance into the final day

After a day's cricket that can only be described, for the most part in any case, as painful to listen to Surrey have their noses just ahead on 95-4, needing 46 runs to win.

In all 19 wickets fell on day three as the wicket became increasingly difficult to predict with the ball seaming extravagantly. Surrey's final five first innings wickets fell in quick time and in the end it was a collapse of ten wickets for 137 runs. Of the final six batsmen only Jon Lewis made it into double figures.

As if to emphasise the deterioration of the pitch Middlesex bettered that collapse losing all ten wickets for just 106 runs in less than 36 overs. Zander de Bruyn, again handed the new ball, this time repaid his captain's faith with two wickets in the first six overs. Hats off to Hamilton-Brown for sticking with the plan.

Malan and Robson then steadied the ship somewhat with a partnership of 36 before the carnage began. Jon Lewis in particular ran riot with 5-41 as the final eight Middlesex wickets tumbled for 41 runs. Dernbach chipped in with the important wickets of Robson and Malan while the other three bowlers were barely needed.

That gave Middlesex a lead of 140, not substantial under normal circumstances but since Rudolph and Davies' partnership twenty wickets had fallen for just 243 runs. These were far from normal circumstances.

Surrey's chase was only five overs old before the first wicket went down, that of Rudolph for six, swiftly followed an over later by Davies for eight. Ramprakash endured another tough stay at the crease but was gone six overs later leaving Surrey tottering at 22-3. 141 looked an awfully long way off.

That left de Bruyn and the skipper knowing they had plenty of work to do and they responded with a positive partnership of 46, driven mostly by Hamilton-Brown. Collymore then accounted for de Bruyn and the game was firmly back in the balance, 68-4 with 73 still needed.

Tom Maynard and Hamilton-Brown, the rescuers against Sussex, were again positive and an unbeaten partnership of 27 saw Surrey through to close. The captain went to an impressive 50 in the process. The only other scores of 50+ in the game have been scored at a rate of no more than 43 runs per hundred balls, Hamilton-Brown's was scored at a rate of over 90 runs per hundred balls.

So with only 46 runs required it would be tempting to say it will be simple enough for Surrey, but 19 wickets in a day says otherwise. Hamilton-Brown and Maynard will need to start all over again in the morning, and the pitch is unlikely to be any friendlier. The pair will look to attack and in Jordan, Batty and Lewis we have three batsmen to come who aren't likely to block out many overs. It could go one of two ways, but either way it probably won't take long. Here's hoping we make it two wins out of two.

Tough day as Middlesex edge ahead

An evening session collapse un-did a lot of sterling work by the top order as Surrey slipped from 85-0 to 161-5, ending the day still 95 runs behind and with the prospect of a new ball to come one over into tomorrow's play.

The day began with the visitors hunting the final wicket of the Middlesex innings but Collymore and Malan resisted, adding 33 runs with relative ease despite having to face the new ball (which was delayed for two overs for some reason). Hamilton-Brown's left-field bowling changes continued unabated with Gareth Batty bowling with the new ball just eight overs old, before Lewis and Jordan had a chance with the new cherry. Jordan eventually got the breakthrough though, the excellent Malan was caught down the leg side just 12 runs short of his hundred.

Surrey will have been disappointed with a final Middlesex total of 256, having reduced them to 129-7 the previous afternoon.

The openers knew a solid foundation was critical to eventually overhauling Middlesex's total, and they did a fine job. The Middlesex bowlers gave very little away and 21 overs into the innings just 42 runs were on the board but crucially no wickets had been lost. Davies and Rudolph batted sensibly, taking Surrey to 85-0 before a rush of blood saw Rudolph advance down the track to Rayner, missing the ball in the process - stumped for 45.

Davies continued to accumulate and he added 32 with Ramprakash until he edged behind with his score on 62. De Bruyn joined Ramprakash at the crease and to say they began slowly is something of an understatement. Their first seven overs together brought just three runs, the Middlesex bowlers offering almost nothing for the batsmen to feast upon.

The pair of them occupied the crease for a combined 152 balls, adding just 34 runs in the process. Ramprakash was LBW to to Neil Dexter and de Bruyn fell in the same manner to Roland-Jones. Their dismissals brought Hamilton-Brown and Maynard to the crease, two batsmen you wouldn't associate with grinding out runs. Maynard was particularly ill at ease and he was soon on his way as well, caught at slip off Dexter who was bowling an excellent spell of medium pace.

A first innings lead, which looked likely with the openers taking us to 85 without loss, now looks distinctly tricky. Hamilton-Brown and Jordan are more than capable with the bat, but the Middlesex seamers, armed with the new ball, will be very tough to face tomorrow morning. They will hope that batting in the morning is easier than it was this afternoon - just one wicket fell before lunch compared to five later in the day. The bowlers will have other ideas, one or two balls late in the day were keeping low.

From a position of real strength yesterday we're now scrapping hard for first innings parity. With no Meaker in the side, only Batty and Lewis will offer much resistance with the bat if the current pair fail. The captain and Jordan is now a very important partnership. It is crucial they don't allow this match to slip further.

Surrey let Middlesex off the hook at Lord's

A rain interrupted day at Lord's ended with Middlesex probably just the happier of the two sides, closing the day at 225-9 with the excellent Dawid Malan still at the crease unbeaten on 62.

Surrey omitted Jason Roy again, preferring the allround talents of Gareth Batty instead. Steven Davies came in and Stuart Meaker was surprisingly dropped in favour of Tim Linley, the only two changes from the XI against Sussex. Hamilton-Brown won the toss and he elected to have a bowl, there was a fair bit of cloud cover and moisture in the air, it looked a good decision.

The bowlers didn't back him up immediately though. It was 40 minutes before Jon Lewis made the breakthrough, having Joe Denly caught behind and Tim Linley had a particularly poor start. Hamilton-Brown meanwhile puzzled again by turning to Zander de Bruyn as first change bowler. He wobbled the ball around for five overs but it wasn't until Dernbach was belatedly introduced into the attack in the 18th over that the second breakthrough was made. Quite why the captain thought de Bruyn was a more likely wicket taker in the circumstances is beyond me.

66-2 became 88-2 at lunch and Middlesex would have been much the happier of the two sides. However after lunch and over an hour's lost play to a rain delay, Surrey came right back into the game. Tim Linley, after switching from the pavilion end, was vastly improved. Having bowled his first three overs for 14 runs, he then proceeded to bowl nine overs, returning 2-15, clean bowling Robson and Berg.

Jade Dernbach was also in fine fettle and at one stage had brilliant figures of 3-13 off 8 overs, Rogers, Dexter and Simpson his victims - the latter two in consecutive balls. Middlesex were reduced to 129-7, but Dawid Malan was holding firm at one end. He was joined by Tim Murtagh and just as we did against Sussex, we let the tail end cobble together plenty of runs. The 8th and 9th wicket partnerships added 94 runs, Chris Jordan was too loose and gave away three no-balls for good measure. What could've been 150 all out is now 225-9.

It's always hard to judge a pitch until both sides have batted but this seems to be one of those where hard graft early in an innings will pay dividends eventually. Surrey's dashing strokemakers would do well to analyse Malan's dogged innings and try and repeat it.

With the new ball just an over away tomorrow morning Surrey will want to knock over the last batsman in double quick time. The weather tomorrow is likely to be similar to today so batting won't be easy. From a position where it looked like we would dominate, we now have a real fight on our hands. The game against Sussex suggests we're up to the task, let's hope tomorrow proves it.

Chance for redemption at Lord's

Just less than a year ago Surrey made the arduous trip across London to face our North London rivals. Not only was the trip arduous, watching the game play out wasn't all that fun either. Unless you're a Middlesex fan of course. We were rolled over inside three days having allowed the opposition get to 445, having been 88-4 on the first morning.

So this year we're after revenge. An improved performance no doubt, but we're going there to win. The 13 man squad contains no surprises:

Steven Davies
Jacques Rudolph
Mark Ramprakash
Zander de Bruyn
Rory Hamilton-Brown
Tom Maynard
Jason Roy
Chris Jordan
Jon Lewis
Stuart Meaker
Jade Dernbach

12th men: Tim Linley, Gareth Batty

Leaving out Gareth Batty is a big call, and it's not a choice Chris Adams has made since 2010 when he was omitted from the XI to face Gloucestershire during a rainy September week. The forecast for the next few days isn't great, and there's been a fair bit of moisture around for the last few. Middlesex's strength is in the seam bowling department and the ball always does a bit at Lord's. If Adams is going to leave Batty on the bench anywhere, I think it might be here.

Leaving Tim Linley on the sidelines again is cruel, he's done nothing wrong but then neither did Meaker, Dernbach or Lewis against Sussex. He is to my mind a more likely wicket-taker than Jordan and with Roy at seven, followed by Meaker and Lewis who contributed well with the bat at the Oval the coach might feel there's enough batting to omit the allrounders altogether. I wonder though if Adams will want to discard Jordan just yet, a man in whom he's placed a lot of faith recently.

Four seamers ought to be able to do the job, with back up from de Bruyn and even Hamilton-Brown if absolutely necessary.

It seems fairly certain that Steven Davies will return as opener. To write Jordan the opener off after just one game might seem hasty, but there can be little debate as to who is better suited to the job. Moreover, Jordan is a far better option in the middle order.

Middlesex might have been beaten in their first game at Taunton last week but they weren't completely overawed despite facing a bowling attack spearheaded by one of the form bowlers in international cricket, Vernon Philander. They collapsed to George Dockrell's increasingly impressive left arm spin in the second innings but didn't simply roll over even then, they had Somerset 44-4 chasing a total of just 72.

Their batting is strong. Though Andrew Strauss was not released by the ECB this week, they still have the excellent Chris Rogers at the heart of their top order. Joe Denly made a promising start to his Middlesex career with a first innings 73 last week, and with Robson, Malan and Dexter they have a solid looking batting lineup. We know only too well how dangerous their bowling is, Toby Roland-Jones has terrorised our batting on at least two occasions, Corey Collymore is still dangerous, ditto Tim Murtagh and they have an assortment of allrounders who can pose a threat as well.

On paper at least our side is stronger than it was 12 months ago across batting and bowling. Ramprakash and Rudolph will be hungry for runs, and Davies will want to get his season off and running after sitting on the sidelines in Sri Lanka. If the weather behaves we should be looking at making it two wins out of two.

One game. One win. What have we learned?

Not a huge amount more than we learned from pre-season to be frank. As Chris Adams said after the win against Sussex, there was no stand out performance over the three-and-a-bit days.

Jade Dernbach picked up five wickets, Jon Lewis four. Chris Jordan bowled impressively in patches and Stuart Meaker was a danger more or less throughout. Maynard was excellent in the first innings and cut off in his prime (alright, it was a bad shot) in the second.

The major positive was Hamilton-Brown's second innings 89, his highest score since that big hundred against Essex at Whitgift last year. As Andrew Strauss well knows even winning games as captain isn't enough to completely quell fears about your own batting. The skipper will be very relieved to be back in the runs.

Where do we go from here then? Lord's on Thursday, and if the forecast is to be believed it could be four days of rain breaks. Adams will be loath to change a winning formula so would be well within his rights to name a side very similar to that which overcame Sussex.

However, in the event that he doesn't, four names will probably be in the hat for review. The allrounders, Jordan and Batty, may be looked at. Jordan will slip down the order to number seven presumably, as Steven Davies is now back from Sri Lanka. Does this diminish his role in the side? Not in my view, if anything it enhances his credentials. His hard-hitting, combined with an apparent willingness to knuckle down a bit, could make him a very useful lower-middle-order bat.

So what of Gareth Batty? His place is probably never under any real threat but a rainy week at Lord's in April might be the only time his name hovers anywhere near the chop. At the Oval his 27 overs of off-spin offered the usual control and two very handy second innings wickets but he lasted no time at all with the bat in either knock.

That brings me to the next name in the mix, here's the broken record again; Jason Roy. Adams was at pains to praise Roy's committment in the field as 12th man in the Sussex game and could do a lot worse than bring him in to provide a bit of extra insurance in the batting. Innings of 264 and 273 in April might not immediately suggest a crisis in the batting department but 11-2 and 55-4 indicates all is not quite right. The question, as ever, is would the presence of the extra batting option make the top order play with more or less responsibility? We won't know that until its too late to change. Roy's latest chance to impress, for the Second XI against Sussex 2s was not grasped with both hands however, he scored only 41.

Adams may take the view that Steven Davies' presence at the top of the order means the two allrounder route at 7 and 8 carries less risk. I would argue that we felt a bowler heavy over the course of the Sussex game and with conditions at Lord's likely to favour the seamer (overhead and the pitch - Middlesex only have the allround spinning talents of Ollie Rayner to call on at present), four seamers might be the way to go this week.

The fourth name? Tim Linley. Given the solid performance of all three frontline seam bowlers against Sussex he will find it hard to force his way into the side for the very next game. It could be another frustrating few days ferrying the drinks for the Viscount.

After all that, I still expect Adams to field more or less the same XI, with Davies coming in for Rory Burns. The squad should be announced tomorrow, so not long to wait to find out!

Slick Surrey finish off Sussex

It took under an hour for Surrey's bowlers to finish off the Sussex batsmen this morning under leaden skies with a ball only four overs old. A first victory of 2012 is now firmly under their belts and in doing so they played some impressive cricket against a solid cricketing side.

Jon Lewis was the man in the wickets this morning, picking up James Anyon, caught in the slips very early on. The excellent Luke Wells, who had moved to a well deserved hundred, was last man out, caught and bowled by Lewis. He finished with 3-40, plus a crucial innings of 24, all in all a very good debut and he'll be a difficult man to dislodge from the starting XI.

We will come up against sterner tests than this in Division One this season, but this was a display of efficient, resilient cricket from Surrey. There is still plenty to come from the mis-firing top order, Rudolph and Ramprakash in particular will be disappointed with their returns in this game, and Chris Jordan is not the solution to our lack of opening batsmen. Hamilton-Brown's superb second innings knock, and Tom Maynard in both innings, are the real positives on the batting front. Whether Steven Davies will come straight into the side for the Middlesex game having only returned from Sri Lanka today remains to be seen.

The bowling however proved to be a nicely balanced seam attack, with the usual solid back up from Gareth Batty. Jon Lewis, Jade Dernbach, Stuart Meaker and Jordan will be a tough proposition for most sides to negotiate in early season conditions.

21 points on the board is a very nice way to get the season underway and it provides some useful momentum going into a busy period. This game has confirmed that we are indeed a better side than we were last year, and with quality performers like Linley on the sidelines, and Davies still to come into the side, there's more to come from this Surrey team yet.

Surrey edge towards opening victory

It was a day of hard graft for Surrey as Sussex refused to roll over and be beaten on the third day at the Oval. Sussex ended the day on 240-8, needing another 102 runs for victory.

Lewis, Meaker and Dernbach cobbled together a further 33 crucial runs this morning to take the lead past 340, a tough ask for any team. It was another day under heavy cloud and the start was delayed because of bad light (despite the lights being on - confusing).

Even more confusing was Hamilton-Brown's decision - not for the first time - to give Zander de Bruyn the new ball. Despite the conditions being ideal, and having three rapid seam/swing bowlers in Meaker, Dernbach and Jordan in the ranks, the skipper opted for his military medium allrounder. To his credit, de Bruyn did at least keep it tight.

Jon Lewis made the breakthrough, clean bowling Nash who had started brightly. Meaker, who was not introduced until the 10th over, duly made an immediate breakthrough, bowling Ed Joyce. He trapped Goodwin lbw just a few overs later, Sussex were wobbling at 40-3, but Luke Wells stood firm.

Another curious decision from Hamilton-Brown was to bring Batty into the attack before either of Jordan and Dernbach. Not surprisingly, when Dernbach was introduced into the attack in the 25th over it took him just a couple of overs to have an impact, picking up the wicket of Yardy, also lbw.

