Cricket

SURREY BUOYANT AFTER TWO WINS ON THE TROT

6 September 2007

Surrey beat Hampshire by an innings
and 37 runs (County Championship)
Surrey beat Kent by one wicket (Pro40)

Surrey have gone a long way to turning round their season after two massive away victories in the space of week.

After holding their nerve to bowl Hampshire out on the final day of their County Championship game in Southampton, Surrey then managed to beat Kent by one wicket on Tuesday night in a truly unique ending.

On Tuesday, Surrey put up a good show with the ball with Rory Hamilton-Brown the pick of the bowlers, taking 3/36 from his eight overs. Young pace star Jade Dernbach was also very good, ripping through the top of the Kent innings take the key wickets of James Denly, Robert Key and Matt Walker.

Needing just 160 to win, Surrey should have knocked the runs off easily but when Mark Butcher was dismissed for 24 to leave them on 81/3 a middle order collapse ensued and they were suddenly 115/6 and minus Ali Brown, Jonathan Batty and Chris Jordan.

However, despite hurting the webbing in his right hand whilst fielding, Chris Schofield was able to stick with opener Scott Newman to leave Surrey needing just two runs off the last over (bowled by Neil Dexter) with four wickets remaining.

After Schofield tried and failed to reverse sweep the first ball, he was trapped LBW by the second which brought Neil Saker to the crease.

Saker was then stumped first ball after overbalancing, leaving Surrey two runs, two wickets from three balls.

Next into the firing line was Jade Dernbach, who hit the ball directly to short cover, called Newman through for a run, was sent back and run out by an inch.

Two balls, one wicket, two runs.

Number eleven Mohammed Akram managed to make contact with the fifth ball and get it far enough away from the wicket to get a single leaving one run off one ball with one wicket remaining.

Fortunately for the Brown Caps, Scott Newman (who had carried his bat throughout the innings) was now facing and he was able to splurge the ball through the off side, sprint through for the single and take what should have been a very straight forward victory for Surrey!

Tuesday’s victory followed an excellent win for Surrey over Hampshire at The Rose Bowl.

After winning the toss and batting, Surrey piled on 556 in their first innings, the highlight of which was Mark Ramprakash making his 30,000th first class run during a typically excellent innings of 188. Captain Mark Butcher also made a well earned century.

With the runs on the board, it was down to the bowlers to do their job and for once this season, they seemed happy to oblige.

Leg spinner Chris Schofield, soon bound for the Twenty20 World Cup, led the line with 5/52, ably supported by Harbhajan Singh and Matt Nicholson.

Needing to bowl the home side out again, Surrey were blocked out by Nic Pothas who made a stolid 92 from 256 balls but were eventually able to break the innings, dismissing them for 298 with two hours of play left.

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