Surrey head to Durham for the final Rothesay County Championship match before the competition breaks for the Hundred
Rory Burns’ side sit one point clear at the top of an incredibly tight Division One table.
Each day of play will get underway at 11:00am, with a Kookaburra ball being used.
HOW CAN I KEEP UP WITH PLAY?
The match will be broadcast live on Durham’s Live Stream, with a link placed on the Kia Oval Match Centre and Surrey’s social media channels. Video highlights and a written match report will be available at the end of each day of play, with clips and updates available on Surrey’s social media channels.
SURREY SQUAD
Will Jacks is rested this week after a busy period of cricket. Jamie Overton has been called up to the England Test squad for this week’s match with India at the Kia Oval. Matt Fisher misses out with an ankle injury sustained in the draw at Scarborough. Nathan Smith is on international duty with New Zealand.
Sam Curran, Ben Foakes and Tom Lawes return to the squad.
LAST TIME OUT
Surrey drew with Yorkshire at Scarborough last week. Batting first, Yorkshire posted 517/6dec thanks to a century from Matthew Revis. Sai Kishore took two wickets on debut. There half-centuries for Rory Burns (78), Dom Sibley (52), Ryan Patel (92), Dan Lawrence (78), Josh Blake (72) as Surrey scored 537 in 120 overs – taking maximum batting bonus points. Yorkshire’s Dom Bess finished with 7/162.
Surrey managed to get Yorkshire five down for 120 before both teams shook hands as the overs started to run out. We took 14 points from the match.
DURHAM
Previewed by Graham Hardcastle – ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
Captain: Alex Lees
Head Coach: Ryan Campbell
2024 finish: Fifth (Division One)
2024 highest run-scorer: David Bedingham (1,331)
2024 highest wicket-taker: Matthew Potts (33)
Key winter moves: Experienced Australia A seamer Brendan Doggett has signed an overseas deal for the first two months of the season, supplementing prolific South African batter David Bedingham, who is available all summer aside from any Test Match commitments. Scotland batter Michael Jones has moved to birth-county Lancashire, but three domestic recruits have arrived in the North East; opening batter Emilio Gay, all-rounder Will Rhodes and fast bowler Sam Conners.
What we’re looking forward to seeing: After winning Division Two in 2023, Durham consolidated their top-flight position last season by finishing mid-table courtesy of four wins and five draws. Can they kick on now and give champions Surrey something to think about? England Test captain Ben Stokes, currently sidelined following hamstring surgery, could return to county colours during the early stages of the summer as he builds up to blockbuster series against India and Australia this year.
Final thought: It will be fascinating to chart the progress of three highly-rated homegrown youngsters as they tackle a summer in which Alex Lees will captain Durham’s Championship team alongside their white-ball sides. Opening batter Ben McKinney scored an England Lions century against Australia A this winter and is targeting a breakthrough campaign, while fast bowlers Daniel Hogg and James Minto can further progress after brief – and exciting – exposure in last summer’s Rothesay County Championship.
LAST TIME OUT VERSUS DURHAM
Records tumbled as plenty of runs were scored as Surrey drew with Durham at the Kia Oval.
Surrey’s hit 820/9dec in the first innings – a Club record highest score, that surpassed the 811 all out from 1899. Dom Sibley’s 305 was the seventh highest individual score by any Surrey batter. There were also quick-fire centuries made by Sam Curran (108), Dan Lawrence (178) and Will Jacks (119).
In batter friendly conditions, and with a Kookaburra ball being used, the Surrey attack bowled exceptionally to bowl Durham out 362. Dan Worrall led the attack superbly with 4/60, with Matt Fisher also taking 3/76, as Surrey enforced the follow on. Captain Alex Lees was the pick of the Durham batters, scoring the first of two centuries in the match.
Forced to follow on, Alex Lees (100*) and Emilio Gay (156*) took the score to 262/0 before both teams shook hands on the fourth day.
