It’s 20 years now since one of the most successful eras in Surrey’s history drew to a close. Richard Spiller locates the whereabouts of the class of 2003.
The county had gone 14 years without a trophy when Alec Stewart led the way to the Axa Equity & Law League in 1996, which was played on Sundays over 40 overs. It broke the drought and, with Adam Hollioake taking charge, the next year saw the Benson & Hedges Cup lifted, beating Kent in the final. A late slump in 1998 cost what had looked for much of the summer like Surrey’s first County Championship since 1971 but Hollioake et al made up for that in style 12 months later by delivering the title and going unbeaten in the process. Dividing England’s oldest competition into two divisions in 2000 could not prevent Surrey from retaining the top spot while in 2001 the B&H was claimed again, this time Gloucestershire being overwhelmed.
It became three Championships in four years when Surrey took the summit again in 2002 while the following summer, they claimed the inaugural T20 competition and the National League – played both on Sundays and midweek under lights over 45 overs.
A fourth Championship in five years beckoned in midsummer but failure to win more than one match out of the last eight, suffering heavy defeats in the final three games, signalled that the Hollioake era was over.
Back row
Keith Booth (scorer): Surrey scorer from 1995 until 2017, Booth has also written a number of books about historical cricket figures. His late wife Jennifer scored for Surrey’s second team with husband and wife teaming up for internationals at The Oval.
Dale Naylor (physio): Involved with Surrey for a decade, Dale Naylor’s DJN practice has seen him helping “everyone from fast bowlers to fast lifers”.
Neil Walker (physio): A fellow physiotherapist at DJN, Neil Walker is currently fundraising for Cancer Research UK in memory of his wife Femke, who died last year.
James Benning: Hard-hitter who made his Surrey debut in 2002, James Benning and Alistair Brown became a formidable opening pair in T20. The all-rounder moved on to Leicestershire in 2009 and then returned to his native Buckinghamshire. Now running his own business.
Phil Sampson: A short first-class career for the seamer came amid a longer spell of Minor Counties cricket with Buckinghamshire. After Sampson left Surrey, he became a forceful presence in the Surrey Championship and captained Sutton to the league title in 2009.
Jimmy Ormond: Arriving from Leicestershire a year earlier, Jimmy Ormond was the leading wicket-taker in 2003 with 44 victims and remained at the club until 2008. He became captain of Surrey Championship club Weybridge soon after and later moved to the north-west.
Rikki Clarke: Among the most talented all-rounders of his generation, Rikki Clarke had only broken into first-class cricket in 2002 and his abilities would see him given early England recognition in the winter of 2003-04. His international career stretched only to two Tests and 20 ODIs over three years and he left for Derbyshire in 2008. That proved a brief stay but he was soon at Warwickshire, where his maturing talents helped bring trophies to Edgbaston. And in mid-2017 he returned to Surrey, becoming a key member of the 2018 Championship title season, his middle-order batting, seam bowling and sublime catching all factors in success. Clarke retired in 2021 and is now coaching at King Edward’s School in Witley.
Scott Newman: Hard-hitting opening batsman, the left-hander frequently got Surrey off to a rapid start in four-day games when he established himself in the team in 2004, having toured with England A the previous winter. A brief spell at Nottinghamshire was followed by two seasons at Middlesex and he appeared for Kent in 2012. Having played much of his early cricket at Banstead, he has appeared for a number of clubs since.
Tim Murtagh: A product of Surrey’s youth system, Tim Murtagh switched to Middlesex at the end of the 2006 season. He has gone on to claim more than 1,000 wickets for them in all formats of the game and 950 in the first-class game overall as a master of swing and seam. Murtagh also played three Tests for Ireland and has now embarked on a coaching career while still playing for Middlesex.
Ben Scott: Opportunities were limited at Surrey given the presence of both Alec Stewart and Jon Batty but Ben Scott’s accomplished glovework meant he was in demand, moving first to Middlesex for six years and then to Worcestershire. Along the way, he toured with England Lions in 2008-09 and following retirement set up his own fitness business.
Keith Medlycott (manager): The left-arm spinner, who returned to be manager in 1998, supervised a period of period of domination for Surrey. He departed in the autumn of 2003, with a short spell as ICC high-performance manager and led Sutton to the Surrey Championship title. Now he coaches at Reed’s School in Cobham, nurturing new generations of talented young players.
Alan Butcher (coach): Number two to Medlycott and then Steve Rixon, Alan Butcher took charge of Surrey for three seasons, from 2006-08. After leaving The Oval he went on to be head coach of the Zimbabwean national side and remains passionately interested in the game.
Front row
Mark Ramprakash: Joining Surrey from Middlesex, aged 31, Mark Ramprakash was acknowledged as one of the finest batters of his generation by his peers, even if his 52-Test career had never quite mirrored that. Over the next 12 seasons, Ramprakash went on to dominate his adopted county’s batting, making just over half his 114 first-class centuries for them. He scored more than 2,000 Championship runs in both 2006 and 2007. Also, the winner of Strictly Come Dancing, his coaching career has included stints with the England team and he is now both president and batting consultant at Middlesex.
Ian Ward: Surrey’s leading run-scorer in their three Championship title seasons – playing five Tests in 2001 – the left-hander was surprisingly released at the end of the 2003 season, ending his profitable opening partnership with Mark Butcher. Two years at Sussex were ended by his decision to make a burgeoning broadcasting career his full-time career and Ward quickly became an accomplished presenter, becoming the front for Sky Sports cricket in 2020.
