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Surrey CCC v Worcestershire CCC

LV=CC
Wed 21st - Sat 24th April, Whitgift School

Articles & Reports

Match Report
Day 1:

Surrey made the most of a good batting track, fine Spring weather and a couple of dropped catches to put themselves in a strong position at the end of the first day of the Championship match against Surrey at Whitgift School.

Imran Arif and Adam Shantry were brought into the side in the absence Gareth Andrew & Chris Whelan.

Surrey won the toss & elected to bat first. The visitors picked up a wicket with the fourth ball of the match and almost got a second one in the next over.

Imran Arif took two wickets in one over, the first removing the ever dangerous Mark Ramprakash for 40 off 71 deliveries. Two overs later the Surrey skipper Rory Hamilton Brown survived a fairly regulation slip catch at slip while on just 1. He made the most of the let off recording his first First Class century for Surrey with a bullish 125 off 130 deliveries.

He was ably assisted at the other end with former Worcestershire favourite Steve Davies who batted superbly with a stylish unbeaten 119* in a 5th wicket stand of 177 with Hamilton Brown.

Another ex-Worcestershire player, Gareth Batty chipped in with a quick fire 47 in a 6th wicket stand of 78 with Davies to help Surrey take advantage of some occasional wayward Worcestershire bowling, with the notable exception of Alan Richardson who finished the day on 1-58 from 22 overs, with 13 of those runs coming off a single over.

Close of play Day 1: Surrey 415-6 (96 overs).
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Day 2:

Worcestershire recovered from a potentially tricky situation with a fine batting display at Whitgift School to drag themselves back into the match by the end of the second day.

In the morning session it took 21 overs for the visitors to take the remaining Surrey wickets, with the first wicket falling with no addition to the overnight score. Steve Davies was the eighth wicket to fall being well caught by Alan Richardson off the bowling of Moeen Ali for 137 after an innings lasting 200 deliveries containing 17 boundaries.

The home side was eventually dismissed for 493 with Worcestershire just missing out on the third bonus bowling point. All the main bowlers took wickets but pick of the bowlers was Alan Richardson who finished with figures of 1-69 off 27 overs.

Worcestershire’s reply to Surrey’s huge target got off to a shaky start with both openers falling without a score on the board. Andre Nel trapped Mitchell LBW in the first over and Iftikhar Anjum found Jaques’ outside edge which was well taken behind the wicket by Steve Davies.

However after lunch Worcestershire skipper Vikram Solanki and Moeen Ali produced a fine batting display and rarely looked in trouble the entire session to allow the visitors to reach tea without losing another wicket on 131-2.

The Surrey spinners Gareth Batty and Chris Schofield tried to make the most of a fairly dry pitch and made life difficult at times but both Solanki and Ali made sure that any bad ball was dispatched to the boundary and never let any bowler dominate even against a fired up Andre Nel.

In fact only one wicket fell in the afternoon and evening sessions, that of Solanki who fell for 114 being bowled by Andre Nel after a fine innings lasting 174 deliveries including 18 boundaries. Solanki and Moeen completed a record 3rd wicket partnership against Surrey of 223.

Afterwards Moeen Ali and Alexei Kervezee batted sensibly to allow Worcestershire to reach 262-3 by close of play with the follow on target now well in reach. Moeen Ali finished unbeaten on 122* in a well paced innings which allowed his side to bring themselves back into the game.

Close of Play Day 2: Surrey 493. Worcestershire 262-3 (76 overs).
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Day 3:

Worcestershire completed a good batting display to leave the draw the most likely result after the 3rd day of the Championship match against Surrey at Whitgift School.

Only to wickets fell in the morning session. The first was that of Moeen Ali for 126 caught at 1st slip by Gareth Batty off the bowling of Andre Nel. Alexei Kervezee continued his fine form this season with an innings of 68 which helped Worcestershire pass the follow-on figure taking advantage of a dropped catch early in his innings.

Surrey made regular bowling changes in an attempt to make a break through against some solid defensive batting by Worcestershire.

In the afternoon session Ben Scott and Ben Smith moved the score along and there were even thoughts of gaining a first innings lead. After 136.2 overs that produced only five wickets the next five wickets fell in just over seven overs for just seven runs.

The breakthrough for Surrey was the wicket of Ben Smith caught at the wicket by Steve Davies for 80 off the bowling of Jade Dernbach after a 6th wicket stand of 115 with Ben Scott. The wickets then fell rapidly with Ben Scott going in the same over for 55. Almost 67 overs of spin were used by Surrey which produced just 3 wickets for over 240 runs.

Worcestershire were dismissed for 465, a good recovery after having been 0-2 at one stage to give Surrey had a first innings lead of 28 runs. Andre Nel bowled with his usual pace & aggression to finish with figures of 3-41and 3-85 for Jade Dernbach.

In the remaining 26 overs left in the day Surrey reached 57-2 extending their lead to 85 runs. The game remains fairly evenly posed, but a win is still is still possible for either side depending on the outcome of the first session on the final day.

Close of play Day 3: Surrey 493 & 57-2. Worcestershire 465.
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Day 4:

Worcestershire produced a good rear guard action to earn themselves a draw at Whitgift School against Surrey.

In the first session Worcestershire got two early wickets but Mark Ramprakash remained to allow Surrey to build a useful lead. A 5th wicket stand of 90 with Steve Davies (69*) was the key partnership before Ramprakash played a very rare rash shot and got caught at the wicket for 82 off the bowling of Imran Arif. Another wicket fell in the following over to leave Surrey 181-6 at lunch, a lead of 209.

After lunch Surrey tried to up the pace and eventually declared after two quick wickets on 239-8. This left Worcestershire a target of 268 to win in a minimum of 51 overs left in the day.

The Worcestershire chase got off to the worse possible start with the dismissal of Phil Jaques in the second ball of the innings, well caught at 2nd slip off the bowling of Andre Nel. Jaques survived a very strong shot for LBW and recorded his first ever pair in his First Class career.

By tea Worcestershire were on 59-2 with still an outside chance of chasing down the total with Solanki and Moeen Ali still at the crease. After tea the constant pressure of spin bowling on a pitch that was getting increasingly difficult to bat on was beginning to mount. Three wickets fell soon after tea which ended any thoughts of a run chase and the emphasis changed to defence.

Moeen Ali batted a steady innings and was very solid in his defence. He was helped in a 6th wicket stand of 52 lasting just over 17 overs which took the game into the final hour by Ben Scott (19). With the dismissal of Scott the pressure was on the tail end, especially after the collapse in the first innings with the score on 161-6. Two more wickets fell after sustained pressure from Surrey with some ferocious appealing at times. Moeen Ali stood firm to the end remaining unbeaten on 70* off 147 deliveries, after facing 23 overs in the final hour that helped Worcestershire end the day on170-8 and the match drawn.

Result: Surrey (493 & 239-8 dec) drew with Worcestershire (465 & 170-8). Surrey 9 points. Worcestershire 9 points.
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Alternative articles and match reports on Worcestershire County Cricket Club maybe found on the links below.

ECB LV = County Championship Reports