Heat is really on Surrey as Vitality Blast enters crucial phase

BY MARCUS HOOK

Despite hitting 57, Surrey’s Laurie Evans cut a dejected figure at the end of last week’s 11-run defeat to Kent at Canterbury, as it now means the Oval outfit need to win one – if not both – of their remaining Vitality Blast group games to be certain of a quarter-final berth.

But tonight’s rematch with the Spitfires not only gives Surrey – who sit third in the South Group – a shot at gaining revenge, but also the chance to put behind them a run of four defeats out of six in this summer’s Twenty20.

“It was a bitter pill to swallow,” said Evans. “I felt we had it in the bag the whole way, but just didn’t finish it off. We probably need to be a bit better with our skill, but also give credit to Kent, because they bowled well under pressure.”

Kent amassed 191-4 after being put into bat thanks to a whirlwind innings from Jordan Cox, who smashed an unbeaten 61 in just 28 deliveries.

Surrey’s reply got off to an equally rapid start, with Will Jacks making a T20 career best 87. But then, other than Evans’ 57, the chase faltered.

“The way we started with the bat, we were outstanding again,” said Evans.

“Jacksy is turning into one of the best in the country at the top of the order. It’s great to see him keeping going in this tournament. But it was just one of those days.

“You can always improve, on both sides of the game. It was a good wicket and it is a quick-scoring ground.

“It came down to a couple of overs here and there. That happens in T20. I’ve felt that all the way through this competition. It’s the nature of T20.

“On another day we might have saved some runs, and certainly, in the field, we let a few go. But credit to Jordan Cox, who played a blinder.

“Hopefully we can come back, finish strong and move into the knockout stages because we’ve played some good cricket. We still are, it was just that Kent are a good top of the table side. But those are the games you live for as players.

“You want to be there at the end, but it just wasn’t to be.”

South East Stars continued their blistering start to the women’s domestic T20 – the Charlotte Edwards Cup – by following up a six-wicket victory against Lightning with an equally impressive five-wicket success over Central Sparks at Canterbury last weekend.

Sparks, having been put in, were restricted to 117, despite Eve Jones’ 49, thanks to Alice Capsey’s 3-13.

But Grace Gibbs’ smart running mixed with the odd power strike made sure the Stars romped home with 22 balls to spare.

“It was a really good performance as a team,” said Gibbs, who finished with an unbeaten 33. “We played it out the park and it was great to contribute myself.

“Over the season I’ve had a bit of a tricky one, but being able to come in and take the team over the line is great. I got myself in and built some nice partnerships.

“We never felt they were ever on top of us. We spoke a lot about restricting boundaries and we did that really well.

“Then they had an ‘in’ batter in Eve Jones and we spoke about getting her off strike and building the pressure and the spinners did that extremely well.

“Being two from two with two emphatic wins in this competition means our confidence is high. Everyone is buzzing.”

SURREY v KENT
probable line-ups

Surrey:
Amla, Smith (wk), Evans, Burns, Overton, Geddes, Clark, Clarke, Atkinson, Batty (capt), Moriarty.

Kent:
Bell-Drummond (capt), Denly, Leaning, Cox, Blake, Stevens, Robinson (wk), Milne, Ahmed, Milnes and Klaassen.

KEY PLAYERS
Jamie Smith (Surrey) – The four above Smith in Surrey’s T20 batting averages (Sam Curran, Jacks, Pope and Roy) are all missing, but Smith has shown glimpses of brilliance in this year’s Blast, making 236 runs at 33.71.

Jordan Cox (Kent) – the 20-year-old keeper-batsman celebrated being drafted by the Oval Invincibles Hundred franchise with a match-winning 61 not out off just 28 balls against Surrey last Friday.

FORM GUIDE
Kent’s 11-run victory over Surrey last Friday not only lifted them to the top of the South Group, it also assured them of a place in the quarter-finals. For Surrey, a win over the Spitfires tonight will go a long way to ensuring they too are in the last eight.

STAT
Last week’s target of 192 proved beyond even Surrey, who have lost just two out of their last 13 T20s batting second. But history suggests there’s a tipping point when the ask creeps above 190. Faced with such an equation in T20, Surrey’s record is just two wins out of 16 – against Essex at Chelmsford last season and against Middlesex at the Oval in 2018.

STAR MAN
Will Jacks for his 87 off 54 balls against Kent in the T20 at Canterbury, which contained 15 fours and a six.

BEST MOMENT
Jamie Overton’s stunning catch – running in from the midwicket boundary and diving full length – in the championship game at Southampton to hand Will Jacks only his second wicket in 27 first-class outings – that of Hampshire’s Felix Organ.

NEXT FIXTURES
July 9: Surrey v Kent at the Kia Oval (Vitality Blast)
July 11-14: Surrey v Somerset at the Kia Oval (LV County Championship)
July 16: Gloucestershire v Surrey at Cheltenham (Vitality Blast)

PICTURE: KEITH GILLARD