Tag: Surrey

Nottinghamshire in Control of the County Championship

A look at the situation at the top of the county championship, with Nottinghamshire likely to win, and a photon gallery,

At around 3:15PM on Thursday Surrey were all out for 294 inn the final innings of a tough match at The Oval to give Nottinghamshire victory by 20 runs and put the midlanders in a commanding position at the top of the County Championship. This post looks at the rights and wrongs of point allocations in the county championship in relation to the situation at the top.

POINT ALLOCATIONS IN THE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP

The basic point awards in the county championship are 16 points for a win and eight for a draw. In addition to these bonus points are awarded in the first 110 overs of each county’s first innings as follows: batting – up to five, awarded for reaching scores of 250, 300, 350, 4o0 and finally 450, and bowling – up to three, awarded for three, six and nine wickets respectively.

AT THE TOP OF THE
COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP

The table below shows the top two in the county championship, the only two counties who can now win it (Somerset, in third, can amass no more than 199 points in total whatever happens in their last match). The second, third and fourth columns list wins, losses and draws in that order.

NOT13616203
SUR13418189

The situation shown above, where Surrey still have a very outside chance (they would need a big win, and they would need Nottinghamshire to either lose, or draw while scoring very few bonus points) illustrates some of the problems with the current points allocations. Had Surrey got home on Thursday afternoon they would have been on 205 points and Nottinghamshire on 187, and would have required only a draw from their final match. Yet, rather than the almost total command of the season that such a position would have been indicated they would have been level with Nottinghamshire on five wins, and benefitting from the high award from drawing matches, because they would have had eight draws to Nottinghamshire’s six. Effectively they would be being rewarded not for an ability to win matches, but for an ability to avoid defeat. The actual situation is still not doing justice to Nottinghamshire, who with two wins more in the season than Surrey have managed should be not just in a commanding position but uncatchable at the top. The high number of drawn matches is also less than satisfactory (I have previously written specifically about what a draw means in a cricketing context) and is down precisely to the over-generous award for such results, a situation which encourages sides to play safe and kill games rather than throwing down the gauntlet in a bid for victory (the single most egregious example from a large sample size was perpetrated by Sussex against Warwickshire, when they batted on and on in their second innings until they were some 400 ahead and there was only half a day left, which meant chances of a definite result were basically zero).

If the award of eight points for a drawn match is to stand then the award for a win needs to increase from 16 to 20. The alternative is to reduce the award for drawing games, which I would also be happy with. The other factor besides the bad points system behind the high number of draws has been the use of the Kookaburra ball in championship matches this season – the evidence is in and the experiment needs to be scrapped forthwith.

Finally, congratulations to Nottinghamshire for winning the 2025 County Championship (as I am sure they will, and even more sure they deserve to).

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

The butterflies are not quite done yet, as this red admiral shows.
A stick insect on a wooden fence.

Surrey Give Stewart Super Send Off

A look back at the two matches which in combination set the seal on Surrey’s third successive county championship title, a link and a photo gallery.

Just over half an hour into day four of the penultimate round of county championship fixtures Anderson Philip, a West Indian pacer currently playing for Lancashire, bowled James Rew for 31 to give his side victory by 168 runs. Lancashire thus enter the final game of the season with a chance to avoid relegation. At the other end of the table, with Surrey having cleaned up Durham yesterday afternoon, it meant that the gap between Surrey and Somerset was now 28 points, which is too many to be bridged in a single match, since only 24 can be taken in one match. Surrey have thus secured a third straight title, a feat last achieved by any county in 1968, when Brian Close skippered Yorkshire to a third straight title.

SURREY V DURHAM

On day two Surrey built a huge lead over Durham, with Ryan Patel scoring a career best 134. Durham then sent a nightwatch into open their second innings, 153 adrift, and when that tactic failed promptly doubled down by sending in another nightwatch. The second nightwatcher did make it through to the close, but Durham were in a total mess. Day three was a work day for me, and my attention once home from work was mainly on the first ODI of a series between England and Australia. Durham lost two wickets very early on day three, and although they did avoid the humiliation of an innings defeat they only managed to take a lead of 24. Rory Burns and Dominic Sibley unsurprisingly knocked these runs off without being separated. Scorecard here. Alec Stewart is leaving the position from which he has overseen the recent Surrey ascendancy at the end of this season, and this result and that of the Somerset match confirm that he will bow out on an appropriately high note.