Gatting and Wells helped Sussex recover before Batty got in on the act, having first innings top-scorer Gatting caught by Dernbach. It was then Ben Brown's turn to frustrate the Surrey bowlers but he and Naved fell in relatively quick succession.

Thoughts of a rapid denouement were dismissed further by Amjad (15) and then Anyon again (11 not out). The general consensus seems to be that Surrey bowled too short far too often today. You'd have thought with some juicy cloud overhead, it would be a no-brainer to pitch the ball up in order that it has the best chance to find movement through the air.

In reality with only two wickets still standing, and 102 runs still to get, a Surrey victory should be something of a formality. But it's never that simple. Luke Wells, who in notching the top score of the match in the fourth innings has played a blinder, will return to the crease tomorrow morning and James Anyon, a thorn in Surrey's side throughout this match, will be no pushover either.

The forecast for tomorrow doesn't look too good, heavy cloud and rain could halt Surrey's progress at times, although when we do get out onto the field we should at least have ideal bowling conditions - as long as they're bowling the right length of course.

Captain fantastic leads the way

With two days remaining Surrey are looking to press for victory with a 318 run lead and two second innings wickets still intact. It might not be the simplest of victories however.

Today was dominated by a sparkling innings from captain Rory Hamilton-Brown. His 89, from just 103 balls was nearly double the next best score in the innings and was peppered with authoritative drives and powerful pulls. His placement was particularly impressive as he regularly pierced fielders spaced just yards apart. His downfall was brought by what seemed to be a desire to race to the hundred mark, but his knock and the 136 run partnership with Maynard rescued Surrey from a precarious 55-4.

Surrey were efficient in whittling away the Sussex lower order this morning, dispatching Brown, Naved and Amjad rapidly before the final two batsmen helped Joe Gatting put on 74 runs. Chris Jordan bowled a particularly impressive spell and was the pick of the bowlers returning 3-29.

Jordan and Rudolph began watchfully and both had done the hard work before throwing their wickets away to none-too clever strokes. Ramprakash looked anxious throughout his innings of nine, frankly he looked a man well short of runs and his dismissal, run out when there clearly was no run on, was indicative of that. De Bruyn didn't hang around for long before offering up catching practice to the slips.

That brought Maynard and Hamilton-Brown together and the pair were superb, encapsulating everything about this new Surrey side, stamping their authority on the innings. They both departed in relatively quick succession, Burns and Batty followed soon after but not before the former had played some attractive strokes. Lewis and Meaker saw Surrey through to the close playing sensibly, putting away the bad ball and fortunately missing the good ones.

The lead is currently substantial and the two at the crease tomorrow morning can still add to that. However many of the dismissals today were down to poor strokes rather than brilliant bowling so the conditions and pitch may not be making batting too tricky. Sussex's top order is more than capable of chasing a big total and in Goodwin they have a man well versed in playing a long anchor innings. What Sussex did well in patches today was bowl accurately, frustrating the batsmen out. Surrey will have to follow suit when their opposition do get a second bat.

We are still firm favourites to come out on top but it won't be a walk in the park. Today was a good exhibition of attacking but controlled cricket from Surrey, more of the same tomorrow please!

Surrey edge bowlers' day

The first day of the County Championship didn't disappoint and the game at hand is turning into a mouthwatering prospect. A late burst of four wickets gave Surrey the upper hand on a cloudy, bowler-friendly day at the Oval.

Rory Hamilton-Brown lost the first toss of the year as the opposition took the decision to insert Surrey's out of form batsmen. The bowlers didn't disappoint. The pitch had good bounce and carry but did not appear to have a great deal of grass on it. The real devils were caused by the overhead conditions as first Anyon and Naved, and then Amjad exploited the cloud cover to good effect.

It wasn't long before Surrey's makeshift opening pair were both back in the hutch, though it was something of a surprise that it was Jacques Rudolph who was first to depart, for a 12 ball duck. He was frustrated by tight, dangerous bowling before offering a catch to the slips. Chris Jordan followed soon after, playing on to Amjad.

The elder statesmen of the side, Ramprakash and de Bruyn then put on a recovery stand of 68 at a good pace before Ramprakash was out, LBW again, to Hatchett. De Bruyn followed ten overs later for an impressive 52 and Hamilton-Brown then fell for just 18.

At 124-5 Surrey were flirting with a first day disaster but Tom Maynard continued his good pre-season form, ably assisted by Rory Burns on debut they helped the side recover. At 205-5 Surrey were in a good position to counter-punch before a mini collapse saw four wickets fall for 29 runs. Batty, Meaker and Lewis all failed to support Tom Maynard and only Jade Dernbach, with an obdurate 5 from 18 balls hung about for any length of time. Even so, Maynard was left stranded for an excellent unbeaten 86 featuring 16 fours.

Despite the overhead conditions, 264 still felt a touch below par on what seemed a good surface. Jon Lewis made the perfect start to his Surrey career trapping the dangerous Ed Joyce LBW in his first over. Thereafter though he was a bit expensive as Meaker kept things tighter at the other end. Interestingly Meaker was awarded the new ball ahead of Jade Dernbach, an admirable show of confidence from his captain.

Luke Wells and Chris Nash recovered with a 60 run stand before Dernbach snuck one past an attempted drive to bowl Wells. Nash followed quickly offering a leading edge off Meaker to mid-off. Dernbach was back in the action not long after, dishing up a wide long hop to Goodwin before delivering a superb ball to knock back his off-peg.

Mike Yardy and Joe Gatting looked to be heading for the close of play before the former nibbled at a Chris Jordan delivery outside off stump, Rudolph took a good catch at second slip.

Sussex were 105-5 at the close with all of the experienced top order back in the dressing room. 159 runs in arrears with only the wicketkeeper Brown and the bowlers to come. With cloud forecast to roll across the Oval from mid-morning onwards there is a great opportunity to finish off the opposition quick-sharp to take a substantial first innings lead.

Today was a fine example of Surrey's resilience, when Wells and Nash threatened to build a good partnership Dernbach came up with a cracking ball to send him on his way. Sensing an opening, three more wickets then fell in ten overs. They must not let up tomorrow morning, Dernbach and Meaker in particular will be a tricky prospect and the conditions should suit Jon Lewis as well. Championship victories aren't easy to come by but tomorrow we have a great chance to set us on the way to our first of 2012.

Championship cricket is back - first squad named

Thank goodness for that. Exactly 200 days since that momentous game at Lord's, county cricket rolls around again. Chris Adams has duly named the 13 men from whom he will choose an XI to face Sussex, starting at 11am tomorrow.

The squad, and possible XI, is as follows:

Jacques Rudolph
Chris Jordan
Mark Ramprakash
Zander de Bruyn
Rory Hamilton-Brown
Tom Maynard
Rory Burns
Gareth Batty
Jon Lewis
Tim Linley
Jade Dernbach

12th men: Jason Roy, Stuart Meaker

First things first, Ramprakash, Batty, de Bruyn and Rudolph, all of whom were absent from pre-season for a variety of reasons, add a huge amount of experience to the side and its great to see them back in the fold. As for the rest, this is as unsure as I've been about a final XI as I have been for many a game. Was Chris Jordan being trialed as an opener in the final two games of pre-season a genuine test? Will Stuart Meaker's injured neck stand up to four days of cricket? And can Chris Adams really stomach leaving Jason Roy on the sidelines?

The fact of the matter is I don't know the answer definitively to any of those questions. I have to assume Chris Jordan will be thrown into the lions den as opener with Jacques Rudolph tomorrow morning, or whenever we get to bat. I have aired my concerns about the looseness of his technique but Adams seems to place a lot of faith in Jordan, so hopefully he'll repay that faith with a bunch of runs. The other candidates for the openers' slot, Hamilton-Brown, Roy and possibly Maynard aren't what you'd call orthodox opening batsmen anyway, so maybe Adams is right to take a risk on Jordan.

The choice between Jon Lewis, Stuart Meaker and Tim Linley is incredibly tough, but three into two doesn't go. Unless Meaker is absolutely 100% fit he shouldn't play, the last thing he needs to do is aggravate the injury at this stage of the season. Without Meaker's extra batting, Jon Lewis becomes an important part of the lower order. Tim Linley has earned his position in the starting XI and who would bet against him being the man his captain can turn to with the ball?

