Surrey “not good enough” as they suffer first T20 defeat of the season

BY MARCUS HOOK

Surrey missed the chance to go back to the top of the Vitality Blast South Group after suffering their first T20 defeat of the season, to Essex Eagles at the Kia Oval on Monday.

In a game reduced to 17 overs per side by rain, Essex took advantage of the helpful conditions to dismiss Surrey for 118 in 16.4 overs, after winning the toss.

Essex openers Will Buttleman (56 not out) and Adam Wheater (30) broke the back of the chase with a stand of 67, Buttleman seeing his side home as the visitors completed an eight-wicket win with nine balls to spare.

“We weren’t good enough tonight. We were on the wrong side of the toss because we would have liked to have chased,” said Surrey’s head coach Vikram Solanki. “The difference was the Powerplay. We perhaps didn’t assess the pitch well enough and losing four wickets in the Powerplay was always going to make it difficult for us to put Essex under pressure.

“We were probably 20 runs short of par. Up until now we’ve played very well in the Powerplay, in different circumstances and on different surfaces. But tonight the surface took us a little bit by surprise. But that’s no excuse. We should have definitely made a better go of it.”

In mitigation Surrey were without several key players including the Curran brothers, Sam and Tom, and Jason Roy, who have joined up with England for the IT20 series against Sri Lanka this week, while Laurie Evans withdrew with a stomach bug.

It meant that in came Hashim Amla and Jade Dernbach, both of whom were making their first appearances of the season in the Blast; as well as 19-year-old batsman Ben Geddes, who marked his professional debut with 28.

“I was pleased for Ben, on debut, who looked comfortable on that stage in what was a pressure situation when he came out to bat,” said Solanki.
“He’s shown what he can do in this format in the second team, playing some wonderful knocks.

“We’ve got another opportunity against Somerset on Wednesday, and we’ll certainly be looking to give a better account of ourselves.”

Ollie Pope was also missing for the Oval outfit. The 23-year-old is self-isolating but will be available for Friday’s derby against Middlesex.

A statement issued by Surrey last week stated: “Ollie Pope will not be available to play cricket until June 24, having had contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19.

“He will have to self-isolate until that time. Pope did not come into contact with the individual during his time with England in the recent Test series against New Zealand and he has not had any contact with any Surrey CCC players or staff.”

PICTURE: KEITH GILLARD