LANCASHIRE V SOMERSET

After both sides had been all out on day one, Lancashire batted right through day two. There was a controversial incident in their innings when George Balderson was run out by at least a yard but umpire O’Shaughnessy failed to give it out. At that point Lancashire were just over 270 in front, and they were add a further 120 to their lead before they were all out. Somerset, needing 393 to win or 392 to tie (or rain to intervene and save them) to keep their championship hopes alive (a draw or tie would leave Surrey able to secure the title on bonus points alone irrespective of the result of their final game, while a loss would end Somerset’s challenge right there) reached the close of day three on 204-6, with Kasey Aldridge having been dismissed by what became the last ball of the day. Day four started atrociously for Somerset, with the first ball of the day, from Luke Wells, bowling skipper Lewis Gregory for a first ball duck. A few moments later a ball from Anderson Philip kept low to pin Craig Overton LBW for 4 and make it 209-8. The ninth wicket added 11, 9 of them to Brett Randell, before James Rew misjudged and took a single with four balls of a Luke Wells over to go, exposing Randell to Wells’ mixed spin, against which the Kiwi could be expected to be less comfortable than against pace/seam. Sure enough, Wells produced one that was too good for the Kiwi and bowled him to make it 220-9. Four runs later came Philip’s delivery that got through Rew and ended it with Lancashire home by 168 runs. Scorecard here. Somerset’s final match against Hampshire will decide second and third spots in the table, but the title is securely in Surrey’s hands. Elsewhere Sussex did enough to confirm that they will be in division one next season, securing promotion with a game to spare, and results were bad enough for Kent that their relegation, a formality for some time, was finally confirmed, again with a match to spare.

DOMINANT PERIODS

As mentioned in the introduction it is 56 years since any county secure three straight championships. However there have been longer streaks of dominance. Surrey themselves hold the record with seven successive titles in the 1950s (1952-8 inclusive). Yorkshire won four in a row in the 1920s. Surrey had a sequence of six outright wins and a shared title in the late 1880s and early 1890s , though that started before the competition was put on a fully organized footing in 1890, as did the whole of Nottinghamshire’s dominant period in the first half of the 1880s. All of these sides, and the Yorkshire side that won seven titles in total during the 1930s had stellar bowling units, and that is also the present Surrey outfit’s greatest strength. Other sides may have first choice bowlers of similar stature to Surrey’s, but Surrey have incredible depth. Surrey can (and at times this season have) be without a fistful of first team regulars and still put a formidable XI on to the pitch, whereas for most other counties the soft underbelly starts to show with a few absentees.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Just before my usual sign off, a link to an article from futurity.org which connects closely with my photo gallery since it is about bees.

Now for my own photos…

Middlesex v Surrey

A look back at last night’s Middlesex v Surrey T20 Vitality Blast match, with special mention of a potentially important bowling performance from 23 year old Middlesex leg spinner Luke Hollman. Also a large photo gallery.

This post looks at the Vitality Blast T20 fixture between Middlesex and Surrey last night.

THE SURREY INNINGS

Surrey found themselves batting first. They batted very well overall, with Tom Curran hitting 48 off 28, Laurie Evans 41 off 20 and Dan Lawrence 32 off 29. The only reason their total ended up short of 200 (185-9 to be exact) was because of an outstanding performance from leg spinning all rounder Luke Hollman who ended with 4-0-16-5.

THE MIDDLESEX REPLY

Stevie Eskinazi and Martin Andersson scored 32 for the first Middlesex wicket, but once the opening stand was broken wickets began to tumble. At one stage Middlesex were 41-4. Jack Davies, initially supported by Ryan Higgins showed some fight, as did Tom Helm further down the order, but Middlesex were close to being on terms, and in the end Surrey won by 56 runs. Veteran Aussie seamer Sean Abbott matched Hollman’s five-for with one of his own, conceding only two runs more than the Middlesex leg spinner. Scorecard here.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HOLLMAN’S EFFORT

England’s current white ball leg spinner, and a crucial component of the squad currently contesting the T20 World Cup (they are in action as I type, against South Africa) is Adil Rashid, but he is in the veteran stage of his career and unlikely to be around for many more tournaments. Thus in producing such a fine performance on a big occasion (yes, whatever the context, in English men’s cricket terms Middlesex v Surrey is a big occasion) Hollman (23 years old) may also have presented England with an answer to the question of where they go for a leg spin option when Rashid’s playing days are done.

PHOTOGRAPHS

I have an excellent photo gallery (periodic reminder – if you want see pictures at a larger size just click on one), boosted by this morning being ideal for a long walk, to share with you…

Possibly a ruddy darter, certainly a dragonfly of some description (two pics).
Todays pictures start here.
New artwork outside the train station (three images)

Surrey Topping The Table

A look back at the last round of County Championship fixtures and a massive photo gallery.

There was another round of county championship fixtures from Friday to Monday. This post looks back at the action, starting with…

SURREY V WARWICKSHIRE

Surrey won the toss and put Warwickshire in to bat. The first day ebbed and flowed, with Ed Barnard batting well for Warwickshire, reaching the close on 96* in a score of 318-8, which looked eminently respectable for a side that had been put in to bat. Barnard completed his century early on the second morning, and Warwickshire ended on 343. The Surrey innings seemed to be going on similar lines, with Jamie Smith the main scorer, until Craig Miles injured himself while celebrating his fifth wicket of the innings. A big ninth wicket stand between Smith and Sean Abbott (batting a place lower than scheduled due to the unsuccessful use of Kemar Roach as nightwatch, and in any case better with the bat than most county number nines) took the game right away from Warwickshire. Abbott completed a fine hlaf century, and Smith, in a magnificent display, scoring at close to a run a ball even in the first innings of a championship match, went on to 155. Surrey finished with 464 all out, a lead of 121. Miles’ injury prevented him from batting, though he probably wouldn’t have done much in the face of a magnificent performance by Kemar Roach, who took 6-44 as Warwickshire just barely scraped past 200, leacing Surrey only 89 to get in the final innings. By the end of day three Surrey were 31-0, a mere 58 short of the target. Warwickshire’s choice of bowlers to start day four – Rob yates and Jacob Bethell – was tantamount to running up the white flag, and although Rory Burns got himself out along the way, Warwickshire were in the end flattered by the final margin of nine wickets. Ed Barnard had a magnificent match for Warwickshire, with three first innings wickets to set alongside his century, and had the match been remotely close, even if Warwickshire had lost it I would have had him as Player of the Match. However, in the end it was very one sided, so my own reckoning makes it a joint award to Jamie Smith and Kemar Roach. Surrey now sit 21 points clear at the top of division one, having played the same number of matches as second placed Essex. Essex may have the stronger best possible XI, but Surrey have by far the greater depth – injuries would trouble Essex to a much greater extent if and when they happen, as would an England call up for Sam Cook, which is on the cards.

ELSEWHERE

The county of my birth, Gloucestershire, recorded their first win in the competition since 2022. Lancashire suffered an embarrassing defeat which left them looking more than ever like relegation fodder (incidentally I suspect their new coach Dale Benkenstein will not be getting another coaching engagement any time soon – it was he who oversaw Gloucestershire’s winless 2023 campaign, which raises the question of just why Lancashire hired him). Kent v Worcestershire was the last match to end, when Worcestershire decided that 16 overs weren’t enough for them to take the last six wickets (Kent were still in arrears, so not able to shorten proceedings further by declaring).

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

Surrey Thrash Warwickshire

A look back at Surrey v Warwickshire in the county championship, a mention of the state of play between Essex and Middlesex and a photo gallery.

Surrey consolidated their position at the top of the County Championship table by claiming victory over Warwickshire yesterday morning. Essex, Surrey’s closest challengers, are poised for victory over Middlesex, in spite of off spinner Josh de Caires claiming eight wickets in the first Essex innings.

DAY ONE – THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

An unbeaten century for Foakes and 50+ scores from Sibley, Jamie Smith and Steel (the latter also unbeaten overnight) enabled Surrey to end the day on 339-4 and seemingly destined for a massive score.

