Pre-Season Friendlies

Radar looks better - a case of “shower dodging” - but yes, if nothing else show off the Pavilion to your friends and family…

Surrey and Middlesex will bat 45 overs today each, presumably regardless of wickets lost.

Live score: https://live.nvplay.com/ecb/#m9032fdd8-7f28-42ee-8e64-2d4ad2e76bea_~summary

Surrey:
1 17 RJ Burns*
2 45 DP Sibley
3 26 RS Patel
4 11 JL Smith+
5 44 CT Steel
6 16 J Clark
7 14 BBA Geddes
8 30 TE Lawes
9 37 AAP Atkinson
10 3 C McKerr
11 21 DT Moriarty
12 8 DJ Worrall

The last time I went to a pre season game at The Oval was 2019 it was a self service tea/coffee in the Alcock Room.

This time the Ali Brown Bar and Long Room Coffee Counter are open which is good to see.

I hope to get there this afternoon.

I suspect we’ll get a lot of this this season, players getting out to loose deliveries trying to attack bad balls and nicking them. Rory Burns is the first victim of a bit of a stinker from Murtagh.

So thoughts of Chris Jordan and Jason Roy's availability for the championship seem somewhat wishful? You'd have thought if they were going to be involved they would be the first cabs on the rank for getting in some red-ball practice...

RB wrote:I suspect we’ll get a lot of this this season, players getting out to loose deliveries trying to attack bad balls and nicking them. Rory Burns is the first victim of a bit of a stinker from Murtagh.

Why do you think that ?

Jackers wrote:So thoughts of Chris Jordan and Jason Roy's availability for the championship seem somewhat wishful? You'd have thought if they were going to be involved they would be the first cabs on the rank for getting in some red-ball practice...

Exactly, Jackers. The eleven to play at Lancs next week still looks likely imo to be the same as we both flagged the other day although those standing in for the resting / not yet available internationals will clearly be hoping to strengthen their case (weather permitting).

PLG wrote:

RB wrote:I suspect we’ll get a lot of this this season, players getting out to loose deliveries trying to attack bad balls and nicking them. Rory Burns is the first victim of a bit of a stinker from Murtagh.

Why do you think that ?

Apparently Stokes and McCullum visited all 18 counties and told them “how to Bazball”, the implication being grinding out wins at 2 an over is no good to the Test team.

It’s an all-too-rare bit of joined-up thinking between the international team and the counties and I think it’ll be a good thing in the medium term. The problem is you have to take the rough with the smooth and when Ryan Patel is spooning a short ball to mid off older members will snap at him.

RB wrote:

PLG wrote:

RB wrote:I suspect we’ll get a lot of this this season, players getting out to loose deliveries trying to attack bad balls and nicking them. Rory Burns is the first victim of a bit of a stinker from Murtagh.

Why do you think that ?

Apparently Stokes and McCullum visited all 18 counties and told them “how to Bazball”, the implication being grinding out wins at 2 an over is no good to the Test team.

It’s an all-too-rare bit of joined-up thinking between the international team and the counties and I think it’ll be a good thing in the medium term. The problem is you have to take the rough with the smooth and when Ryan Patel is spooning a short ball to mid off older members will snap at him.

If this is true I trust Gareth Batty told them in no uncertain terms that he coaches Surrey and we'll play championship cricket the way that suits us, rather than anyone else.  Of course it's good to play positive cricket, and the new batting bonus-point system encourages this. But I want Ryan Patel and all of our specialist batsmen to sell their wickets dearly unless the circumstances dictate otherwise (e.g. setting up or going for a challenging chase in the final innings...).

Jackers wrote:

RB wrote:

PLG wrote:

RB wrote:I suspect we’ll get a lot of this this season, players getting out to loose deliveries trying to attack bad balls and nicking them. Rory Burns is the first victim of a bit of a stinker from Murtagh.

Why do you think that ?

Apparently Stokes and McCullum visited all 18 counties and told them “how to Bazball”, the implication being grinding out wins at 2 an over is no good to the Test team.

It’s an all-too-rare bit of joined-up thinking between the international team and the counties and I think it’ll be a good thing in the medium term. The problem is you have to take the rough with the smooth and when Ryan Patel is spooning a short ball to mid off older members will snap at him.

If this is true I trust Gareth Batty told them in no uncertain terms that he coaches Surrey and we'll play championship cricket the way that suits us, rather than anyone else.  Of course it's good to play positive cricket, and the new batting bonus-point system encourages this. But I want Ryan Patel and all of our specialist batsmen to sell their wickets dearly unless the circumstances dictate otherwise (e.g. setting up or going for a challenging chase in the final innings...).

Bazball or not, though, if you get out to a bad ball then younger players and members sympathise, saying “well, it was there to hit” and not attaching a lot of blame to the batter.