Leaving out Jason Roy is a huge call and not one that I would make. Of course Adams may elect to forego a seam option, probably Lewis, and slot Roy into the lower middle order to really boost the batting. With Jordan in the side and some fill-in overs from de Bruyn the coach may feel that two frontline seamers and three allrounders is the way to go.

That decision may come down to what sort of pitch is lurking under the covers tomorrow morning. Last season saw some fine green-tinged pitches, I think of the Leicestershire game in particular and I hope we'll see plenty more result pitches this season. The departure of head groundsman Scott Patterson, in post for just a year, and the temporary return of Bill Gordon will hopefully not herald a departure from last season's excellent pitches.

Sussex haven't attracted much attention this pre-season but clearly should not be taken lightly. In Nash, Goodwin, Joyce and Yardy they have a fine batting spine along with some impressive younger players like Ben Brown and Joe Gatting. Their bowling is weakened significantly by the absence of Monty Panesar and overseas signing Steve Magoffin is yet to arrive. They will probably rely heavily on seam bowlers Anyon and Amjad to do the bulk of the work, though I do hope young legspinner Will Beer is given a go.

A good start in the Championship is imperative, if nothing else from a psychological perspective. However, thoughts of Hamilton-Brown and Adams approaching a game simply aiming to avoid defeat are long gone, that's just not how we operate these days. As Ian Salisbury said recently, we don't fear anyone, and why should we?

Championship Preview

County Championship previews are ten-a-penny at the moment, some much more valiantly than me extending to the full set of 18 counties. If it's alright with you, I'll stick to just one (the most important one, no less).

Most of the reviews I've read seem to reflect pretty positively on Surrey's chances, the Cricketer Magazine even tipping us for the title, and David Lloyd has said he fancies us because of our mix of experience and youth. Would I go that far? You'll have to wait till the end of the article for that...

The Batting

Despite what would appear to be an embarrassment of riches in the batting department I still maintain this is our weakest suit. Mark Ramprakash has probably just one season left in him, whether it will be repeat of 2011 remains to be seen. He may have returned from injury a bit early last year and then a back complaint restricted his movement later in the season. His struggles against the Tiflex ball are also well documented, not least by the man himself. A clutch of low scores early season, particularly if they are bowled or LBW, will lead to vultures circling. However I maintain he's still got it in him to pass 1,000 runs for the umpteenth time, and his comforting presence at number three is needed now as much as it ever was.

The position of opening batsmen is 50% solved until the end of May, with the arrival of Jacques Rudolph. Indeed once Steven Davies returns after the second Championship match we should have a very handy pair of opening bats. Although not an opener by trade, Davies was magnificent during the Championship run-in last season, in the final four games, all of which we won, he averaged 78. He may see it as a genuine route into England's test side. Who fills in for the first couple of games is anyone's guess.

Zander de Bruyn will likely continue at number four where he averaged 51 from 21 innings last season. Chris Adams confirmed at the AGM last week that Hamilton-Brown will bat at number five (although this may yet be shelved if he is required to open temporarily early-season). He averaged 33 batting there last season from just five innings, more encouragingly he averaged 40 from 12 innings at number five in 2010. He still has yet to prove he is willing to knuckle down and play a long innings - on only four occasions in 58 innings in 2010 and 2011 did he face more than 100 deliveries. Compare that to Maynard, no less an attacking batsman, who saw out 100+ deliveries on six occasions in 2011. To reiterate the point I made at the end of last season, the skipper also needs to convert his starts more often, out of those 30 innings he passed 20 on 21 occasions but only registered six scores of fifty or more.

Tom Maynard, the unsung hero of 2011's batting, will probably continue at number six where he averaged a princely 48 in 2011. Though he scored runs throughout last season, without an extended barren run, he was a bit 'all or nothing' towards the end of the year. In his last 16 innings of 2011 he scored two sparkling hundreds but also registered 12 scores under 30. More consistent heavy run scoring this year will be his goal.

Which all leads us to Jason Roy. I make no secret of the fact that I consider Roy to be one of the most special talents in county cricket - and I'm not alone in thinking that. But he himself will be disappointed with his 2011 returns in the Championship. Such is his talent I am often left thinking that the only man who can get Jason Roy out is Jason Roy. Word is that he has tinkered with his technique over the winter but as much as that is important he, like Hamilton-Brown, needs to prove that he has the mental staying power to stick in and bat time. A couple of his knocks in the CB40 showed how intelligent he is, he just needs to convert some of that to facing the red ball.

Rory Burns and Gary Wilson will contest the role of understudy to Steve Davies. The excellent pre-season form of Rory Burns has come at a cruel time for Gary Wilson who looked a shoo-in to play his first Championship game since last April (and Adams may yet prefer him). Even once Davies has returned there is still a chance Burns, with his attacking strokeplay, can force his way into the side.

Beyond those there is a clutch of batsmen who have been knocking about for a few years and may see 2011 as their last opportunity to make it big at Surrey. Arun Harinath, Matt Spriegel and Tom Lancefield all have the chance to force their way into a top order which has been largely short of form in pre-season. All three have their merits, Harinath is mentally strong and has expanded his range of shots, Lancefield is a positive batsman who came close to breaking through in 2010 before injury intervened in 2011 and Spriegel offers staying power, part time off-spin and excellent fielding into the mix. Dominic Sibley in the Academy is a prodigious youngster who despite his tender age could be troubling those three as a first reserve by the end of the year - and he's an opener.

The Bowling

Without question the highlight of 2011 was the emergence of Tim Linley as a powerful force in Surrey's bowling attack. I had previously criticised him as too one-dimensional to be hugely successful - I was wrong to do so. While it's true he rarely mixes things up, he does have something approaching metronomic accuracy and when he's in a good rhythm he's very difficult to get away. The change away from the Tiflex ball may harm him and a repeat of last season's 73 wicket haul is unlikely, but not impossible.

Last season's second highest wicket-taker, Stuart Meaker, will remain an important part of our attack. I can think of few better sights last season than Meaker detonating a batsman's stumps with a searing yorker and when he's in a groove he is simply irresistible. Adams and Hamilton-Brown will have noted that using him in short-ish bursts is the best way to avoid injury. He may be called away on England Lions duty but hopefully we'll have him at our disposal for most of 2012.

Jade Dernbach was something of a stranger to our Championship campaign last season, playing just 9 of the 16 matches mainly due to England duty. When he did turn out he was less effective than in 2010, 22 wickets at 39 as opposed to 46 at 29 the year before. Like Meaker, he will probably be required by England at various points but early season we should see plenty of him and I think he'll be a formidable proposition. Likewise Jon Lewis, not a marquee signing but a phenomenally reliable and experienced seamer who offers a handy lower-order batting option.

Chris Tremlett, even more of a stranger to us than Jade in 2011, will almost certainly be absent until late-May at the earliest having had surgery on his troublesome back injury. In his 3 outings last season he didn't look at the races, returning only six wickets at 51, on all three occasions comprehensively out-bowled by Meaker. Some have suggested his England career is over but he won't want to accept that and hopefully in trying to force his way back into the fold he'll find his 2010 best again.

Murali Kartik won't join until after the IPL has finished in June. While he probably won't be able to replicate the stunning form of Pragyan Ojha from last year, he is still a fine bowler with many years of county cricket behind him. Matt Dunn and George Edwards will probably only come into contention if injuries intervene but both have the talent to more than hold their own if called upon. On the (admittedly limited) evidence of pre-season games, Freddie van den Bergh could become a fine spinner and may be considered once he returns from his studies, but more likely in the limited overs sides than in the Championship.

The rest

Gareth Batty had an impressive 2011, averaging 26 with the bat and 33 with the ball. But those figures don't quite tell the whole story, for two reasons. First, many of his 532 runs were scored precisely when we needed them most and a good few of his 36 wickets came at a time when a side was threatening to take the game away from us. Secondly, as is always the case with Batty, his presence on the field seems to lift the side, and probably annoy the opposition. Adams seems to value what he brings to the side extremely highly, not without reason.

