After producing a near-perfect campaign to lift their 21st title in 2022, Surrey’s quest was an ambitious and challenging one, heading into the cricket summer in 2023.
No county had successfully defended the County Championship since 2015. The last time Surrey tried to solve that puzzle in 2019, things did not work out per plan as Rory Burns’ side faced tough resistance from the chasing pack; such is the quality of competition in the red-ball circuit across the country.
This group of The Three Feathers, with a great mix of seasoned professionals and budding stars, however, wanted to take on the challenge head-on and, with a clarity of thought and gameplan, attack the defence of their crown from the get-go.
The curtain-raiser at The Emirates Old Trafford vs Lancashire
Surrey 442 & 292/6d drew with Lancashire 291 & 247/3
The first test for Rory Burns and his side was away against Lancashire at The Emirates Old Trafford. On a chilly morning in Manchester, having been inserted by Keaton Jennings to bat first, Tom Bailey and Will Williams’ terrific spell pushed the visitors on the back foot as they lost 4 wickets for 85 in the morning session.
Fighting fifties from Jamie Smith (54), Ben Foakes (76), and Cam Steel (86*) calmed the waters and the Three Feathers rose to a position of ascendancy by the close, which they would go on to maintain for the majority of the game.
On the second morning, Steel carried on from where he left off and became Surrey’s first centurion of the season, ending with an impeccable 141 not out to his name. Meanwhile, Sean Abbott also quickly established his power and prowess with the bat, thoroughly entertaining with his 42 off 65 balls.
The hosts were off to a solid start, but once Steel – who couldn’t put a foot wrong in this fixture – broke the 65-run stand of Josh Bohannon (32) and Jennings (76), Surrey’s relentless pace attack, spearheaded by Abbott (5/50), swamped the Red Rose, reducing them to 197/8. A counter-attacking 60* from former Surrey all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme, however, took time out of the tie and ensured the visitors were pushed to bat again, with a lead of 151 in the bank.
Only two innings into his Surrey return, Abbott had demonstrated with the bat and ball why he would go on to become such a fan favourite in Kennington!
Rory Burns’ slick 54 set the stage for Foakes (103*) to dazzle, as he crafted his first century of the season at more than a-run-a-ball, and Surrey asked their opponents to chase 444 runs in the fourth innings. Two successive wickets after a steady start hiked Surrey’s hopes, but Bohannon and Steven Croft dug in on a flattened-out deck to save the match for Lancashire.
With changes in the points system, which reduced the value of a draw this season, Surrey collected 12 points from the game. Yet, despite a win to show for it, The Three Feathers had laid down their intent in early April against one of the title contenders.
A roaring start at home vs Hampshire
Hampshire 254 & 258 lost to Surrey 270 & 247/1
A return to the comforts of The Kia Oval was next on the cards as Surrey began their home campaign against a quality Hampshire side, who had formed the two-team chasing pack last season and were seen as another title-contender coming into cricket summer.
After three fascinating days of cat-and-mouse cricket, where neither team could take control of the hard-fought contest, it was the magnificence of Ollie Pope in the fourth innings, commendably supported by Dom Sibley, that brought the Three Feathers a scintillating victory, their first of eight wins.
Asked to bowl first on a cold, grey morning in Kennington, Tom Lawes (4/48) inspired Surrey’s five-man pace unit to make the most of a lively surface, reducing the visitors to 114/6, before Ben Brown’s gritty 95 guided Hampshire’s lower-order and helped them push to 254 all out.
The top-class trio of Mohammad Abbas (6/64), Kyle Abbott, and Keith Barker found joy on the helpful pitch and put Surrey under immense pressure in an on-off innings that was hampered by multiple rain delays. Rory Burns’ defiant 45 laid the groundwork, but it was only Pope (91) after that who could tackle the testing conditions until Sean Abbott joined him and stormed an unbeaten 52 off 40 balls to give the Three Feathers a 16-run lead.
Dan Worrall (5/40), unplayable in the third innings, showed why he’s a leader of the pack as he completed his five-wicket-haul on the fourth morning, but by then, Nick Gubbins (84) and Ian Holland (46*) had steered Hants to a target of 243 runs and set up a final-day thriller.
On the evidence of the first three days, chasing 243 – in a little over two sessions – should have been challenging but the brilliance of Surrey’s top-order, led by Pope, made it look easy.
Burns (35) and Dom Sibley (79*) provided a watchful beginning to the chase before Pope flabbergasted all parties present and blitzed 122 not out off 102 balls, delighting The Kia Oval with some audacious shots. His sixth hundred against Hampshire helped Surrey grab 20 points while also taking his average against Hampshire to a mind-blowing 125.88 across 12 innings.
