Author: Marcus Hook

I’ll never forget where I was, 13 years ago, when I heard about the footballer Gary Speed, having only just seen him on TV the day before.

As soon as the awful news reached me, I was transported – as I often was when I thought of Thorpey – back to his county debut in 1988, which I count myself fortunate to have witnessed.

The One-Day Cup has seen Dom Sibley don the moniker of ‘King of the out-grounds’ since Surrey have swapped the sophisticated surroundings of The Oval for 50-over trips to Rugby School, Guildford and Kibworth.

Surrey sank to 11-3 on a well-grassed Oval pitch before spinner Ben Kellaway become the first man in 44 years to claim wickets with right and left-arm bowling in an official county game.

The performances of Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith in England’s three-Test whitewash of West Indies have had the pundits positively purring at the injection of new, young, Surrey-manufactured talent

We’ve reached that point in the domestic season when county cricket goes its separate ways for a month or so.

Set 184 to win, the hosts were in a spot of bother when Curran junior took guard at 27-3.

Four Surrey players have been named in England’s squad for the first two Test matches against West Indies.

Foakes has struggled batting down the order at international level. For Surrey, he tends to bat a five, which means he has time to play himself in before opening his shoulders when it’s there to be hit.

When the Blast resumes on July 5, the South Londoners can look forward to welcoming Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan and Reece Topley back from the T20 World Cup.

The 26-year-old, who left Essex at the end of last summer, also became the first batter to hit five sixes in a single over for Surrey in a first-class match as England spinner Shoaib Bashir conceded 38 runs, the joint most in an over in championship history.

On Sunday everything switches back into four-day mode, when Surrey travel to Worcester, where it’s vital they get back to winning ways in the championship ahead of the showdown with Essex, their nearest challengers, the following week.

The 28-year-old, whose spell in this season’s Blast ends after Friday’s clash with Glamorgan, took two wickets in the first four balls of the Sharks’ response to Surrey’s 184-8 at Hove.

Sussex should never have been allowed to put 213 on the board.

Ollie Pope is the first to admit he would like to have made more of an impact for Surrey this summer.

Other than winning the toss, nothing went to plan for the South Londoners, who were bundled out for a paltry 127, during which Ben Foakes suffered a back spasm that prevented him keeping wicket.

But due to Will Jacks’ involvement in the T20 World Cup, Smith’s primary focus is seizing the opportunity to bat higher up in the order for Surrey than hitherto in the T20 Blast.

With the pitch at the Oval favouring seam, the hosts could even afford to leave out leg-spinner Cameron Steel, who has had an incredible start to the season. The decision proved well-founded when Dan Worrall and Co went to work. But, initially, a lost toss resulted in Worcestershire’s attack landing some early blows.

Worrall took 10 wickets in the match, though not before Clark had followed up an unbeaten 42 with 98 off 116 balls with the bat.