It’s the start of a new era for club cricket in Surrey with the foundation of the new Surrey Cricket Championship. Richard Spiller previews the new league, which opens on Saturday, May 10.
The talking is over, now the action begins in the Surrey Cricket Championship.
More than two years of planning will come to fruition when the players take the field, 383 teams from 129 clubs bringing together three former leagues. The Surrey Championship, founded in 1968, joined with the Surrey County League and the Surrey Cricket League to form what they hope will be one big, hopefully happy, family.
Many of the 39 divisions are regionalised, in response to the desire to avoid spending large chunks of Saturday stuck in traffic jams.
Those who play in or watch the top two divisions of the new competition will do well to notice many differences, the same mixed format of time and limited overs cricket being played over 18 weeks.
East Molesey were the final winners of the old Surrey Championship, making it three titles in five years, turning it into a double when they claimed the Club Cricket Conference Cup. Now their sights are set on claiming the new Premier Division crown, not least with seamer Andy Westphal – for so long a key member of their attack – back again after missing 2024 with a knee injury.
Young pacer Toby Porter’s 44 wickets last year made him the most successful bowler at elite level and with Westphal back to share the burden, skipper Nick Stevens has an enviable double spearhead. Their batting will feature Clyde Fortuin, the South African Test player who has shone for Cranleigh in recent times, plus Oli Soames after moving from Guildford.
Adam Thomas, Soames’s colleague at Woodbridge Road, will be up against him on Saturday after switching to Ashtead, who enjoyed a storming finish to the season in claiming fourth spot.
Reigate Priory finished 17 points adrift of the Moles last season but could point to the bad luck of having five matches abandoned because of rain – three more than the champions – as they towed their own cloud around the county.
Director of cricket Gary Butcher, the former Glamorgan and Surrey all-rounder, labelled their fate “a bit unfortunate” and has been busy patching his side together with all-rounder Angus Dahl stepping down and hard-hitting wicketkeeper James Crosthwaite departing for Wimbledon. George Ealham takes over from Richard Oliver as skipper but with seamer George McLoughlin also injured, Butcher admits that Priory may take time to get into their stride. Kiwi all-rounder Fraser Sheat, who scored 376 runs and took 26 wickets, will be a central figure in their fortunes.
Priory’s first opponents are Sutton, who have lost the services of all-rounder Fabian Cowdrey – scorer of 722 runs plus 27 wickets in their successful return to the Premier – through work commitments.
Third last year, Wimbledon open at home to Banstead, Crosthwaite augmenting prolific Kiwi Jack Boyle, leading scorer at elite level with 802 runs.
Spencer’s return to the Premier – having missed out agonisingly by a point two years earlier – sees them start at Sunbury, who declined from champions in 2023 to seventh last year but now include Ollie Pascal and Stuart Van Der Merwe. They have moved over from relegated Weybridge, the latter’s 667 runs impressive among a side stuck in the basement all summer.
Dulwich have returned to the top group for the first time since 2008 and open with a trip to Esher, who were delighted last year when youngster Krish Patel joined club colleague Justin Broad on the staff at Northamptonshire.
Division One is likely to be particularly hard-fought, Malden Wanderers and Cranleigh – third and fourth respectively last year – among the early favourites. Guildford, having plunged from runners-up to relegation, are captained again by Olly Birts who has benefited from a winter off. Among their new faces are Will Hamilton, who has joined from Egham.
Sixth last year, Normandy hope to have Louis Kimber available as often as possible, which might not make opposition bowlers quite so happy. Last year, the 28-year-old smashed 243 off 127 balls for Leicestershire against Sussex at Hove, which included taking 43 off one over from Ollie Robinson.
Kimber offered a taste of his big hitting talents in a friendly against Beckenham last Saturday, hammering 106 off 52 which included 10 sixes.
Fifth last year, Beddington have appointed Shamar Anderson as their director of cricket. The 35-year-old grew up in Jamaica and moved to the UK eight years ago. An assistant head coach for the ACE charity, he says that “we need people who will bleed for Beddington”.
Sunday extra
Fresh from the opening day of the league campaign, a number of teams will be playing matches in the ECB National Club Championship, which is already past the preliminary round stage.
The 40-over games, which start at 1pm, are: East Molesey v Middleton; Richmond v Normandy; Sunbury v Walton; Teddington v Weybridge; Sutton v Sandwich T; Tunbridge Wells v Reigate Priory; St Lawrence & Highland Court v Banstead; Three Bridges v Ashtead; Wimbledon v Bromley.
Guildford were due to travel to Shepherds Bush but with the two due to play a friendly last weekend the match was pulled forward by eight days.
The opening over proved something of a nightmare for Guildford’s Australian all-rounder Josh Bartlett, who had only arrived the night before but found himself despatched for 19.
But the day got better for both Bartlett and his team, dismissing the visitors for 148 as he finished with 2-31, young seamer Ed Marsh’s 2-14 highly impressive and Jason Soames rounding off the innings by claiming 3-24.
Will Hamilton (34) launched the reply briskly, a slide against left-arm wrist spinner Harvey Jupp (4-32) putting the match back in doubt before Bartlett – fighting off jetlag – and Alex Sweet (26no) put on an unbeaten 64 to secure victory by five wickets and secure a tie against the winners of the East Molesey v Middleton tie.
