England’s two most successful Clubs meet as Surrey host Yorkshire at the Kia Oval.
Surrey will look to continue their unbeaten start to the season after last weekend’s Rothesay County Championship draw at Edgbaston. Each day of play gets underway at 11:00 am.
SURREY SQUAD
Surrey name a 13-player squad for the visit of Yorkshire. Dan Worrall misses out with a foot injury.
As ECB centrally contracted players, Ollie Pope, Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith are unavailable for this fixture.
HOW CAN I KEEP UP WITH PLAY?
The match will be broadcast live on Surrey’s and Sky Sports Cricket’s YouTube channels. It will also be shown live on the Sky Sports Cricket TV channel on Day 1 as well as from 10:50 am to 2:50 pm on Days 2 & 4.
A link to the stream will be available on the Surrey Match Centre and social media channels. Surrey Cricket’s social media channels will also provide live updates from the Kia Oval, with clips and highlights posted throughout the day. A written report and highlights will be available at the end of each day’s play. The ‘Oval and Out’ podcast will return for all four days of the match.
LAST TIME OUT
The Three Feathers remain unbeaten after last weekend’s draw with Warwickshire at Edgbaston.
Warwickshire piled on the runs on a flat wicket in the first innings. Former Surrey player Tom Latham scored 184 on his Bears debut. Ed Barnard notched up 177 with Zen Malik scoring his first professional century.
Ben Foakes hit a career-high 174 not out as Surrey responded with 504. Foakes and Fisher put on 158 for the final wicket – a record tenth wicket stand for Surrey against Warwickshire.
Despite scoring over 500, Surrey were forced to follow on. Burns and Sibley reached 15/0 before a quick thunderstorm forced both teams to shake hands.
YORKSHIRE
Previewed by Graham Hardcastle – ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
Captain: Jonny Bairstow
Head Coach: Anthony McGrath
2024 finish: Second (Division Two)
2024 highest run-scorer: Adam Lyth (1,215)
2024 highest wicket-taker: Ben Coad (56)
Key winter moves: Head coach Anthony McGrath has returned home following nine successful seasons as Essex’s assistant coach, head coach and director of cricket, while ex-international all-rounder Gavin Hamilton has filled the newly-created general manager of cricket post. Seamer Jack White has signed from Northamptonshire, helping replace Surrey-bound Matthew Fisher. New Zealand quick Ben Sears and Australians Jordan Buckingham (seamer) and Will Sutherland (all-rounder) will fulfil overseas duties during the first half of 2025.
What we’re looking forward to seeing: Promoted Yorkshire’s star-studded batting line-up during the early stages of the season. If things work out as they hope, you could see a top order including Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Joe Root and Dawid Malan at some point during the first block of matches in April and May. That really is a mouthwatering prospect for Yorkshire’s supporters, but perhaps not so much for Division One bowlers.
Final thought: A new era at Headingley sees the county under new leadership both on and off the field. Jonny Bairstow’s appointment as their new red-ball captain indicates his availability across the entire campaign – a huge boost for a county who finished second behind Division Two champions Sussex last season courtesy of five wins in their last seven games. Yorkshire are hopeful they can follow up promotion by winning countycricket’s main prize.
LAST TIME OUT AGAINST YORKSHIRE
Surrey last faced Yorkshire in September 2022 to seal the County Championship title. Ollie Pope scored an incredible century as Surrey posted 333 in the first innings. He was well supported by Jordan Clark’s counter-punching 55.
Tom Lawes, in his debut season, picked up four crucial Yorkshire wickets as the White Rose were bowled out for 179. With bad weather forecast for the final day, Rory Burns enforced the follow on. Surrey rolled Yorkshire for 208 thanks to Dan Worrall’s four wickets.
Wickets also began to fall at Canterbury that meant that victory for Surrey would secure their first County Championship title since 2018. With 55 required for victory, Ryan Patel and skipper Rory Burns knocked off the total inside six overs to secure the County Championship title.
