Marcus Hook’s Surrey CCC column: Runs aplenty at start of County Championship season

‘The County season has already started you know…’

If mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun, it should be added that, in April, and where cricket’s involved, they go equipped with at least five layers of clothing and a flask of soup.

While it may have been a distinctly chilly start to the new season, we didn’t see the April green-tops we’ve become accustomed to – the ones where every ball could have your name on it if you’re a batter.

The eight matches up and down the country produced 20 centurions. Surrey’s curtain-raiser against Warwickshire at Edgbaston saw 1,002 runs and just 18 wickets.

Until Surrey old-boy Michael Burgess set about compiling a career-best 178, the South Londoners held the upper hand after racking up 428-8 declared, thanks to a wonderful century from Ben Foakes.

If there was one concern coming away from Birmingham, it’s that Surrey’s attack lacked a cutting edge after the ball went soft. But credit where it’s due, they plugged away and didn’t surrender the initiative until it became impossible to fashion a result.

In contrast to last summer’s curtain-raiser, their discipline extended to conceding just two no-balls in 171 overs, compared with the 16 in 131 against Gloucestershire 12 months ago.

Next up it’s Hampshire, who, for my money, have the best new ball pair in the country – the destructive Mohammad Abbas and the ever dependable Kyle Abbott.

As well as promising to be a fascinating contest, it will tell us a lot about Surrey’s credentials in this year’s County Championship.

So, if you get the chance over the Easter weekend, do get along to the Oval, watch it online via Surrey’s website or follow the BBC’s excellent ball-by-ball commentary.

County cricket is so accessible now, you might have thought the England and Wales Cricket Board would be keen to promote the “every match live” subscription-free online coverage.

Sadly, its priority still appears to be The Hundred, even though the tournament doesn’t start until August 3.

Last week, one cricketing scribe, Stephen Brenkley, wrote on social media: “In the last 15 days I have received 24 emails from ECB about various matters, mostly The Hundred. Not a squeak about the County Championship.”

Annie Chave, a Somerset supporter who started up the magazine County Cricket Matters a few years ago also said: “I have directed over 100 people on social media today to the championship live streams – they didn’t know that a) the county championship was on and b) that they could watch or listen to it… Could I get a wage please @ECB_cricket or could you maybe make it clearer/more visible?”

So, come on ECB, up your game.
……….

SURREY v HAMPSHIRE
probable line-ups

Surrey:
Burns (capt), Patel, Amla, Pope, Foakes (wk), Smith, Jacks, Clark, Roach, Taylor and Topley.

Hampshire:
Weatherley, Holland, Gubbins, Vince (capt), Dawson, Brown (wk), Organ, Barker, Fuller, Abbott and Abbas.

KEY PLAYERS
Kemar Roach (Surrey) –
In the corresponding fixture last year, which Surrey won by an innings and 289 runs, the 33-year-old Barbadian claimed a career best 8-40 and ten wickets in the contest, as the visitors were skittled out for 92 and 179.

Mohammad Abbas (Hampshire) –
His record of 545 first-class wickets speaks for itself. But it’s in English conditions where the Pakistan fast bowler is in his element. Across two summers at Leicester and a season and a bit at Hampshire, Abbas has bagged 126 championship victims at just 18.52.

FORM GUIDE
Hampshire put down a serious marker, in terms of their bid for a first County Championship crown since 1973, by trouncing Somerset inside three days in their season’s opener. Surrey made a decent start against defending champions Warwickshire before the life went out of the Edgbaston pitch completely.

STAT
Since the start of 2018, Surrey have been involved in nine four-day contests decided by an innings – three of them against Hampshire, who won by an innings and 52 runs at Arundel in 2020. Surrey won the other two – in 2018 at the Ageas Bowl and last summer at the Oval.

UPCOMING FIXTURES
14-17 April: Surrey v Hampshire at the Kia Oval (County Championship)
21-24 April: Surrey v Somerset at the Kia Oval (County Championship)