There was talk late last season of Chris Jordan departing for pastures new but he was given a one year extension late in the day. Adams played him in the final four fixtures of 2011, admirably sticking with him - he scored 19 runs and took no wickets in the first two of those games but fought back to pick up six wickets and score 150 utterly crucial runs in the next two games. I have spoken many times of the balance a fit and firing Chris Jordan brings to the side, if he can really hit his straps he will be completely invaluable.

Zafar Ansari was a revelation in 2011 making both T20 and Championship debuts. He didn't score buckets of runs or take loads of wickets, but his cool demeanour, exceptional out-fielding and all-round potential made headlines for all the right reasons. I expect his rapid progression to continue this season once he returns from university just in time for the T20s. Tom Jewell has been knocking around the fringes of Surrey for a while now, not possessed of the pace or big-hitting talents of Chris Jordan he is often overlooked. However his bowling, consistent rather than explosive, does get wickets at Second XI level and he can bat, he just needs to step up to the next level.

Our chances?

So what does that all amount to? What exactly held us back in the first part of 2011? Without doubt a propensity to self-combust - something that was largely eliminated in those memorable final fixtures and surprise surprise, we won them all. Our young and undoubtedly talented players have another year of experience under their belts, Maynard to my mind has come the furthest and much will be expected of Roy and Hamilton-Brown in the Championship to show that they can progress similarly. The addition of experience in Rudolph, Kartik and Lewis will help in that area too. There is no reason, with the players we have at our disposal, why we couldn't win the Championship. But you can't look at it in such isolation. There are some bloody good sides out there who know how to win Championships, or in the case of Somerset, nearly win Championships. Come on now, did you really think I'd predict us winning the whole thing? We should certainly be aiming a damn sight higher than mere survival, but I think anything higher than fourth would constitute an impressive achievement - and one that we can build on in the future.

Rudolph arrives to bolster the batting

Surrey have announced the signing of South African Jacques Rudolph, as an overseas player until IPL-bound Murali Kartik arrives in late May. All in all, this is a very good signing for this stage of the season.

There are seven Championship games, and ten games in all before the end of May so Rudolph will be available for a lot of cricket. At a time of the season where opening the batting is often very tricky, with the ball swinging and seaming around more than it might in August and September, a solid, experienced pro at the top of the order is hugely important.

There is of course the prospect of Steven Davies being absent for the very early part of the season on England duty in Sri Lanka so a stand-in opener, likely to be Hamilton-Brown, will still be required, but batting with Rudolph can do him the world of good. A man with 213 first class games, 45 first class hundreds and five test hundreds, including a double to his name, knows how to bat for long periods of time. Hopefully that will rub off on the captain.

And when Davies returns, presumably to partner Rudolph at the top, Hamilton-Brown can return to the middle order where he prefers to bat, and Davies can continue his fine work from last season where he averaged 54 from 11 innings as opener.

There is no doubting the talent in our batting lineup, but we definitely felt an experienced batsman light, especially early in the season in 2011. Rudolph has the ability to get us off to good starts in games. The experience of Ramprakash and de Bruyn in there too, mixed with the youthful exuberance of the skipper, Maynard and Roy makes for an exciting combination.

I would expect Gary Wilson to deputise for Davies as keeper initially and it'll be interesting to see if he can re-capture the form of his late 2010 purple patch. Batty will probably continue at number eight and three from Lewis, Linley, Meaker, Jordan and Dernbach (with Tremlett absent through injury early season) will vie for the bowlers' slots.

The step-up in class to division one will become all too apparent the moment we open our season against Sussex, but Adams is building on last season with a good mixture of solid and flair players. Bring on April!

Return of the Nannes

Surrey have confirmed that Australian fast-bowler and global Twenty20 mercenary, Dirk Nannes, will be returning to the club for the 2012 Twenty20 Cup. Nannes had a successful 2011 campaign, playing every game and picking up 19 wickets at 20 runs apiece along the way.

News of his return is a boon, its good to have certainty around our overseas contingent for the tournament due to start in June, and his pedigree is unquestioned. He will turn out alongside Murali Kartik, putting to bed any suspicion that a third overseas player would be signed purely for the T20.

I wonder whether there is a danger of us being a batter or two light, not just for the Twenty20 in fact, but in general for 2012. Chris Schofield's absence from the squad may be felt more keenly than anticipated should one or two of our big hitting batsmen have a complete loss of form. We may even look back fondly on Yasir Arafat's lower order biffing if the worst came to the worst.

It undoubtedly gives us a very strong looking bowling lineup, if everyone is fit and available, to be able to pick from Nannes, Kartik, Tremlett, Dernbach, Linley, Meaker, Dunn and Lewis will be a nice conundrum for Adams to have. But assuming there is no Kevin Pietersen, and there's no reason to suspect there will be, beyond a top six including Roy, Davies, Maynard, Hamilton-Brown, de Bruyn there isn't a huge surplus of pure batsmen in the squad. Sprigel's flashes of brilliance in 2011 may be called upon more often and in more formats for the coming season. Gary Wilson too may be drafted in.

Interestingly, Chris Adams' latest interview on the Surrey website suggests that we are pursuing an overseas player in Murali Kartik's stead while the Indian will be playing in the IPL. He says that they won't sign someone "for the sake of signing", but if someone of sufficient quality is not picked up in the February 4th IPL auction they may dip into the market - so keep an eye on that one. They could do worse than explore the possibility of signing a batsman, given the strength we have in fast bowling and the early-season conditions. Although perhaps unlikely, with Dernbach, Maynard and Roy on the preliminary list for the IPL, Adams could have more gaps to fill!

With February almost upon us, and friendlies due to start in March (yes, March), cricket is just around the corner again and Adams will want to have as many of his ducks in a row as possible. Members of the squad who disappeared on various overseas crusades this winter haven't had the best of times by and large, here's hoping they're getting their iffy form out of the way before the English season gets started!

The worst kept secret: Murali Kartik signs

The signing of Murali Kartik, first mooted around the time of the CB40 final in September, possibly even before that, was duly announced on the Surrey website yesterday. The former Lancashire, Middlesex and Somerset left-armer will be available in all formats for most of the 2012 season (more of that later).

Adams has made a virtue of a "mystery" spinner, specifically one that turns the ball away from the right handed batsman. Kartik certainly fulfills the second of those requirements, I'm not sure he can be considered a 'mystery' though. His formidable county pedigree - 319 wickets and counting - coupled with his ability to hold the bat competently make him a solid signing.

Pragyan Ojha, Kartik's countryman and late-season hero in 2011, will be the hardest of acts to follow, Ojha's recent exploits (20 wickets at 22 apiece) in India's recent series against the West Indies ought to herald a lengthy run in the national side. However, Kartik has proven a matchwinner in the past, 2011 was no vintage year as he only played 8 Championship games, returning 26 wickets but 2010 was far better. In 11 matches for Somerset he took 45 wickets at less than 20 each, and bagged five 5-fors in the process.

Hopefully he can rediscover his best form, 591 First Class wickets doesn't happen by accident. His presence will be a positive thing for the development of fellow left-armer Zafar Ansari, and other young spinners like Spriegel and Freddie van den Bergh. Though with Gareth Batty also scrapping for a place, it will be interesting to see how Adams builds his teams. Presumably 2011's spinner-heavy limited overs sides will be replicated next year.

His precise availability is by no means certain and the announcement on the official site has undergone something of a refinement. From declaring that Kartik will be available for the pre-season preparation, and a quote from Chris Adams stating that he'll be available "for the entirety" of the 2011 season, there is now considerably less certainty. On his own Twitter feed he has said he'll join after the IPL (he played for Pune Warriors in 2011 and presumably will do so again next year) which ends on May 27th.

This is par for the course for any top-quality overseas spinner these days, but it does seem odd that the announcement should be unclear on that note. It remains to be seen whether a short-term replacement will be sought, but because of the record-breaking early start this year, it does mean we are potentially without an overseas player for seven Championship matches and three CB40 matches.

