Ashes victim: England’s winter tour to Australia was a disaster, but only Surrey batsman Ollie Pope appears to have suffered any consequence
Good Friday sees the start of the domestic cricket season. For Surrey it will mark the first step on the path to reclaiming the County Championship. The pain of missing out on a fourth successive title is such that anything other than top billing in 2026 simply isn’t an option.
It all came down to last September’s clash with Nottinghamshire at the Oval. With little to choose between the two contenders, fans were treated to a pulsating four-day contest. Notts held on to win by 20 runs, following it up by routing Warwickshire a week later to end Surrey’s three-year domination.
Matt Fisher, the former England seamer, made his move from Yorkshire to SE11 a year ago. He took 11 wickets in that crunch match against Notts, but now says: “I would have handed all those wickets back for us to win.”
Fisher told Inside Croydon: “We kind of knew it was all over at that point, even though there was one more game left. Everyone was down, but I was properly down because I wanted to help carry on what Surrey had done.”
Bitter blow: Surrey seam bowler Matt Fisher
Tom Lawes, who perished to a catch in the deep to spark Notts’ victory celebrations, said: “It was one of the worst feelings in my career.” And looking ahead to the 2026 season, he adds: “Losing the title has been a real motivator.”
Surry’s captain of eight years, Rory Burns, said: “I love winning and I want to keep winning. But last year hurt a lot.”
With Ollie Pope losing his England No3 place – midway through what proved to be an embarrassingly one-sided Ashes series – Surrey will start the 2026 season with a settled top five, arguably for the first time since Pope, who is still only 28, made his Test debut in 2018.
Pope’s international career appears to be at of a crossroads, but it would be foolish to write off someone with a first-class average of 69.84 at The Oval.
But with him at least temporarily relieved of international calls, Surrey’s top order could look like this: Burns, Sibley, Pope, Smith, Foakes and Lawrence, all of whom have had a taste of Test cricket, winning 177 caps between them and scoring a combined 9,659 runs.
I asked Matt Fisher if he’s relieved he doesn’t have to bowl to that line-up. “I still have to bowl to them in the nets!” he said.
Versatile: Ryan Patel is ready to step in whenever needed
“We know, when the likes of Popey and Jamie Smith go off and play for England, we’ve got a squad that’s got depth – to the extent you don’t know you’re replacing those guys. Ryan Patel epitomises how he fits into the team. He can bat from 1 to 7, and if someone drops out, or if there’s an injury, he just fills in.
“I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves in terms of switching roles, which isn’t easy. It’s people like Ryan and Ollie Sykes who make us strong as a squad and strong as a team.”
First up for Surrey is a trip to Warwickshire. On the evidence of last summer’s clash at Edgbaston, bat is likely to dominate ball. It was by no means the only time Surrey’s hosts served up a flat pitch with a view to nullifying Surrey’s usually potent seam attack.
“We played on quite a few turgid wickets away from home,” Fisher said. “Every away game in that first block of seven matches last season, it was the same story. In a way, it was a back-handed compliment that teams felt they couldn’t compete with us if the ball was doing something. It will be interesting to see what it is like this year.”
Surrey’s attack will be even more formidable with England’s Gus Atkinson available for the opening rounds of the County Championship and the Australian Sean Abbott (who was such a big part of the successes in 2023 and 2024) returning as overseas player.
But Fisher, along with Jordan Clark, Tom Lawes and Dan Worrall, will be key to Surrey’s championship fortunes when the ball is still new, while Dan Lawrence will continue as the primary option spinner.
Another frustration for Surrey last season must surely have been progressing to the knockout phase of the T20 Blast for the fifth time in six seasons, yet failing to go all the way under new T20 skipper Sam Curran.
Bowled over: Sam Curran is due to miss the Indian Premier League this year with a groin injury
Sam was always going to miss the bulk of this summer’s four-day campaign, due to his white-ball commitments with Rajasthan Royals and England, but now the 27-year-old all-rounder will play no part in Indian Premier League due to a groin injury.
Will Jacks (Mumbai Indians) and Jamie Overton (Chennai Super Kings), who, along with Sam Curran, recently took England to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup, will be back from the IPL at the end of May.
But even then, just how much Surrey will see of them is debatable given this summer’s packed international schedule.
Gareth Batty, Surrey’s head coach, is philosophical about having to contend with so many moving parts: “County cricket is the breeding ground to allow people to go off and fly. Lots of other clubs may complain about losing their best players, but we say: ‘Fine, go for it.’
Team work: Bryony Smith, Surrey’s captain
“That is what we are trying to create for our players – to be as good as they can be, to get to where they want to get.”
Surrey’s women bettered their male counterparts by winning the T20 Blast last season, as well as finishing runners-up in the County Cup and reaching the semi-finals of the 50-over Metro Bank.
Bryony Smith, the women’s skipper, is confident team spirit will underpin another big summer in 2026: “I’ve been in quite a few team environments over my career and this one just has something a bit different. Everyone genuinely gets on and you can see that out in the field.”
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