DAY TWO – WICKETS GO DOWN LIKE NINEPINS

Surrey seemed to have lost the initiative when their last six wickets only advanced their score by a further 57, Foakes last out for 125, his 15th FC century and an innings that left him 16 short of 8,000 FC runs. However by the lunch interval Warwickshire were 38-3 and in deep trouble. They never looked like extracting themselves from this situation, and their first innings ended for 161, giving Surrey an advantage of 235. With Warwickshire clearly demoralized Surrey rightly went for the jugular, sticking their opponents back in. Warwickshire were soon 35-5 in their second innings. The sixth and seventh wickets offered some resistance, with Dan Mousley completing the only Warwickshire 50 of the match along the way, but Warwickshire ended day two 124-7 in the second innings, still 111 short of avoiding the innings defeat. The Surrey bowling performance was typical of them, with the wickets widely shared rather than any one bowler dominating proceedings. Their general approach this season has been to select four specialist batters, Ben Foakes and give themselves six genuine bowling options, a luxury permitted them by the presence of all rounders and the fact that almost all of those picked purely as bowlers have some degree of skill with the bat. Essex, their closest rivals, are less well served by all rounders/ bowlers who can bat reasonably well and tend to select six batters, a keeper and rely on four bowlers doing the job.

DAY THREE – THE LAST RITES

I was at work when this unfolded, but it took very little time. The key dismissal was that of Mousley, ninth out for 61. Warwickshire had folded for 138 in their second innings, giving Surrey victory by an innings and 97 runs.

ESSEX V MIDDLESEX

This is the key match among those still in progress from a Surrey point of view, as Essex are the only side with any serious chance of denying them the championship. Middlesex are showing little appetite for the battle, the scores as I type being Essex 304 and 319-7 declared, Middlesex 179 and 41-3, meaning that Middlesex need 404 with seven second innings wickets standing. Middlesex are in serious danger of relegation – the two relegation slots would seem to be between Northamptonshire (almost certainly doomed), Middlesex and Kent.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

Surrey In Control Against Warwickshire

A look at developments in the Surrey v Warwickshire match in the county championship and a photo gallery.

I mentioned the opening stages of the match between Surrey and Warwickshire in the County Championship in yesterday’s post. Things have moved on dramatically since then.

DAY ONE

Ben Foakes racked up his 15th first class century, and there were 50+ scores from Sibley, Jamie Smith and Cameron Steel, the latter unbeaten, as Surrey closed day one on 339-4.

DAY TWO

When the last six Surrey wickets fell for 57 early on day two, Foakes last out for 125, it looked like they had missed out on a really big score, but Dan Worrall and Kemar Roach had other ideas. Warwickshire were two down in next to no time, and stubborn Barbadian opener Kraigg Brathwaite fell on the stroke of lunch to an uncharacteristically loose shot, making it 38-3, and 95-9 for the morning session. Two more wickets immediately after lunch left Warwickshire absolutely reeling at 39-5. Sam Hain and Michael Burgess then offered serious resistance, putting on 40 before Hain was dislodged to make it 79-6. Burgess and Danny Briggs have added 20 for the seventh wicket so far. Kemar Roach, yet another fine cricketer to hail from Barbados, has three wickets so far, Dan Worrall two and Jordan Clark one. Incidentally, the movement of players is not all one way – Laurie Evans of Surrey is currently in Barbados playing in the Caribbean Premier League. Surrey’s closest challengers, Essex, are currently struggling against Middlesex, but they are batting first in hot, dry conditions and have the best spinner on the county circuit, Simon Harmer, in their ranks.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

Blast Finals Day

A look at the second and third matches of Blast Finals Day, links to yesterday’s post and the post I put up OTD last year, and a photo gallery.

I covered the first match on T20 Blast Finals day, between Essex and Hampshire in yesterday’s post. Today I look briefly at the other two matches.

SOMERSET v SURREY

Things didn’t look especially great for Somerset when they they finished their 20 overs with a mere 142 on the board. However, Surrey, with all their strength in depth, soon found themselves in trouble, a position that they never managed to get out of. A number of batters made promising starts, but none were able to go on and make a major contribution, and nearly all the dismissals were self-inflicted – going for big shots and holing out to deep fielders. In the end Surrey were all out for a paltry 118, losing by 24 runs, giving Somerset a place in the final.