In short, Kartik's signing is very positive news. An attacking spinner, provided he can find his best form, is hugely valuable as we know only too well. Further action on the player signings front may well be very limited from now on, but 2012's squad is taking shape rapidly.

The Unofficial 2011 Awards

After a season which brought promotion and a one day trophy, there is much praise to be dished out - the whole team did a magnificent job.  Here's my take on the individuals most worthy of praise.

Player of the season: Tim Linley

No one else at the club stood so clearly and consistently head and shoulders above the rest this season.  Linley took over a quarter of all Surrey's wickets in the Championship, and he very nearly tripled his career haul of wickets.  He doesn't have express pace and he doesn't swing it round corners, though he did appear this season to have an extra yard of pace on 2010.  He does just enough with the ball and bowls it in uncomfortable areas for the batsman.  His economy rate in the Championship of 2.78 was bettered only by Pragyan Ojha and incredibly he bowled 22% more overs than the next most frequent bowler, Gareth Batty.  He will have a harder time of it next season with better batsmen and a less bowler-friendly ball than the Tiflex he bowled with this season, but I don't doubt he'll go away in the winter and work even harder on his game.

Batsman of the season: Zander de Bruyn

This one was almost as much of a no-brainer, de Bruyn scored a third as many runs again as the next highest scorer, Hamilton-Brown.  Adams would have signed him with an eye on him being the steady pair of hands in the middle order, and he was just that all season long.  He averaged over 50 batting at number three, four and six, wherever he came in he could be relied on to come up with the goods.  His bowling was also more than useful in all formats, he was even called on to open the bowling on a couple of occasions late in the season and was never profligate when required to turn his arm over.  It was a huge relief when he signed an extension to his contract and I don't doubt that he'll continue to reassure us all in 2012.

Bowler of the season: Tim Linley

What more can I say?  I toyed with giving someone else the award just to share it about but such was the quality of Linley's bowling this season that wouldn't have been fair. Honourable mention for Stuart Meaker who had he not been injured mid-season would unquestionably have passed the 50 wicket mark.  The few televised games that he played confirmed that he is still a 90mph+ bowler and when he gets his radar right his yorker is absolute dynamite.  He suffers occasionally in limited overs because of a slight lack of variation but I'm sure that will come with time.

Fielder of the season: Zafar Ansari

Jason Roy and Tom Maynard, both of whom often took catches leaping salmon-like in the outfield, would have been worthy recipients but Ansari deserves an award.  A couple of his diving stops on the boundary really stick in the mind, one in the T20 against Sussex at Whitgift and one in the CB40 final at Lord's.  He is extremely quick across the ground and his hands are as safe as houses.  He will be a pleasure to watch as his game develops over the next few years.

Innings of the season: Tom Maynard 123 vs Derbyshire

Again this was a tough call to make, because late-season efforts will always stick in the mind more readily.  However Maynard's third hundred of the season was without doubt the most important.  If he'd given his wicket away early I doubt if we would have made the 400 mark that we desperately needed.  But he didn't and although he didn't shepherd the side all the way there he hung around until we were within 18 runs of the mark.  The pace at which he scored his runs, at a strike rate of almost 80, meant we got to the 400 mark with overs to spare.  Another honourable mention, this time for Chris Schofield for his knock of 72 in the CB40 game at Northants.  This was the game where Adams chose to debut his Schofield-as-pinch-hitter strategy and a fine debut it was too.  Schofield forged partnerships of 72 and 88 with Roy and Maynard, both at better than 7 an over.  If we hadn't successfully chased Northants' impressive total of 296 it could have precipitated a late season slump in form (just a couple of days before we'd been thumped by Kent), as it was we went on a roll after this game and never looked back.

Spell of the season: Stuart Meaker 5-37 vs Northants

Was this the moment we all started to genuinely believe promotion was going to happen?  We'd been bowled out for a less-than-dominant 269 and Northants were cruising at 174-3, looking more than likely to take a handy first innings lead.  Stuart Meaker had other ideas though and with a spell of four wickets for six runs in seven balls he ripped out the heart of the Northants batting and precipitated a collapse to 194 all out.  The promotion bandwagon rumbled on.  Another honourable mention, from the same game Pragyan Ojha's incredible spell of six wickets for just eight runs which consigned Northants to the biggest runs defeat in first class cricket in England in 2011.

Most improved: Tim Linley

Seriously, what more can I say?  38 wickets in his career prior to April the 8th 2011, 73 wickets since then. Enough said.

Opposition player of the season: Rob Key

There was really only one contender in my mind for this, he averaged 112 in four Championship innings against us this season.  His knock of 162 in the second innings took Kent to within 21 runs of winning the game, it was a herculean effort.  His second innings 110 at Canterbury, in a match where the next highest score on either side was 49 was no less impressive.  He is still one of the finest county batsmen around.  One final honourable mention: Lou Vincent for his 14 off 19 balls at in the Twenty20 at Whitgift. An innings with a strike rate of 73 - no one else who passed ten in the game scored at a strike rate of less than 130 on the postage stamp-sized ground. Vincent came to the crease with Sussex cruising at 118-2 off 11 overs, well up with the required rate but Vincent's stuttering effort allowed us back into the match.

That's it for another year, the next six months are going to drag on and on but there's so much to look forward to in 2012, and this far from the last you'll hear from me in 2011, there's plenty still to come!

Season Review: The 'allrounders'

And finally, the allrounders get their turn, here follows an appraisal of how Surrey's crop of bowling-batsmen and batting-bowlers did in 2011.  And there's a fair few of them, only four players slotted into this category last year, in 2011 there are six.

Gareth Batty
LVCC: 36 wkts @ 33 & 532 runs @ 26, CB40: 13 wkts @ 23 & 29 runs @ 7, T20: 8 wkts @ 33 & 24 runs @ 8

As those number show, Batty was only to be considered an allrounder in Championship cricket, but his importance to the side is without question.  When you watch a side with Gareth Batty in it, there's no doubt about who is the beating heart of the side, the one who peps everyone up when heads start to drop (it doesn't necessarily always work).  He must be an intensely irritating person to play against, he's always buzzing around getting in everyone's ears, and that's part of what makes him important.  That's not to say his cricketing abilities are negligible, in both the CB40 and the Championship his contributions were hugely important.  His strike rate and economy were an improvement on last year and in the CB40 he was the most economical bowler of all, giving away just 4.7 runs an over.  His value was never more apparent than during his spell of 2-35 in the final.  He also had a canny knack of breaking partnerships, and coming up with runs when the team needed him most, his 49 in the first innings against Essex is a great example.  His county cap during the final game at the Oval was richly deserved.

Matt Spriegel
CB40: 11 wkts @ 27 & 424 runs @ 53, T20: 16 runs @ 5

Spriegel: Crucial

Spriegel was perhaps unlucky to miss out completely on Championship cricket in 2011 - and I hope rumours that he will soon sign a new deal at Surrey prove correct - but he has become a key cog in our 40 over side.  He has not missed a game over the past two seasons, in that time he's scored almost 700 runs at an average of 46, and a strike rate better than 100, only Davies and Hamilton-Brown have scored more.  His batting was more accomplished this season, and more powerful too - his 82 against Scotland was spectacular and his 86 against Durham nearly shepherded us home to an unlikely victory.  In a side packed with look-at-me players, Spriegel has become a reliable and high-class presence in the middle order.  He also captained the Second XI from time to time and should Hamilton-Brown decide the job was not for him, the coach could do a lot worse than look in Spriegel's direction.

Chris Schofield
LVCC: 5 wkts @ 46 & 179 runs @ 59, CB40: 17 wkts @ 23 & 246 runs @ 35, T20: 3 wkts @ 61 & 37 runs @ 18

Schofield: Gradual improvement

After distinctly average performances in the Championship, a poor T20 campaign and three wickets and only 88 runs in his first 7 CB40 games, Chris Schofield's future at Surrey looked likely to end as the curtain fell on the 2011 season.  However, Adams kept faith and in the final month of the season Schofield repaid him in spades.  He scored 158 runs at an average of 31 in a 'floating' role in the CB40, and took 13 wickets at 14 apiece in the last six matches.  He can be a slow starter as a batsman so the decision to push him up the order as a pinch-hitter was a gamble, but once he does get going he hits the ball in unusual areas and is tough to tie down, largely it worked.  His bowling wasn't at its best this year but he remained a useful option for Hamilton-Brown to turn to.  I think his opportunities in the Championship will be limited again next year and it may come down to whether he wants to remain at the club when he's only likely to play the one day matches.

