Lancashire (A) 26-29 Sep (Sky Sports)

Cameron Steel,top score and 3 more (lucky i presume?) wickets.

Burns averages 52.2 against Left Arm Spin in Test Cricket - surprisingly, it is his favourite type of bowling.

The horrible thought has occured to me that the reason the trophy wasn't presented last week was so that it would be on Sky.

Awful from Burns to the left arm spinner

So on what channel now.?

Sky sports mix

I'll say it - Patel is done as an opener. Time after time he spoons catches. He needs to work hard on his game during the winter and fight for a spot at 3 or 4 when Sibbles arrives.

VicNorth wrote:The horrible thought has occured to me that the reason the trophy wasn't presented last week was so that it would be on Sky.

I think I am write in saying it's always presented at the end of he final game.

Well this is pathetic.

3 for 4.

I get the impression they want to get the trophy and get on the bus home this evening.

Make that 4 for 5.

VicNorth wrote:We didn't play Lancashire at home.

Should we refuse the trophy - would that make you happy?

Jackers wrote:I'll say it - Patel is done as an opener. Time after time he spoons catches. He needs to work hard on his game during the winter and fight for a spot at 3 or 4 when Sibbles arrives.

I agree. I’ll be checking the receipts on the Sibley signing thread. There were plenty who said we don’t need him.

Jedrich wrote:I get the impression they want to get the trophy and get on the bus home this evening.

I doubt they wanted to play in the first place. It's bloody hard to stay 100% focused once the prize has been won. I wouldn't read much into this.

Chinaman wrote:

Jedrich wrote:I get the impression they want to get the trophy and get on the bus home this evening.

I doubt they wanted to play in the first place. It's bloody hard to stay 100% focused once the prize has been won. I wouldn't read much into this.

I agree totally. It's just a shame to end such a good season with a performance like this.

I'll fess up with saying that I didn't think we needed Sibley after Patel's very promising start to the season, now it's pretty evident we do; monumentally frustrating sums it up perfectly...

At the end of the final game of the 2018 season, a  1-wicket defeat at the Oval against Essex, I wrote on the old board: "I have never been more proud to support Surrey than I was today".

Having secured the championship two matches before, we were bowled out on the first morning for 67. At the end of day 1, Essex were 200/2 in response. But whatever was said overnight, for the following three days we played as though we cared about our unbeaten record, and came within a whisker of preserving it. We were playing a better side than this Lancashire one: Essex were the outgoing champions and went on to win the title the following year.

In contrast, we played all three days here as if we could not have cared less, just going through the motions. I have reflected on whether I'm being too harsh on them, but I don't believe I am. They have not just swum the bloody channel: many of those who bombed here have played relatively little competitive cricket in the past two months. And they are being paid to play (or to have August off, as the case may be).  Going through a season unbeaten is a rare achievement: even in the glory days of the Hollioake era we only managed it once (1999). This side and its management should have prized it more.

Of course it doesn't detract from the achievement of winning a title that we weren't expected to win: I'll write an appreciation of that separately. But this was an embarrassment.

Cee Gee wrote:

VicNorth wrote:We didn't play Lancashire at home.

Should we refuse the trophy - would that make you happy?

It would make for a great protest.

Come on, Manchester almost in mid winter playing 1st class cricket when, bar going through unbeaten, there is nothing to play for? Not surprised there was rather a lack of interest. The season should have finished two weeks ago. Can't see how anyone would be enthused to raise their game. Forget it. We won the Championship.

I maintain what I said on day one - this was a flat wicket. The batting let us down, particularly first time around, and some of the first innings dismissals were awful.

That said, that collapse this afternoon was a stinker - the bit in bold particularly egregious, 5-9!

1-89 (RJ Burns, 26.5 ov)
2-107 (RS Patel, 31.3 ov)
3-127 (HM Amla, 38.2 ov)
4-142 (CT Steel, 46.3 ov)
5-144 (TK Curran, 48.1 ov)
6-146 (JL Smith, 49.2 ov)
7-147 (J Overton, 50.2 ov)
8-151 (TE Lawes, 54.2 ov)
9-161 (J Clark, 63.6 ov)
10-173 (KAJ Roach, 73.1 ov)

I can’t think of a single delivery where the pitch misbehaved in all three days.

Badges, 19th out of 23 in Surrey batting averages , average 18.6. Bowling 9 wickets @ 28.6. Not going to win many matches with figures like that. Only playing because Stewart signed him and won’t admit his mistake!!!

Disappointing in the extreme. Not one to fret too much over though in the circumstances. I think Steel has proved a useful squad player in the RL Cup and the latter part of the Championship, taking some wickets, making some runs and fielding well. The pitch was a good cricket wicket, you had to work to get any reward. We did not need Curran as a bowler, we had a lot of pace bowlers, so I think Geddes would have been a better selection.

Wasn't it great to see Clark and Roach looking so happy when they were out? Also all the happy,smiling faces on the balcony as we were being trounced.

Dunno, I'd turned it off.