Marcus Hook’s Surrey CCC preview: Fourth successive red-ball title is target for Gareth Batty’s serial winners

BY MARCUS HOOK

Having successfully defended their County Championship crown two years in a row, Surrey are bidding to mark the club’s 180th anniversary with a fourth successive red-ball title – a feat not achieved since the great Surrey side of the 1950s won seven on the trot between 1952 and 1958.

The South Londoners became champions for the 22nd time in the competition in September.

“We’re the envy of the other 17 counties,” said Surrey head coach Gareth Batty. “The Hundred sell-off might have changed some perspectives, with a boatload of money about to be injected, but we’re still ahead, so we’ve got to keep ahead.

“It promises to be an exciting season, because it’s the one in front of us, all the rest are in the rear-view mirror. It’s an energy-filled time of the year, where it all begins again – moving forward on to what will be our next exciting journey.

“The drive comes from each individual player and member of staff to keep moving forward. I’ve seen nothing other than actually trying to do more.

“We’ve got two or three young players where I’m saying ‘watch out these guys have done some serious work over the winter – and they’re not just here to be alongside the superstars who have been playing the franchise stuff or for England’. They want to be the next cab off the rank for Surrey.”

While Alec Stewart has swapped his role as director of cricket for that of high-performance cricket advisor – which has seen Batty assume added responsibility – the South Londoners’ strength in depth suggests it remains a case of business as usual.

“The day-to-day running, in terms of how we operate, hasn’t changed,” said Batty. “There’s some different things the majority of people wouldn’t see, with Stewie’s position evolving, but he knows the club is in safe hands.

“A few bits have dropped on my lap, that nobody probably likes -extra paperwork, which means you get home a bit later, but it’s nothing that isn’t manageable.”

Essex and, ultimately, Hampshire and Somerset pushed the champions hard in 2024, but Surrey’s impressive record at The Oval – where they have lost only once in four-day cricket in four seasons – kept their challengers at arm’s length while everyone at the club was coming to terms with the untimely death of England legend Graham Thorpe.

With four championship crowns as skipper under his belt – having also led the South Londoners to the title in 2018 – and one of many whose game was shaped by Thorpe, opener Rory Burns has etched his name into the pantheon of county cricket’s legends – not that he gives it much thought.

“I’m not that nostalgic,” said the 34-year-old, who is three months into his benefit season. “I’ve still got a few more years ahead of me. But I do enjoy walking past the wall that shows all the Surrey sides that have won the County Championship each day, thinking that’s another one added.”

England call-ups will continue to test Surrey’s ability to mix and match.

Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith became the latest graduates from the Surrey academy to step on to the international stage in 2024, grabbing their opportunities with both hands.

When everyone is available it will be a struggle to accommodate the batting talents of Ryan Patel, who finished last season strongly, and 20-year-old Ollie Sykes, who is already turning heads.

Sykes’ unbeaten 87 from 56 balls against Essex was the highlight of Surrey’s 50-over campaign last term. The youngster is already flexing his muscles with a whirlwind 37 off 10 balls against Sussex in the opening pre-season friendly at Hove, where both Ben Foakes and Dan Lawrence made centuries.

To bolster Surrey’s fast bowling strength, Matthew Fisher has joined from Yorkshire while, in terms of overseas, West Indies’ Kemar Roach is inked in for the first four games ahead of the arrival of New Zealand’s Nathan Smith.

After skippering Surrey to T20 semi-final berths in each of the last two years, Chris Jordan has handed the baton to Sam Curran, in the hope of laying to rest the bogey of being the competition’s inaugural winners (in 2003) but never since.

Curran junior will return to the Surrey fold – likewise Will Jacks, Jamie Overton and Reece Topley – when the Indian Premier League concludes at the end of May.

“Sam has always been impressive,” said Batty. “Even when he made his debut as a 17-year-old, he came in the room like he was 25. He’s always been above his years.

“You only have to look at the experiences Sam has had at a young age and we want to tap into that. He’s definitely a leader, and he always will be – that’s just part of his DNA.

“How the tactical stuff comes, he’ll speak to Rory, he’ll speak to lots of people within our group. But we felt the time was right.

“If you’re talking about consistency of franchise players in the last 18 months there aren’t many better.”

Lee Fortis, head groundsman at Surrey, also made it a three-peat last summer by claiming the award for the best multi-day pitches in the country for the third consecutive season at the ECB’s Grounds Manager of the Year Awards.

That balance between bat and ball attracted fantastic crowds to The Oval, with more than 65,000 people coming to watch Surrey’s seven four-day home fixtures last summer – a 21st century record at the ground.

A new domestic cricket structure awaits Surrey’s fully professional women’s team, who will play nearly half their Vitality Blast and Metro Bank One-Day home games at The Oval this season.

With England coming off a disastrous Ashes winter, Johann Myburgh, head coach of Surrey Women, believes there is more than enough talent between the eight Tier 1 women’s squads to turn England’s fortunes around.

“There’s a lot of quality players out there. I firmly believe that in the last five years, and certainly in the last two, the depth in English women’s cricket has improved a lot,” said Myburgh who, in effect, retains the role he had with South East Stars, who reached the finals of both the Charlotte Edwards Cup and Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy last summer.

“It’s important for England players to play in the domestic structure as much as they can. We want the domestic leagues to be as strong as possible. The better that is, the more we’ll see competition for places within England itself, but we’ll also see more local players getting the opportunity to showcase their skills.”

THREE PLAYERS WHO WILL BE KEY

JORDAN CLARK
Despite averaging 27.74 with the bat and 27.45 with the ball in first-class cricket since joining Surrey from Lancashire in 2019, Clark hardly ever gets talked about in terms of England. Takes wickets and scores runs when they’re needed most and never gives anything less than 100 per cent.

BEN FOAKES
Remains, in the eyes of many, the best wicketkeeper in the country. His form with the bat may have dipped last summer, after being dropped by England, but there are few in the land as adept as Foakes when it comes to adapting, as a batter, to all conditions and match situations.

DAN WORRALL
The 33-year-old’s record of 52 championship wickets at an average of just 16.15 in 2024 speaks for itself. Rob Key, the managing director of England cricket, suggest he might come into the Test reckoning when the former Australia seamer soon qualifies to play for England.