Format change: after a disappointing start to their four-day campaign, Surrey will be hoping for better performances in the T20 Blast, starting tomorrow
HOOK’S SHOT: A disappointing start to the four-day season has had members at The Oval poring over their Wisdens to check the ages of their home heroes.
MARCUS HOOK previews the quick-fire T20 season
This summer’s T20 Blast gets underway at The Oval tomorrow evening with Surrey having as much to prove to themselves as their critics, after sinking to a humiliating County Championship defeat at the hands of Yorkshire this week.
The first two days saw Yorkshire turn 121-4 (with England’s Joe Root and Harry Brook two of the wickets to fall) into 486. Even though Surrey’s batters have become accustomed to responding to totals of 400-plus, the absence through injuries of Ben Foakes (still suffering from the side strain needlessly suffered when bowling against Essex last month) and Ollie Pope contributed to their embarrassing innings defeat.
After posting 204, Surrey were bundled out for 155 following on. After six matches of the Championship season, the pre-season championship favourites are only seventh in the table, 17 points off leaders and defending champions Notts, having registered just one win.
In fairness, the Headingley pitch became increasingly unpredictable, but not enough to excuse the embarrassing loss of three wickets in the space of 13 deliveries to Brook’s part-time seam.
xxx: Gareth Batty, Surrey’s head coach
Surrey’s head coach Gareth Batty described his side’s first defeat of the campaign as “a shot across the bows”, adding: “It’s part of being a professional sportsperson that you have to look in the mirror and realise where you’ve got things wrong.”
Every four-day game so far has seen Surrey go long periods without looking like taking a wicket.
That could all change, though, when leg-spinner Rahul Chahar (who marked his debut for Surrey with career best figures of 8-51 last September) returns from the Indian Premier League for another stint at The Oval, just in time for their next championship fixture, against Hampshire, starting on June 7.
But first up is Lancashire and a blast of T20.
The format is a little different this year, with the 18 first-class counties split into three regional groups of six. The group stage will see each team play the other five in their group home and away, plus two “cross-group” fixtures. The top two from each group automatically qualify for the quarter-finals, as will the two best third-placed teams.
And Finals Day at Edgbaston has been switched from its customary September slot to July 18.
Player availability will be a bit of a wildcard for all the teams. This year’s T20 Blast clashes with England’s Test series against New Zealand and white-ball internationals with India.
That means that Surrey will likely be without Gus Atkinson, Matt Fisher, Will Jacks and Jamie Smith, and they begin their T20 season with Sam Curran (back), Jamie Overton (thigh) and Foakes all injured.
One of the criticisms levelled at the once-imposing Surrey squad is that they’ve been grown old together. If they are going to qualify for the Blast’s knockout phase for the seventh time in 10 seasons, they’ll need their T20 veterans – batters Laurie Evans (who’s 38) and Old Whitgiftian Jason Roy (35), and seamers Tom Curran (31), Chris Jordan (37) and Reece Topley (32) – to prove they’re still capable of delivering under pressure.
Having a blast: Laurie Evans, at 38, is among the Surrey squad’s old stagers
The highlight of last summer’s T20 campaign was Dan Lawrence’s unbeaten 120 in 54 deliveries against Glamorgan. Lawrence could be a key player for Surrey over the coming weeks, with bat as well as ball.
As for the other sides in Surrey’s South Group, the odds-setters like the look of Hampshire (8-1 to win the competition) and Sussex (16-1). Surrey are 5-1 favourites, but, as we have already seen in the County Championship, that counts for very little.
Essex Eagles (22-1) registered just three victories in last year’s T20, but don’t let that fool you. Jordan Cox is one of the most destructive batters in the county game, plus the spin combo of Luc Benkenstein and Simon Harmer are worth their weight in gold.
Hampshire will, like Surrey, be keen to make amends for their disappointing start to the season. The Hawks have the pedigree to do so, having reached T20 Finals Day four times in the last five years. Toby Albert and James Vimce will be pivotal at the top of the order.
Kent Spitfires (20-1) will benefit from having opener Zak Crawley (dropped from the England Test squad) around to combine with Daniel Bell-Drummond and Tawanda Muyeye (516 runs in last summer’s Blast).
Everyone seems to have written off Middlesex (50-1). With no Stevie Eskinazi (now at Leicestershire) or New Zealand’s Kane Williamson this time around, it’s hard to see who will get their runs..
Bowled over: Sussex pace bowler Tymal Mills could be a significant player in this summer’s T20
Sussex will view the T20 Blast as their best chance of winning silverware this summer.
The Sharks’ bowling attack has a nice balance. Slow left-armer James Coles, at 22, is a potential star, plus Danny Briggs and speedster Tymal Mills have both taken more than 300 wickets in T20 cricket.
If there’s a recipe for T20 success, it’s don’t go too hard too early with the bat. The stats show that the team with the highest score at the fall of the third wicket invariably goes on to win. For fielding sides, making early inroads with the ball has to be the aim.
Aussie rules: Surrey have signed Laura Harris for their T20 squad
There’s also the women’s T20 Blast, which will see a number of fixtures on the same bill in double headers.
Surrey won last year’s competition. Captained by Bryony Smith, Surrey will have one of Australia’s leading batters, Laura Harris, to call upon this summer.
Like their male counterparts, international calls mean they’re in danger of being victims of their own success. With four in the England squad for the T20 World Cup (more than any other county) plus Priyanaz Chatterji representing Scotland, Surrey will need the likes of all-rounder Alice Monaghan to help to fill the void.
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