Surrey CCC spin doctor Amar Virdi: Reserve duty with England will help to improve my game

BY MARCUS HOOK

Surrey’s Amar Virdi says his experience as a spin-bowling reserve on England’s recent tours of Sri Lanka and India has not only added significantly to his game, but also whetted his appetite for going a step further and earning the chance to play at the highest level.

The 22-year-old, who picked up a 100th career wicket against Leicestershire last week, sees proving he can take wickets in a variety of conditions as the immediate challenge.

“I’m just thinking about county cricket at the moment and having the best season I can,” said Virdi, who has 104 scalps at an average of 28.69.

“If I have a good season and I perform well, then I think that I can’t really control the things that come outside of that.

“This time of year, as a spinner, it’s a bit of a new experience for me playing on these pitches. It’s a case of finding other ways to attack. So, it might be through a defensive mindset, trying to bowl a lot of maidens and keeping things very simple and attacking in that way.

“I’m always looking to attack. I think I’ll always keep that mindset, regardless of the conditions.”
Virdi points to the degree of control shown by India’s spinners, Ravi Ashwin and Axar Patel, who claimed 59 England wickets between them during the four-match Test series, back in February.

“It was a great experience,” said Virdi. “Quite a long trip, but I think it was very beneficial, being in an environment like that, that’s where I want to play. That’s where I want to be. I got an insight as to what it’s like bowling to guys like Joe Root and Ben Stokes in the nets. It’s great practice, and I think it’s really helped my game.

“The big difference is there’s no room for errors. If there is, it’s very minimal, even when the conditions are perhaps in the favour of the bowler. You still need to have that consistency and I think that was one of India’s main strengths.

“You take Axar for example, just being able to land it in a certain area over and over again, and then relying on the pitch or allowing the pitch to do the work, seemed like the way forward. They did that very well.

“My experience with county cricket has been that I find a lot of pitches do turn around the circuit. At Essex it spins there, I’ve played at Hampshire and it spins there, I’ve played at Worcester and it spins there.

“So it just depends on you as a bowler, what you can actually get out of the pitch. It might not turn straight away, but it may turn as a game goes on, or you get the footmarks to work with.

“You’ve got to be prepared to bowl on any type of pitch. If you’re always bowling on pitches in your favour, you could go to a Test game and pitch doesn’t turn for four days, then you’re used to bowling really wide outside off stump and trying to spin it through the gate – and you’re like ‘what do I do?’ So I think it’s a case of trying to be a well-rounded bowler and being able to bowl in different conditions.

“You’ve just got a face what’s in front of you, that will keep you in good stead going forward.”
Surrey top order batsman and second 11 skipper Ryan Patel enjoyed a welcome return to form last week, posting scores of 126 and 60 against a Sussex side that included England fast bowler Jofra Archer.

Archer, who is bidding to put his recent right elbow injury behind him ahead of next month’s Test series against New Zealand, worked up no small amount of pace; bowling 29.2 overs and taking the wickets of Nico Reifer and James Taylor as Surrey racked up 410 at Hove in response to the hosts’ 487.

Matt Dunn (3-56) then accounted for both of Sussex’s openers, but the match ended in a draw. It followed a defeat to Essex by an innings and 150 runs at Billericay – in which Patel made 74 – and a draw with Yorkshire at Guildford.

Surrey’s seconds’ next championship match starts today at the LSE Ground, New Malden, against Hampshire.

SOMERSET v SURREY probable line-ups

Surrey:
Burns (capt), Stoneman, Amla, Pope, Foakes (wk), Smith, Clark,
J Overton, Clarke, Roach, Virdi.

Somerset:
Lammonby, Davies (wk), Abell (capt), Hildreth, Bartlett, Goldsworthy, C Overton, Gregory, Davey, de Lange, Leach.

KEY PLAYERS
Rikki Clarke (Surrey) – Has punished Somerset with bat and ball over the years – his first-class record against them reads 1,231 runs at an average of 38.46 and 81 wickets at 22.93.

Craig Overton (Somerset) – The leading wicket-taker in the country with 32 scalps at a mere 13.96 runs apiece. With 211 runs at an average of 35.16 to add to the mix, he’s more than made a case to fill in for the injured Ben Stokes when the first Test against New Zealand gets underway in a few weeks’ time.

FORM GUIDE
Somerset (second in Group Two) have won four out of five, their latest success being a convincing 10-wicket victory over Hampshire who Surrey (fourth of six) destroyed the week before. That innings and 289-run win is the Oval outfit’s only victory to date.

STAT
Forty-three hundreds have been made this season, but not one by a Somerset batsman. Their highest individual score came when skipper Tom Abell hit 88 against Leicestershire on April 23. Surrey, along with Hampshire and Leicestershire, lead the way with five.

STAR MAN
Mark Stoneman. Enjoyed a welcome return to form with a superb 119.

BEST MOMENT
Amar Virdi’s 100th first-class wicket – courtesy of a reaction catch by Jamie Smith at short leg to see the back of Sam Evans.

NEXT FIXTURE
May 13-16: Somerset v Surrey at Taunton (LV County Championship)
May 20-23: Surrey v Middlesex at the Kia Oval (LV County Championship)

PICTURE: KEITH GILLARD