Hampshire (H) (14-17 Apr)

Congrats to JOverton. A well deserved 5fer.

Have to tip your hat off to the bowlers in general; could have got messy when Barker and Fuller were scoring this morning, but stuck at it and got the rewards. Hope to see more of that from Overton, notch up the pace and make it uncomfortable for the other side...

Super bowling from Overton today,easily the best we have seen him bowl. Fully deserved his figures!! Can’t believe we have not batted again when we are without Roach. The bowlers will have to reply earn their money today. Let’s hope Taylor manages to take a wicket at last!

Ben Foakes really is different gravy.

Seems like not playing a spinner wasn't such a bad idea after all. Batty's called it right.

Tip my hat off to Taylor as well who's stuck in there and got a few wickets, guys like him can only get better with games under their belt. Credit to all the seamers really, to do it with a bowler like Roach down is always a gargantuan effort

Wonderful effort from the bowlers especially as they without Roach for most of the match. Special praise for the Groundsman who produced a good cricket pitch,not the normal flat ones we are used to.

Great effort on what was apparently a ‘pudding’ of a pitch. Well done lads!

This was a cracking first contribution since returning to the site....

Benmug wrote:I highly doubt that's getting 20 wickets (Hope to regret this later)

Realistically Roach will need to take 12-16 wickets in the match for us to have a chance.

Good win, lads!

Great win especially with Roach injured. I wonder
if Stewie has a replacement lined up?

What a fantastic performance: as a team effort, more impressive than any that we have seen since 2018. They say that one swallow doesn't make a summer, but the application and spirit of the team was palpably better than we have seen for three years. What a start for Gareth Batty. We took some stunning catches, none better than Ben Foakes's salmon-like leap to get rid of Hampshire's stand-out performer in the match, Barker. The batting didn't surprise me but the bowling certainly did. Jamie Overton was a revelation.

The only dampener was the injury to Roach which looks likely to end his involvement with us. We have Topley to come back in next week and Worrall comes into contention: Alec Stewart has a decision to make about whether we need to try to whistle up a short-term overseas replacement for Roach. It's a testament to the start the team has made that it is not obvious that he urgently needs to do so.

Very good performance by the surrey attack when Overton, Clark and Taylor oubowled Abbbot, Abbas and Barker. Got to admit today, I would not have enforced the follow on with a three man pace attack but credit where credit is due they did and they won.
Jamie Overtion now more like the bowler Surrey Thoufght they were getting. Joran Clark consistent and James Tayloir is only 21 if gains a yard iof pace with his height and bounce he could be a bowler similar to Steven Finn

To echo Roosters point, credit to Rory for bucking the modern trend and actually enforcing the follow-on. The burst from Overton at the end of the first innings probably made the decision for him but he’s seized on that moment to back the bowlers, and it’s worked.

Very pleasing considering our best bowler got injured.. Our other bowlers would probably not have played had everyone been available. I agree Overton was a revelation, hope that is just the start for him.

Well am I glad that I misread the pitch and our bowling ability on Day 1 where just 3 wickets all day was starting to look like the dreaded bore draw.  Great focused performance all round with Hampshire way under performing. Cider men on Thursday, and they have just lost two.

I’ve heard that the pitch was a pudding, can’t agree with that, you don’t get the steepling bounce that Overton got on a pudding. There was always something in the pitch for the bowlers and good batsmen could still get runs. I’ve been a critic of the Groundsman in the past for producing some awful flat wickets, but I think this one one was perfect. More of the same please!!

Alex! wrote:Have to tip your hat off to the bowlers in general; could have got messy when Barker and Fuller were scoring this morning, but stuck at it and got the rewards. Hope to see more of that from Overton, notch up the pace and make it uncomfortable for the other side...

You either tip your hat or take it off,you don't tip your hat off.

A great 3 days.Even you lot in here can't find anything to moan about-can you?

Badges wrote:A great 3 days.Even you lot in here can't find anything to moan about-can you?

Just the guest voucher system and partygate. Tbf, I don't blame Surrey for the latter although have noted that Jeffrey Archer is a member.

Anyway, a highly impressive win with some very good cricket played and character shown, especially following Roach's horrible injury.

Interesting to note that the improvement in Jamie Overton's bowling is ascribed to the work he has been doing with Azhar Mahmood. If Azhar can sort out some of our young bowlers the he deserves the the role of bowling coach permanently.