A magnificent 201 run partnership between Justin Broad and Angus Lovell saw Surrey Second XI take the spoils against Essex in New Malden.
The home side were reeling on 44/4 after a heavily rain affected third day but an unbeaten century from number four batter Broad and 86* not out from Lovell at number six meant that a tricky chase of 243 was eventually hauled down down at a canter.
Essex went wicketless on the final day as Broad and Lovell were watchful at first, batting watchfully and patiently before feeling comfortable enough to open up the shoulders and eventually dominate a beleaguered Essex attack.
Performance Manager Matt Spriegel commended the young batters for their patience and the maturity they showed in seeing off Jamie Porter, Essex’s most prominent threat with the ball, before capitalising on anything loose in order to keep the score ticking over.
“I thought we had the raw end of the batting luck across the game, having to deal with some very tricky conditions, but today, under blue skies, we showed our class.”
21 year Broad hit nine fours and looked particularly fluent through the off side whilst 22 year old Lovell looked to attack when the ball was there to be hit, striking 11 boundaries in all. Broad faced 225 balls in an epic innings that lasted just four minutes shy of five hours when the winning runs were struck off a back foot punch by Lovell mid-way through the afternoon.
Spriegel added, “It was nice that they (Broad and Lovell) were both unbeaten at the end, they saw it through to the finish, it was a really fine partnership”.
See the in-play highlights and take a look at the final scoreboard here.