THE FINAL – ESSEX v SOMERSET

Somerset’s recent record in finals did not make pretty reading, and neither did their recent record in matches against Essex. Somerset found themselves batting first, and again they were not hugely impressive in that department, being all out to the last scheduled ball of their innings, with 145 on the board. However, they bowled very well, and although Essex had moments when things were going decently for them they never looked in command, and in the end they mustered 131, falling short by 14 runs. Most toss winning captains in T20 elect to chase, and Somerset twice found themselves setting the target, the less liked option in this format, and twice they produced a moderate batting performance and rescued themselves with the ball and in the field. While Surrey certainly donated plenty of wickets, bad batting played much less of a role in the Essex match. Ben Green of Somerset achieved a notable feat by taking his 30th wicket of the tournament, a rare landmark for single edition of this competition. Many would have expected Surrey and Hampshire to be the ones to make the final, and Surrey to run out winners, so credit to both finalists, and especial credit to Somerset for finally ending a bad run in finals by winning this one.

LINK AND PHOTOGRAPHS

A year ago today I published the second post in what went on to become the longest series on this blog, an all time XI with surnames beginning with B. Although I remain happy with the selection I add one caveat – if the pitch looks very spin friendly (think Ahmedabad!) I would bring Len Braund (leg spinning all rounder) in for Ian Botham, and replace leg spinner who could bat Benaud with Bishan Singh Bedi (left arm orthodox spinner) to balance the attack, with the new ball pair of Barnes and Bumrah now being backed by a spin trio of Bedi, Bates and Braund, the XI in this specific case reading: C Bannerman, SG Barnes, *DG Bradman, KF Barrington, AR Border, LC Braund, +Wasim Bari, *W Bates, SF Barnes, BS Bedi, JJ Bumrah.

Now for my usual sign off…

The weather yesterday was not the best for butterflies, but the red admirals have been out in force here in Norfolk.

The County Championship 2023 Round Tw0

A look back at the second round of fixtures in the 2023 County Championship and a photo gallery.

Just a few minutes before seven o’clock yesterday evening Leicestershire and Derbyshire shook hands on a draw and the second round of 2023 County Championship fixtures was at an end. I look back at a round that featured several fine matches.

SURREY V HAMPSHIRE

The county of my birth, Gloucestershire, had their match rained out without a ball being bowled, so after Thursday, a work day and hence one on which I cannot follow cricket my focus was on the first class county in which I have lived the longest, Surrey. For three innings this had all the makings of a magnificent contest, with only 16 runs between the lowest and highest team totals in those innings – Hampshire 254 and 258, Surrey 270. When Surrey started batting a second time just before lunch on day four with 243 to chase a great finish was in prospect. It was a splendid fourth innings, but it was never a contest – Surrey were in charge almost from the start, with openers Burns and Sibley achieving the first task when they reached the lunch interval still together. Burns’ dismissal fairly early in the afternoon session brought Ollie Pope to the crease, and the Hampshire bowlers neither had, nor looked like having any further success, as Pope batted brilliantly and Sibley looked utterly secure in the supporting role. Pope completed the century he had missed out on in the first innings, the only individual three figure score of the match. Shortly after that he took his match aggregate to 200, and then, facing the start of a new over with just eight more needed and his own score 110* he finished the match in the grandest of styles, hitting successive sixes to give Surrey a nine wicket win…

…OTHER MATCHES

Warwickshire were in charge for most of such play as the elements permitted in their match against Kent, but were thwarted by a rearguard action involving Joey Evison and Conor McKerr, which almost secured Kent a draw. McKerr was ninth out having completed a ‘Den-tury’ (100 balls survived, named after another player with Kent connections whose surname begins with “Den” and who was notable for doing precisely this during his spell as an England player) from number 10, and young Joey Evison was last to go, having come in at number eight and missed a century by one run. Worcestershire were attempting to hold out for a draw against Durham, and it looked like fading light might help to save them but Aussie left arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann ensured that justice was done when he bowled Dillon Pennington to end the match. As that was his fifth scalp of the innings he may just also have earned himself a place in the upcoming Ashes. That left Leicestershire and Derbyshire the only sides still in action, with their game long since reduced a scrap for bonus points. In the closing stages Derbyshire passed 250 and Leicestershire took their wickets tally to seven. All of this consigned Yorkshire to bottom of the second division after two rounds of fixtures.

PHOTOGRAPHS

With the weather properly spring like I have a fine photo gallery for you…

The 2023 County Championship

From Thursday to Sunday the first round of fixtures in the 2023 County Championship took place. My main focus was on Lancashire v Surrey, but I caught snatches of two other games as well.

