Surrey return to Rothesay County Championship action tomorrow as Essex visit the Kia Oval, with the contest between modern rivals set to be covered on Sky Sports.
Surrey are unbeaten in Division One after high-scoring draws with Warwickshire and Leicestershire. Rory Burns’ side will be looking to get their first win of the campaign against an Essex side that have won one of their three matches, losing the other two.
HOW CAN I KEEP UP WITH PLAY?
The match will be broadcast live Sky Sports Cricket TV and YouTube channels, and on the Surrey YouTube channel. A link will be placed on the Kia Oval Match Centre and Club’s social media channels. Video highlights, a written match report and the returning Oval & Out podcast will be available at end of each day of play. Regular video clips and match updates will be available on the Club’s social media channels.
SQUAD
Gus Atkinson returns to the 13-player squad following injury. Dan Worrall and Cameron Steel are still missing through injury.
WORK FROM OVAL & MARATHON
With ultrafast Wifi7, plus food and drink on hand, why not work from the Kia Oval? Desks are available in the Tenison Terrance, which is accessible via Block 5. There’s not better office than the Kia Oval.
With the London Marathon taking place on Sunday, we are offering two free tickets to marathon runners on Day 3 or 4 of the clash with Essex. Simply share a selfie with your finishers medal and tag us on X or Instagram. Or, DM us on X, Instagram or Facebook to prove you have ran the marathon to gain two tickets.
LAST TIME OUT VS ESSEX
Surrey and Essex drew both meetings from the 2025 season, with the most recent one taking place over the end of May bank holiday at the Kia Oval
The Three Feathers bowled excellently on the first day to reduce the visitors to 217 all out, with New Zealand quick Nathan Smith the pick of the bowlers with 3/53. Michael Pepper’s fluent 75 saved his side from a disastrous opening day. Sam Curran top scored with 70 as Surrey as Surrey responded with 279. Sri Lankan quick Rajitha was the pick of the Essex bowlers with five wickets.
Centuries from Paul Walter (118) and exciting young prospect Charlie Allison (140) put Essex firmly in control of the match as the visitors racked up 479 in the second innings, taking any fears of defeat out of the equation. With runs in the bank, Essex piled the pressure on with the ball for the final four sessions of the match. Harmer had both openers stumped before Jamie Porter took five wickets to leave Surrey on the ropes.
Jamie Overton (47) and Jordan Clark (23*) settled the nerves before both teams shook hands late on the fourth day.
ESSEX
Previewed by Martin Smith, ECB Reporters Network, supported by Rothesay
Captain: Tom Westley
Director of cricket: Chris Silverwood
2025 finish: 6th
2025 highest run-scorer: Paul Walter (914)
2025 highest wicket-taker: Jamie Porter (49)
Key winter moves: Essex had already bagged the pacy Zaman Akhter from Gloucestershire and Durham rookie Mitchell Killeen before the end of last season to make rotation of their seam attack smoother. They have also added Wiaan Mulder for the first two months of the season to cover Jordan Cox’s absence at the IPL. The prolific South African accumulator will also provide a useful bowling option.
What we’re looking forward to seeing: With some of the more senior players reaching the twilight of their careers, who will step up in their places? Charlie Allison enjoyed a breakthrough season with the bat in 2025 and has surely cemented his spot long-term. Another home-grown talent Charlie Bennett emerged late on in the campaign to suggest he could bolster a bowling unit often overstretched last year.
Aiming to catch selectors’ eyes: With positions in England’s upper order looking up for grabs after the Ashes, a call-up for Jordan Cox may not be long coming. The combative right-hander, a man for all formats, fits the attacking England model but is capable of switching to more orthodox, conservative mode if circumstances demand.
Final thought: We’re looking forward to seeing far greater equality between bat and ball. Last season, Essex batters accumulated a remarkable combined total of 20 red-ball centuries. Not bad for a side who struggled alarmingly on admittedly unresponsive pitches. But at the same time the bowlers claimed all 20 wickets in a match on just five occasions. Altogether, it made for a glut of forgettable draws.