Zafar Ansari
LVCC: 6 wkts @ 26 & 43 runs @ 7, CB40: 4 wkts @ 42 & 47 runs @ 23, T20: 4 wkts @ 55 & 108 runs @ 36

I wrote at the start of the season that I was particularly interested to see the progress of Ansari after his impressive debut against Sussex in the CB40.  I couldn't have hoped that he'd be as good as he was though, and the fact that he'll be missing from the early part of the season to continue his studies at Cambridge is a real shame (not for him, obviously).  He only played three Championship games but if there was a more vital wicket this season than Ansari's wicket of Rob Key as he was ushering Kent towards victory, I can't recall it. He saved his most impressive performances for the Twenty20 during which he was the second most economical bowler and played some very important knocks with the bat - only Davies scored his runs faster. His returns in the CB40 weren't so good but his bowling in the final confirmed what the T20s hinted at - he has the coolest of cool heads, hugely impressive for a 19 year old.  He's also one of the best boundary fielders around.  Another at the club from whom there is so much more to come in the coming years.

Chris Jordan
LVCC: 11 wkts @ 48 & 228 runs @ 28, CB40: 1 wkt @ 92

Jordan

A return to cricket having lost a full year to injury was always going to be tough, and so it proved for Jordan.  Another, along with Schofield, who redeemed himself with a couple of performances towards the end of the year, but he still doesn't look like he's back to his 2008 vintage.  There was talk that Jordan was heading away from Surrey but I hope not given how much the club have invested in him and his recovery.  A fully fit and firing Chris Jordan would be an invaluable asset - fast bowling (if not the 90mph he once was) and hard hitting players are like gold dust.  His 160 runs and four second innings wickets against Essex in the Championship were instrumental to us winning at Chelmsford.  His bowling in the CB40, when he played, was dire though - he bowled just 10 overs all season in that format but went for nearly 100 runs and only collected a single scalp.  He may also find his opportunities limited in 2012 but I hope he has another go at cracking the Surrey nut.

The Other

Just a solitary performance for promising allrounder Tom Jewell this season resulting in a single wicket and six runs in the win over Derbyshire in May.  He doesn't look as quick as Jordan or as powerful with the bat but could yet end up a more reliable option.  Hard to see where he fits into a side on a regular basis in 2012 though.

Season Review: The bowlers

Following on from the review of this season's batting performers, it only seems fair that the bowlers get a go, so here it is:

Tim Linley
LVCC: 73 wkts @ 18, CB40: 7 wkts @ 21, T20: 3 wkts @ 14

Linley on one leg

What to say of the man, the machine, the leading wicket-taker that is Tim Linley? I will hold my hands up and admit that I doubted if Linley would ever progress beyond a reliable keep-the-runs-down option. I am happy to say that I was very wrong (again), this season he's been that and our key strike bowler with it. I watched him take four Northants wickets for not very many on just the second day of the season at the Oval back in April and wondered if he'd turned a corner but he was then dropped for the subsequent fixture. After that though he was irresistible, he just seemed to take wickets whenever he bowled, if we needed a breakthrough Linley was often the man to get it. From the second innings of the Essex game at Whitgift onwards he took at least one wicket in 22 consecutive innings. And it wasn't just tailenders he cleaned up. I lost count of the number of times he rattled out a couple of the opposition's top order to set us on our way. As much as de Bruyn was the lynchpin of the batting, Linley was the key to our bowling and without him we'd have been miles from promotion. He hardly played in the limited overs games as Adams plumped for the spin-heavy attack, but still picked up wickets along the way, if not with the regularity he did in the Championship. And to cap it all off he always comes across as one of the nicest, most grounded blokes around. Hats off to the Viscount.

Stuart Meaker
LVCC: 44 wkts @ 22, CB40: 4 wkts @ 27, T20: 6 wkts @ 42

Had it not been for Meaker's early and mid-season injuries he may have been pushing Linley for leading wicket taker. But that is the lot of a young fast bowler, he bowled 66 overs in the first two games and was injured in the second of those at Cardiff, similarly at Whitgift he toiled away for 30 overs on a pitch with nothing in it for the bowlers and hey presto, another injury. Thereafter Hamilton-Brown seemed to use him more sparingly (he never bowled more than 19 overs in an innings after that), shielding him from the new ball - infuriatingly at times - and using him in the middle and at the end of innings. Meaker continued his habit of taking wickets in bunches, to which three five-fors and three four-fors will attest and he is quite simply deadly to tailenders. In limited overs he was less impressive, often going for plenty of runs though his end-of-innings bowling against Sussex in the Twenty20 at Whitgift was a match-winning spell. 2011 was also a landmark year for Meaker who, two and a half years on from being hailed the 'fastest bowler in England' achieved Lions recognition, playing in their series against Sri Lanka. This season saw Meaker begin to fulfil his obvious potential, hopefully next season we'll see even more.

Jade Dernbach
LVCC: 22 wkts @ 39, CB40: 23 wkts @ 14, T20: 13 wkts @ 11

Dernbach

Another who had his season disrupted though this time not by injury but by England duties. I speculated at the start of the season that his fine efforts over the winter for the Lions might result in a peripheral spot in the England side but he went several better than that. He was a late call up to the World Cup squad and although he didn't play there he will finish the season with 14 England ODI and T20 caps under his belt along with an incremental contract from the ECB. His appearances in the Championship were sporadic and not terribly successful but in the limited overs games he came into his own. He was the overall leading wicket taker in the CB40 and it was he more than any other that was crucial to us winning the competition. He was also the most parsimonious of our bowlers during the Twenty20 competition - no mean feat when Dirk Nannes is in the same side. As I've said before Dernbach loves playing for Surrey, sometimes his desire to win can spill over into unnecessary outbursts but I wouldn't change any aspect of his game. His variation has long been too much for county batsmen and his appearances in England colours (bowling almost exclusively during powerplays or end-of-innings slogs) this season have given other international sides a flavour of that as well. The only downside is we might not see very much of him next season. He might be a late bloomer, but he's certainly blooming alright.

Yasir Arafat
LVCC: 20 wkts @ 47, CB40: 19 wkts @ 24, T20: 10 wkts @ 28

I toyed with putting Yasir in the allrounders group but in the end elected to designate him a bowler for the time being. He arrived with a serious county pedigree even if his 2010 season was unproductive by his standards. But he just never clicked, I kept on assuming he would deliver in the next game, and the next game, but at the start of the season he went four innings without taking a single wicket (in fact he was wicketless in almost half the innings he bowled in the Championship) and was unable to even offer control to boot. His returns in the CB40 were better, but he would still have games where his line was particularly errant and the T20 was no different. There's no getting away from the fact that Arafat, a proven overseas seamer available for the duration of the season, was a massive disappointment in 2011.

Pragyan Ojha
LVCC: 24 wkts @ 12

Timely overseas replacement or cynical splash-the-cash last ditch effort at promotion? Either way, it worked a treat. The crowing from some sections of the press about him being parachuted in seemed to ignore similar moves by Warwickshire for Chanderpaul and Worcestershire for Kemar Roach, but such is life. His 24 wickets at a cost of just 12 runs each were the single most important factor in us winning those last four games, but to suggest he was the only reason we are in division one does a disservice to the efforts of our other players - what about the 117 wickets from Messrs Linley and Meaker? That aside, Ojha was outstanding and really showed the value of an attacking spinner who actually spins the ball hard. During his spell of six wickets for eight runs against Northant he had their batsmen tied up in knots, unable to score off him at all. Rumour has it that he is unlikely to appear on the county circuit in 2012 and more's the pity. If India had any sense whatsoever he'd be playing every game possible for them. Thank you Pragyan, it was a blast.

