Author: Marcus Hook

Marcus Hook’s latest Surrey CCC column focuses on the imminent departure of Dan Moriarty.

Marcus Hook’s latest column on Surrey CCC.

Surrey head into their two remaining games in the One-Day Cup knowing they are unlikely to progress to the knockout phase.

The Ashes never needs hyping up. Even so, many predicted this summer’s series would be the most enthralling since 2005, and so it proved. It also underlined that five-day Test cricket remains the ultimate format of the game.

Surrey maintained their lead in Division One of the County Championship by rolling over an in-form Somerset side with a day and 10 wickets to spare at Taunton last week.

Rory Burns described Surrey’s first home and away double against Middlesex since 1984 as “clinical”, as the County Championship leaders maintained the gap between them and second-placed Essex by comfortably overcoming their north London rivals at Lord’s last weekend.

Once again, T20 finals day ended in heartache for Surrey. The South Londoners have now been to seven since winning the inaugural competition in 2003, only to come away from all of them empty handed

Jason Roy says the personal disappointment of reaching three T20 finals days, only for Surrey to walk away empty handed, will fire him on to make certain that tomorrow’s doesn’t become a fourth.

When you consider some of the so-called minnows who have won the domestic T20 more times than Surrey (whose solitary success came 20 years ago, in the competition’s inaugural season), it just goes to show that, in Twenty20, it all comes down to what happens on the day.

Roy marked his first appearance of the season with 28 last Sunday, in a game that culminated in Essex needing three to win off the final ball, writes Marcus Hook.

Chris Jordan says he isn’t looking any further ahead in the Vitality Blast than Surrey’s two remaining group games.

A  bit like the Andy Dwyer reaction gif one often sees accompanying the unexpected on social media, I couldn’t believe my eyes last week.

Surrey have one foot in the quarter-finals of the Vitality Blast with three group matches left to play following their 81-run victory over Glamorgan on Tuesday night.

Surrey’s marketing team have come up with a moniker for the Oval outfit’s brand of T20 cricket – ‘hits different’. Judging by this week’s epic four-day contest at Canterbury, it also epitomises the South Londoners’ County Championship exploits.

Opener Dom Sibley hit an unbeaten 140 as Surrey maintained their advantage in the County Championship this week by pulling off an epic run chase against Kent at Canterbury.

Next week, on June 13 to be precise, Twenty20 cricket will celebrate its 20th birthday. The “every ball is an event” excitement of 2003 continues to be a gift that keeps giving, but Surrey do seem to be taking their commitment to entertaining cricket a bit too far.

Surrey’s T20 skipper Chris Jordan says he is relishing the challenge of making amends for last year’s heart-breaking quarter-final defeat to Yorkshire.

Sean Abbott dedicated his whirlwind 110 not out off 41 balls to the memory of the late Andrew Symonds – known to everyone as ‘Roy’ – whose record for the fastest T20 hundred in English domestic cricket he equalled in Surrey’s 41-run victory over Kent at the Oval last week.

Week eight of the season sees a change of gear, with the T20 Blast dominating the schedule through to the start of July almost as much as Surrey have dominated the opening rounds of the County Championship.