Alex Tudor: A Test career of 10 matches had come to an early injury-induced end the previous winter and Alex Tudor was limited to six matches – bringing 10 wickets – in 2003, a factor in Surrey’s attack struggling for a cutting edge. He departed for Essex at the end of 2004 but returned for a short spell in 2008-09. Tudor has since moved into coaching at club and school level and is a regular broadcaster, often seen on Sky Sports during the Vitality Blast.
Alistair Brown: Few have struck a ball as cleanly as Alistair Brown, matched by an ability to score runs at crucial stages of matches. Scoring two double-centuries in List A matches, the first player to do so, camouflaged the crucial role he played in Surrey’s middle-order in their title years. He played 16 ODIs for England. Moving to Nottinghamshire in 2009, he later returned for a spell as Surrey’s second team coach and now works at Trinity School in Croydon.
Martin Bicknell: Martin Bicknell had moved beyond his magnificent peak of 1998-2001 but 2003 summer was still a memorable one for him, bringing an England recall 10 years after his debut. The last of his four Tests – it should have been so many more – was to come at The Oval, when he played a leading role in a series-squaring victory over South Africa. A master of swing, Bicknell would go on to pass 1,000 first-class wickets before retirement in 2007, moving on to become coach at Charterhouse School while also acting as part-time bowling coach and doing committee work for Surrey.
Alec Stewart: If 2003 was the end of Surrey’s run, it also marked the final season of Alec Stewart’s remarkable career, his MBE upgraded to OBE at the end of that year, 133 Tests and 170 ODIs making him England’s most capped player at the time. Stewart retained his link with Surrey through non-executive roles while enjoying a business career before returning to lift the county from a slump when he took over as director of cricket in 2013. Two Championship titles – plus five white ball finals – have seen Surrey become re-established as one of England’s leading counties.
Adam Hollioake: The inspiration for so many of Surrey’s success, showing drive and daring, Adam Hollioake regarded personal targets as less important. That meant his four Tests and 35 ODIs – captaining his country for a short period – are often overlooked. By the end of the 2003 season, he admitted his enjoyment of the game had faded and he played one more season before retiring. He made a brief T20 comeback for Essex in 2007 and had a spell as a cage fighter, more recently coaching in Australia and retaining a keen interest in the fortunes of the county he led with such distinction.
Mark Butcher: A stylish presence for both Surrey and England at the top of the order, Mark Butcher played 71 Tests between 1998 and 2004-05, with time for plenty more before a wrist injury ended his international days. Concentrating on his domestic career as Surrey captain, he led the way back to County Championship Division One in 2006, a year after relegation, but a serious knee injury brought retirement three years later. A talented musician, Butcher has to fit it around his broadcasting career which sees him in demand around the world.
Graham Thorpe: Not even certain of his Surrey place at times early in the 2003 season, Graham Thorpe completed it on a triumphant note with a glorious comeback century against South Africa at The Oval, playing alongside county colleagues Stewart, Butcher and Bicknell. It revived his England career, which stretched another two years until 2005, when the left-hander played his 100th and final Test. Impressing during a short spell working with New South Wales, Thorpe became batting coach at Surrey in 2008 and then moved to join the ECB for the next 11 years.
Ian Salisbury: Moving from Sussex to Surrey in 1997, Ian Salisbury soon formed a lethal spin partnership with Saqlain Mushtaq which would be at the heart of Surrey’s successful run. The leg-spinner remained at The Oval until 2007 before heading to Warwickshire for a season and then returning as a coach in tandem with Chris Adams for almost five seasons. Salisbury, who played 15 Tests between 1992 and 2000, has since been head coach of Sussex and is now in charge of the spinners at Middlesex.
Nadeem Shahid: Signed from Essex in 1995, Nadeem Shahid played many valuable innings for Surrey and fielded close in to the spinners but was frequently in danger of losing his place when players returned from international duty. He joined the coaching staff after his playing days and now lives in South Africa.
Jonathan Batty: Wicketkeeper who often doubled up as an opener, Jon Batty’s glovework was seen at its best when Saqlain and Salisbury were in action. He succeeded Adam Hollioake as captain in 2004 and remained with Surrey until 2009, moving on to Gloucestershire for three seasons. A highly successful second chapter to his career has seen Batty graduate to head coach of Surrey women, guiding Oval Invincibles to the inaugural Hundred title and then taking charge at Melbourne Stars in the WBBL and Delhi Capitals in the WPL.
Absentees
Saqlain Mushtaq: International commitments and fatigue were beginning to take their toll on Saqlain Mushtaq by 2003. The off-spinner, whose ‘doosra’ turned the wrong way, had been such a threat since joining in 1997 that skipper Adam Hollioake maintained “you only have to captain from the other end”. Knee injuries would reduce his availability thereon, finally leaving Surrey in 2008, but he has gone on to a high-profile coaching career which included a spell in charge of Pakistan.
Azhar Mahmood: Initially signed as a short-term fill-in for fellow countryman Saqlain, Azhar Mahmood’s all-round skills would feature for Surrey in various forms of the game until 2016. He returned in 2022 as a bowling coach, making an immediate impact as his work contributed to winning the LV County Championship.
Franklyn Rose: The Jamaican speedster, who had played 19 Tests for West Indies, appeared in one County Championship and two List A matches that summer.