A lot of time and effort has been written about Bazball when essentially that is all it is - putting bad balls away. For the most part, shots are not overly attacking or aggressive, you just think “well, that’s the right shot to play to that ball, it’s just an Indian fast bowler and he should be dispatched for four”.

Edit: Surrey also went along quickly last year than they have done recently so Batty-ball is clearly along the same lines.

Fair enough....well, in that case those who regularly watch us away might be well advised not to book hotels for the fourth day!

I would have like a more subtle approach of reducing the number of overs available to get the bonus points - 90/95 maybe so encouraging to play positively rather than recklessly? Not that I am saying they often play recklessly you understand!

It’s fair to say today’s not going brilliantly for Surrey.

These friendlies mean f**k all. Roach and Abbott
aren’t playing and the other lads are just going
through the motions until the proper cricket
starts next week.

Yes waste of time. Nets would be far better.

RB wrote:My understanding over the not-playing-a-spinner is because we were felt to be light on batting otherwise. You can get away with that in England but this year I feel our hand is forced by Jacks being in the IPL.

I would rather play myself than see Steel playing and I hope that with Lawes and Abbott we have enough batting.

Therefore the XI I would begin Lancs with is: Burns, Sibley, Pope, Roy, Foakes, Smith/Geddes/Patel, Lawes, Abbott, Roach, Worrall, Moriarty/Virdi.

Hi RB - with Steel top scoring for Surrey today, your place may be in trouble.

I don't see Virdi and probably Moriaty playing many games. Maybe as we have 3 games in July the spin department may be bolstered then. But look Steel bowls at least reasonable leg spin and can bat and field which the other 2 can't, especially Virdi, whose form seems to have vanished. I mean look what happened when he got sent to Somerset. It's a shame but if our seam department carries on it's form from last year, who needs him. And really is Moriaty good enough? Mmm...

I accept that Surrey made a conscious decision to prepare pitches to suit the seamers. The results spoke for themselves: 6 wins and a draw from the 7 home games. I don't expect them to change a winning formula this season. But there were a few games on the road where I was surprised one of the specialist spinners didn't get a game along with Jacks (eg Beckenham, Northampton).

Is Moriarty good enough? I'm not sure what evidence we have to doubt that he is. He was very impressive in his "breakout" season of 2021, and when he did at last get to play a championship game last year, at the fag end of September, he shook off his obvious rustiness and took a five-fer against a strong, motivated batting line-up. I hope he gets more chances this time round.

Jackers wrote:

Is Moriarty good enough? I'm not sure what evidence we have that he isn't. He was very impressive in his "breakout" season of 2021, and when he did at last get to play a championship game last year, at the fag end of September, he shook off his obvious rustiness and took a five-fer against a strong, motivated batting line-up. I hope he gets more chances this time round.

Both Virdi and Moriarty looked very good when they first arrived on the scene. Whether they flattered to deceive or have been mid-handled or don’t fit in with current policy seems to be the question. I’ve never held the opinion that wicket keepers and bowlers need to be able to bat; it’s useful if they can but no more.

Certainly I reckon “Mozza” should be playing at Old Trafford next week. With Roach, Abbott, Worrall, Lawes, and maybe Clark too I don’t think we need a sixth seamer or an extra batter.

Looks as though the “starting” XI will be Burns, Sibley, Pope, Patel/Smith, Foakes, Lawes, Steel/Moriarty, Clark, Abbott, Roach, Worrall.

The Cricketer mag reported that Surrey (and Middx) both tried to sign Zafar Gohar - who recommitted to Gloucestershire. They clearly want a spinner who bats so nobody should be surprised to see Steel take Jacks’ position initially. .

Cee Gee wrote:The Cricketer mag reported that Surrey (and Middx) both tried to sign Zafar Gohar - who recommitted to Gloucestershire. They clearly want a spinner who bats so nobody should be surprised to see Steel take Jacks’ position initially. .

I wonder if that was before recruiting Maharaj, who promptly did a tendon when celebrating a wicket (sometimes I think Middlesex overseas players are like Spinal Tap's drummers) or as a consequence of that?

I do wonder whether Batty the coach would have selected the latter day Batty the player.

If Surrey are selecting seamers because they want to prepare pitches that suit them then so long as it works that is fair enough. But if it is true that we were looking to recruit an overseas spinner who is not that special (first class bowling average over 30) then that makes no sense. Yes, he can bat a bit, but unlike Jacks you wouldn't select him for his batting alone.

A top-class spinner can be a match-winner regardless of whether he can bat.  Even if Simon Harmer were not a very useful bat he would have been a great signing for Essex over the past few years. I would have had Ashwin at Surrey for his bowling alone. But those two are in a different class as spinners to Gohar, and as it happens they are both markedly better with the bat too.

Day 3 and another 45 overs per side today. On the NVPlay site Debbie has set it up as a new game suggesting they may play competitively?