Dan Moriarty puts on impressive spin class as Surrey CCC demolish Gloucestershire
Surrey left-arm spinner Dan Moriarty, 22, marked his first appearance of the season with a career best 6-60 in the Oval outfit’s emphatic victory over Gloucestershire in the County Championship at the weekend.
He also created a bit of history in the process, by becoming the first bowler since 1953 to bag four five-wicket hauls in his first five innings in first-class cricket.
“I don’t always aim for those stats, but it’s always an absolute privilege to represent this club and it’s always nice to grab an opportunity,” said Moriarty, who enjoyed bowling with fellow spinner Amar Virdi.
“We had clear plans and we managed to execute them well. We wanted to set the game up for the last innings. We wanted to be disciplined in our lines and lengths. We created pressure and, fortunately, we took some good catches and got wickets in clusters.
“It’s always great to bowl in tandem with Virds, we complement each other in style. Obviously, conditions tend to dictate when two spinners can bowl together, but hopefully we can do it a lot more in the future.
“Playing in front of a crowd again was also a great pleasure. You get a lot of energy from them. It was only my second professional game with people around, so it was a new experience.”
Surrey’s victory by an innings and 47 runs keeps alive their hopes of qualifying for Division One in the championship. But, next up, is the T20 Vitality Blast, which, for the South Londoners, gets underway against Middlesex at Lord’s on June 10.
Meanwhile, Surrey and England wicketkeeper Ben Foakes has been ruled out of the forthcoming LV Insurance Test series against New Zealand after tearing his left hamstring.
Foakes, who was set to play his first Test in home conditions at Lord’s, sustained the injury slipping in the dressing room after Surrey’s championship fixture against Middlesex.
He will now be assessed and work closely on his rehabilitation with the Surrey medical team, but is expected to be out of action for at least three months.
PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD
