Vikram Solanki has message for Surrey CCC side as they suffer heavy defeat in Bob Willis Trophy opener

BY MARCUS HOOK

Vikram Solanki has told his Surrey players they need to reflect on the 190-run defeat to Middlesex in the Bob Willis Trophy curtain-raiser and then dust themselves to go again against Essex tomorrow.

There was no opening victory for the 44-year-old, who was appointed head coach in June.

“A loss is a disappointing start to this competition, but there was some good stuff for us among it all, just not for long enough,” said Solanki.

Surrey were bowled out for 123 by their north London rivals on the final afternoon at The Oval on Tuesday.

Solanki said: “Scott Borthwick and Jamie Smith both batted beautifully in our first innings, and the way they played was impressive. We fought hard in periods and there were passages of play where we actually got some partnerships together.

“Ryan Patel and Jamie also did well on Tuesday – young guys under pressure following the loss of three early wickets. Having not played a lot of cricket, for them to put together a well thought-out plan was impressive.

“On the first day we bowled with a lot of control on a good surface and, overall, I was pretty happy with the way things had gone.

“But in our first innings, having got into a good position, we then lost a cluster of wickets and from then on we were always behind the game.

“Even [on Tuesday] when Rikki Clarke and Jordan Clark were together, they got us into a position from where we could have saved the game but, again, unfortunately we let Middlesex back into it.

“We missed opportunities throughout the game from a batting point of view. We had lads get in and then have dismissals they might reflect upon; and, actually, reflect on the fact they did a lot of hard work to get to a state where they were happy with the way they were playing.”

The silver lining for Solanki was Moriarty’s 5-64 on first-class debut.

“Ever since he got here, Dan has been quite outstanding,” said the former England batsman. “He has a willingness to learn and an appetite for work, which has held him in good stead given his debut and the fashion with which he bowled in tough circumstances.

“He quite likes a scrap, which is a good quality to have as a spinner. I’m really pleased for him. He’s done a lot of good work with Gareth Batty and he’s given a lot of thought to how he might try and bowl. He had some clear plans in both innings and he delivered them really well.”

With a side strain ruling Jordan Clark out of the trip to Essex, Solanki added: “We’re fairly light given the fact we’ve got a few players away to add to an already fairly congested injury list.

“We’re just going to have a look and figure things out.”