A DRAW WITHOUT DULLNESS

Thursday was a work day, so I missed the first day’s action, in which Lancashire won the toss and put Surrey in. Surrey were well past 300 by the close and had wickets in hand. On the second morning Cameron Steel played magnificently to record his first championship century for Surrey, eventually boosting their total to 442. Lancashire started well enough in reply, and got into the 180s with their fifth wicket pair in residence. Then came a collapse caused by bad batting, on a pitch that never had the slightest hint of menace, which saw them 197-8. Will Williams then came to the crease, and proceeded to produce an effort that should have had some of his team mates feeling decidedly embarrassed, as he helped the ninth wicket to add 81 largely untroubled runs. The tenth wicket stand took the score up to 291, 151 adrift, but to nobody’s great surprise Surrey opted not to enforce the follow on. The feature of their second innings, in which they boosted their lead to 402 before declaring on the third evening, was a magnificent century by Ben Foakes, scored at more than a run a ball, an innings that probably killed off any notion of Jonny Bairstow being given the gloves in the test side. Matt Parkinson claimed five wickets. Lancashire never had any thoughts of anything other than a draw, but Surrey were mostly serious in their attempts to get through Lancashire’s defences. There was a period of frivolity just before the second new ball was due, with Lancashire still only two wickets down. Skipper Rory Burns bowled some off spin, and Ollie Pope bowled his first ever over in first class cricket, purveying a version of leg spin. Then for a brief period serious cricket returned as the Surrey new ball bowlers tried to make inroads into the Lancashire innings, but they did not do enough to endanger the red rose, and the return to the bowling crease of Burns was the signal for hands to be shaken on a draw.

OTHER MATCHES

A significant first innings deficit and a poor batting effort in the second put Somerset in grave danger of defeat at the hands of Warwickshire, but Tom Lammonby and Craig Overton held out together for long enough to see off the danger. The last cricket of Sunday evening featured…

HISTORY AT HEADINGLEY

Headingley is to put kindly not generally a happy hunting ground for Leicestershire – they came into this match having not won a first class match at the ground since 1910, and few would have bet on that stat changing when they entered the fourth innings needing 389 from 87 overs to win. Gradually however they whittled away at the deficit, though they were always a fraction behind the clock – 44 needed off six overs, 23 needed of three. The seamer Ben Coad then very atypically had a nightmare over, and suddenly Leicestershire, with three wickets still standing, needed just five off the last two overs. A four early in the penultimate over brought the scores level, and then another off the fifth ball took Leicestershire over the line.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Not many photos today due to poor weather – though it has improved dramatically while I have been typing this…

All Time XIs: Lancashire and Surrey Combined

A combined Lancashire and Surrey XI in honour of the match I am currently listening to in the 2023 County Championship, and a substantial photo gallery.

With my attention focussed on Lancashire v Surrey in the opening round of the 2023 County Championship I am today picking an all time combined XI for the two counties (tomorrow I will write about this match, when I know the result). In keeping with my policy in the original All Time XIs series of 2020 I am restricting myself to one overseas player. Have a look at the Lancashire and Surrey pieces, noting that since 2020 Foakes has displaced Stewart as keeper in the Surrey XI.

