Rain has major say as Surrey CCC still waiting for a first County Championship win of the season

BY MARCUS HOOK

Rain had the final say in Surrey’s second County Championship clash of the season, at Taunton last week.

But it needed a dogged 74 from Rory Burns and an uncharacteristically restrained knock from youngster Will Jacks (54) to make the game safe, after the visitors slipped to 34-3 against Somerset on the third afternoon.

Hindered by the absence of overseas signing Dean Elgar, who suffered kidney stones complications during the match, Jacks and Elgar’s fellow South African, Morne Morkel’s first priority on the fourth and final day was to guide Surrey to calmer waters.

Surrey are sixth in the early standings although they have played a game fewer than all the clubs above them.

They resumed County Championship action at Kent yesterday.

“It was a frustrating way for the [Somerset] game to end because all three results were possible at the start of play on Friday,” said Jacks.

“It was tough batting last night [Thursday], but having Rory Burns at the other end playing brilliantly was a big help to me.

“I have been short of a few runs recently, so it was nice to contribute a decent score. But we felt that we could get a big enough total on the board to exert some pressure.

“In the end we have come out of a decent performance with 12 points and can move on with confidence.”

Jacks has made 196 runs at an average of 49.00 in this season’s championship, but in Surrey’s ill-fated 50-over campaign the 20-year-old only managed one half-century in eight visits to the crease.

Back-to-back five-wicket hauls from Amar Virdi could not prevent Surrey’s opening their Second Eleven Championship campaign with a defeat to Glamorgan.

On his return from injury, the 21-year-old off-spinner bagged figures of 5-31 and 5-78 in a low-scoring encounter in Neath.

Arun Harinath’s 41 and a 42 from Nathan Tilley headlined Surrey’s first innings, but with just two other batsmen reaching double figures they failed to cash in on dismissing their hosts for 151.

With Glamorgan making 187 in their second dig, Surrey required a mere 180 for victory. At 146-5 the visitors looked well on their way, thanks to Harinath (78), but the loss of five wickets for 10 runs in the space of 20 deliveries handed victory on a plate to the Welshmen.

Their second three-day game starts today at New Malden, against Gloucestershire.
Kent have gone top of Division One in the Women’s County Championship at Surrey’s expense.

Surrey, who have now lost two out of three in the 50-over competition, were put into bat at Reed’s School in Cobham. They were handed a decent start by Bryony Smith (55) and Kira Chathli (35), who put on 98 for the first wicket before Surrey collapsed to 148 all out.

Hannah Jones then struck twice with the ball, but could not prize out Kent’s Tammy Beaumont, who guided the visitors to a seven-wicket victory with an unbeaten 79 off 84 balls.

Surrey Women’s only win to date came in the opening game, a couple of weeks ago, when they skittled out Yorkshire for 118; Smith taking 3-14 with her off-spin. That was followed by a galling one-run defeat to Lancashire at Guildford, where the hosts finished on 241-7, having been two wickets down and 18 runs from victory with 40 deliveries to face.