Chris Tremlett
LVCC: 6 wkts @ 51, T20: 6 wkts @ 14

From the highs of 2010 where The Treminator bagged almost 50 Championship victims even having missed the early part of the season, to the comparative lows of 2011 where England duty and injury restricted him to just a handful of appearances - but he was still mighty impressive at times, his spell of 4-16 against Hampshire in the T20 was one of the best I saw all season. A low for the club that is, for 2010-11 has seen a coming of age for the once gentle giant. He established himself as an England regular in the Ashes where he took 17 wickets in three tests and was man of the series in the home tests against Sri Lanka this summer. That was before Tim Bresnan elbowed his way into the side, batting and bowling himself into a regular spot. That may mean he is available for substantially more cricket in 2012, with stronger opposition in prospect we will probably need him.

Dirk Nannes
T20: 19 wkts @ 20

When the news broke that we had signed Shaun Tait for the Twenty20 I was very pleased. I was therefore equally displeased when he admitted his own concerns to the club that he couldn't make it through a 16 game English Twenty20 regime. Ultimately he decided not to go through with his contract. Still, all's well that ends well because we ended up with Dirk Nannes. The leading wicket taker in the history of Twenty20 did not disappoint, he was rapid and hostile from the word go and could usually be relied on to take wickets. I would be chuffed to see him steaming in for us in 2012 as well, a class act.

The Others

He may have only made only fleeting appearances, but Matt Dunn made his mark on 2011. His 5-56 on Championship debut against Derbyshire ensured a morale boosting win. Curiously he only made one other appearance, against Gloucestershire, notable only for the fact that Hamilton-Brown refused to give him even a single over in the second innings. George Edwards didn't play for the First XI but was in the squad for the final two matches. He's still incredibly raw but looks to have genuine pace and is tall and lanky in build.

Season Review: The batsmen

The season drew spectacularly to a close last week, and while the Champions League Twenty20 rumbles on pointlessly (from a Surrey fan's perspective) in India, now seems like a good time to take a look back on 2011. Starting with the batsmen.

Rory Hamilton-Brown
LVCC: 1039 runs @ 37, CB40: 372 runs @ 28, T20: 232 runs @ 17

On the face of it, those numbers don't add up to a terribly productive season for Surrey's young captain. However, in his second full year in the role, RHB appeared to grow into it somewhat. He's still not prone to inspired decisions too often (though his rotation of the bowlers in the CB40 was very good - not just in the final), and he is not considerate enough when it comes to using our younger bowlers, but boy did he do a good job this year. His Championship return, while playing well out of position almost all season long, is impressive and 200 runs better than last year.  Though he does have a habit of getting out once set, in the Championship alone he was out between 20 and 47 fourteen times in all.  In both the CB40 and T20 he was below par across the year and yet Surrey as a unit still performed well generally in the limited overs - very well indeed in the case of the CB40. A year older and a year wiser, he will return next year stronger than ever. Of more importance than perhaps anything else, the players want to play for him and they seem a very tightly-knit unit.  He might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I for one hope he remains at the helm for the foreseeable future.

Steven Davies
LVCC: 1035 runs @ 39, CB40: 395 runs @ 30, T20: 365 runs @ 33

Davies' Championship form seemed to track the fortunes of the team, insofar as he came good at precisely the right time. In his last eight innings he helped himself to two hundreds and two fifties as Surrey surged into division one. Like Hamilton-Brown he prefers the middle order to the openers slot in four day cricket but his form at the back end of the season might just persuade him to keep at it. Also like Hamilton-Brown he was below par in the CB40 - that's as compared to 2010 where he scored 485 runs at an average of 60. In the T20 though he was often spectacular, never more so than during his 99 not out against Sussex and he finished the competition with a strike rate above 150. He has curiously been ignored by England who have a glut of power hitting wicketkeeper-batsmen to pick from, while this is disappointing for Davies personally, from a purely selfish point of view I'm happy to see him turning out for us a lot.

Mark Ramprakash
LVCC: 700 runs @ 33

Returning from serious knee surgery, 2011 was never going to be the easiest of Ramprakash's many as a professional cricketer. I though he would be unlikely to appear much before July but incredibly it was barely May when he first turned out for the club. Throughout the season he never looked fully fit and will appreciate the winter break to get back to his very best - a back injury created some technical problems this year, probably contributing to his being dismissed bowled or lbw 13 times out of 23 dismissals (by way of comparison, he was dismissed that way only four times in 2010). He will likely never get back to his peak but even so he still warrants a place in our batting lineup. He deserves the chance to go out at the very top level - and he'll be relieved not to have to face up to the Tiflex ball next season.

Zander de Bruyn
LVCC: 1383 runs @ 55 & 15 wkts @ 39, CB40: 328 runs @ 32 & 7 wkts @ 26, T20: 275 runs @ 34 & 6 wkts @ 24

Whether he was filling in for Ramprakash at number three or batting in his more customary number four slot Zander de Bruyn hardly stopped scoring runs in 2011. Like Davies he stood up to be counted during those crucial last four games with two fifties and two hundreds. His 13 scores of fifty and above was not bettered by anyone in the country this season, in either division and he never went more than three innings without notching a fifty. I can't escape the nagging feeling that without him, we'd have been up a creek without a paddle. In the CB40 he was less impressive though his useful medium pacers were called upon frequently, in the T20 he wasn't spectacular (particularly in that bizarre innings against Kent) but he was a reassuring presence in the middle order nonetheless. It came as a huge relief when he signed an extension to his contract, he's been warmly welcomed by the Surrey faithful and I can't wait to watch him bat, and bat, and bat in 2012.

Tom Maynard
LVCC: 1022 runs @ 40, CB40: 481 runs @ 40, T20: 392 runs @ 43

Maynard: Special

The only one of Surrey's front line batsmen to average over 40 in all formats, it turns out Adams' "opportunistic" recruitment of him over the winter was pretty crucial to Surrey's 2011 season. That was never more apparent than when he was compiling a vitally important hundred against Derbyshire in the final game of the season. He came to the wicket at 132-3, by the time he'd departed we were only 18 short of that important fifth batting bonus point. That was his one and only hundred from the number five spot, his other two and all his fifties came from number six. That hundred also ended a run of nine innings without a fifty, it was a mighty fine time to break that sequence. His runs in the CB40, in which he scored five fifties were equally important to our cause and in the T20 he was, along with Davies, a cut above the rest.

Jason Roy
LVCC: 623 runs @ 29, CB40: 585 runs @ 45, T20: 363 runs @ 27

Roy: Also special

The 2011 season from Jason Roy was a bit of a curate's egg. Absolutely peerless in the CB40 where he recorded consecutive hundreds on his way to topping the Surrey runscorers chart - over 100 more runs than anyone else. However his returns in the Championship and the T20 were less than we've come to expect - which is possibly harsh on such a young man but merely a mark of the high regard in which he is held. To my mind there are few more talented batsmen of his age in England. His hitting in the 'v' is exceptional and his CB40 hundreds, particularly the one against Warwickshire, showed he is capable of playing a very mature innings. I think he was probably batted a bit low in the Championship, while he averaged 35 as an opener that became 27 from the number six slot. His ground fielding and catching remain excellent and it is clear for all to see that he loves batting for Surrey. He will doubtless go away in the winter and work on his batting for the longer format, his innings of 45 from 64 balls against Gloucestershire and 46 from 72 balls against Leicestershire showed that he is capable of innings that are less frenetic than his early season efforts suggest. There is so much more to come from Roy that it's almost frightening.

The Others

I was sad to see Michael Brown call time on his career, the injury that befell him last season had obviously caused more serious issues than first thought. I had hoped that his second innings knock of 46 against Northants way back in April would signal a return to form, but it was not to be. Gary Wilson also had a wretched season in which he scored only 121 runs in all formats. Having ended the season in 2010 so well he'll be hugely disappointed not to have continued that, but his runs of late for Ireland suggest that all is not lost, he will be back.  Oh, and Kevin Pietersen, he batted for us, a bit.