THE XI IN BATTING ORDER

  1. Jack Hobbs (Surrey, right handed opening batter, outstanding cover fielder, occasional medium pacer). The Master, scorer of 61,237 runs in FC cricket including 197 centuries (or 61,760 and 199 if you are a revisionist). Those centuries included 12 in the heat of Ashes battle.
  2. John Edrich (Surrey, left handed opening batter). Edrich’s left handedness enabled him to keep out several contenders for this slot. He is a member of the 100 FC hundreds club, and he had an excellent test record.
  3. Ken Barrington (Surrey, right handed batter, occasional leg spinner). Statisically England’s leading batter to have played exclusively post WWII, with a test average of almost 59 (6,807 runs, HS 256).
  4. Graham Thorpe (Surrey, left handed batter). Another with an excellent test record, and often achieved while he was trying to hold the innings together without adequate support.
  5. Peter May (Surrey, right handed batter). A test average of 46 achieved in game’s lowest and slowing scoring decade, 85 FC centuries in all, and that with a career cut short by ill health.
  6. +Ben Foakes (Surrey, wicket keeper, right handed batter). His only rivals with the gloves would be Duckworth (Lancashire) and Pooley (Surrey), and neither were as good with the bat as Foakes.
  7. *Percy Fender (Surrey, right handed batter, leg spinner, fine fielder, captain). An ideal type of player to have coming in at seven in a very strong line up, and a shrewd skipper.
  8. Wasim Akram (Lancashire, left arm fast bowler, left handed batter). One of the two best ever cricketers of his type (his rival, the Aussie ace Alan Davidson never played county cricket) and there are no other great left arm pacers in the mix, so he was the proverbial shoo-in for the overseas slot.
  9. Johnny Briggs (Lancashire, left arm orthodox spinner, right handed lower order batter, brilliant fielder). He was the first cricketer ever to reach the milestone of 100 test wickets (Charlie ‘Terror’ Turner of Australia got there later in the same match), while in FC cricket he claimed over 2,000 wickets. He was a good enough batter that he scored a test century and had a career tally of over 14,000 first class runs.
  10. Jim Laker (Surrey, off spinner, right handed lower order batter). 193 test wickets in 46 matches at 21 a piece. Two all-tens against Australia in 1956, one for Surrey in the first innings of that match (the county won by 10 wickets) and one for England in the second Australian innings of the Old Trafford test, this latter after having already taken 9-37 in the first innings.
  11. Sydney Francis Barnes (Lancashire, right arm fast medium bowler, right handed lower order batter). 189 test wickets at 16.43 in just 27 matches at that level. He didn’t play a huge number of games for the county, preferring Lancashire League cricket where the terms were more generous, but his status as arguably the greatest of all bowlers demands that he be included.

This XI features a very powerful top five, one of the all time great keepers who also bats well, an all rounder who happens to be a great captain at number seven, a left arm pacer who can bat and who rates as one of the two greatest ever cricketers of that type, two legendary spinners and arguably the greatest of all bowlers at number 11. The pace department is a little under stocked, with Hobbs being the third ranked seamer in the XI but I do not think this bowling unit will struggle to take wickets.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Two Surrey openers with over 100 first class hundreds each missed out: Tom Hayward and Andrew Sandham, while Lancastrians Archie MacLaren and Cyril Washbrook were also fine openers (Atherton’s negative attitude towards county cricket is enough to rule him out in my view).

Barrington’s chief rival for the number three slot was Johnny Tyldesley, but even allowing for the fact that the Lancastrian batted in a more difficult era the gap between their respective records was too wide. I wanted a left hander in the middle order, and with due respect to Neil Fairbrother, Thorpe was the stand out candidate. May at five was rivalled by a member of the 100 hundreds club, Ernest Tyldesley, but there is no question that the interwar period was paradise for batters (16 of the 25 leading scorers of first class runs played some or all of their cricket in this period and there is a reason for that), and May’s career was as I said shortened by ill health. Andrew Flintoff was a candidate for the aggressive all rounders slot at number seven, but I wanted Fender’s captaincy, so even though it meant the pace department being short staffed I went that way. Wasim’s slot was as non-negotiable in my view as Hobbs’ at the top of the order. Laker had no rivals for the off spinners slot (Murali played a bit for Lancashire but I had limited myself to one overseas player). Briggs did have a rival for the left arm spinner’s berth, but Tony Lock’s action was questionable at the height of his career, and besides Lancashire are a little under represented in the final XI. Various excellent seam and pace bowlers missed out: George Lohmann, Tom Richardson, Alec Bedser and Peter Loader for Surrey and for Lancashire Brian Statham and James Anderson. All of these players would adorn any side of which they were part of, but I had only 11 slots available which meant deserving cases missing out. Jack Crossland and Arthur Mold were both quick, but both had highly dubious actions.

Finally, a member of the 100 hundreds club who was NOT unlucky to miss out: Mark Ramprakash had a fine record for Surrey after moving across the Thames from Lord’s, but he was not a big occasion player, a fact emphasized by his poor test record (an average of 27 and a mere two tons from 52 matches), and for me being a big occasion player is one of the criteria for selection in an XI of this nature.

I will undoubtedly have missed some fine players, and feel free to mention them in the comments, but remember if advocating for inclusion to consider how their presence in the XI would affect its balance.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…