Surrey make it two wins on trot vs Warwickshire
Warwickshire 150 & 141 lost to Surrey 281 & 16/1
Next up was an away visit to Warwickshire, who saw Surrey ride their building momentum and claim a clinical nine-wicket victory within three days.
A favourite at Surrey, Kemar Roach had been steady and consistent in the opening games of the season, but it was against his favoured rivals – against whom he now averages 17.77 – that the West Indian pacer fully announced his return. The formidable opening pair of Roach (3/33) and Dan Worrall brought the heat to the visitors and cleaned them up for 150 in the chill of late April.
The quartet of Chris Woakes, Hasan Alli, Chris Rushworth, and Oliver Hannon-Dalby posed uncomfortable questions on a track that was offering sharp lateral movement as Surrey were reduced to 99/4 by the time Jamie Smith (88) stepped out. The young wicket-keeper-batter then crafted an innings of the highest calibre, unfurling a few of the firmest drives, and escorted Surrey into the lead. Thanks to a handy and entertaining knock of 35 from Worrall at the end, the hosts’ advantage ultimately amounted to 131 runs.
Picking up from where they left off, Roach (5/34) and Worrall (3/55) returned with the same intensity to wreak more havoc, dismantling Warwickshire for 141, with none of the Bears batters crossing fifty – Ed Barnard’s 49 being the closest.
To tick off the target of 11 runs, an imposing partnership of Worrall and Tom Lawes was sent out, but the fall of the former meant skipper Rory Burns also had to stroll out before Surrey safely secured 20 points.
A crucial, hard graft draw away at Essex
Essex 314 & 198 drew with Surrey 240 & 153/7
A strong start from Nick Browne and Alastair Cook (51) smoothed the way for Essex’s middle order to score big, and a 114-run Tom Westley and Matt Critchley was threatening to do exactly that, but Gus Atkinson’s lethal 6/68 disrupted those plans and the hosts were limited to 314 all out, becoming the first team to cross 300 against the Three Feathers this season.
Playing his first game of the season, Atkinson’s maiden first-class five-for declared his arrival to the cricket summer in emphatic fashion – a summer in which the speedster would eventually go on to earn his Three Lions cap as well as get a ticket to India for the men’s ICC Cricket World Cup.
There were starts for several Surrey batters but Essex’s tenacious bowling unit, orchestrated by Jamie Porter (4/50), prevented the visitors from cashing in – Dom Sibley’s 48 being the highest score – and restricted Surrey to 240 all out.
After most of day three was lost to rain, with only 6.4 overs possible, Essex attempted to step on the accelerator on the final day and multiply their lead of 74 runs. However, the Three Feathers’ concerted effort not only kept tabs on the run rate but also contained the hosts under 200, with Jordan Clark (4/58) and Sean Abbott (3/50) inflicting most of the damage.
Asked to chase 273 in 54 overs, a carrot was dangled in front of Surrey and they decided to dash for it. Ollie Pope’s exuberant start evoked memories of the home game against Hampshire, but his innings was cut short three short of fifty. Despite the fall of his wicket, Surrey chose to stay bold and attack the target, exemplified by the promotion of Abbott and Will Jacks over Ben Foakes, but once they lost three big wickets in quick succession and were 103/6, a change in tact was implemented to navigate the growing threat of Simon Harmer on a dry surface.
Jamie Smith – fluent and flourishing on most occasions – raised his hand to dig his side out of trouble and save the match, displaying his range of dimensions as a batter in a dogged knock of 39 not out from 126 balls. Helped by Cam Steel and Clark along his way, Smith handled the turbulence of the turning ball and a ring of catching fielders in his peripheral vision with a calmness and maturity beyond his years.
Earning a draw, after being stuck in a challenging situation, felt as important in the moment as it does with the benefit of hindsight, knowing how deep Essex pushed The Three Feathers in the title race. “We definitely play every game to win, right up until that last 25 overs we were still playing to win,” Gareth Batty, Surrey’s head coach, said post-match. “But whilst I can still breathe, we are not going to give people easy points.”
“We are not going to give people easy points!”
Surrey head coach Gareth Batty spoke to @backandacross after Surrey’s draw with Essex.
🤎 | #SurreyCricket pic.twitter.com/TSVwovY0DR
— Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket) May 7, 2023
Back to winning ways in a moving London Derby at home vs Middlesex
Middlesex 209 & 240 lost to Surrey 380 & 73/1
Surrey and Middlesex put their rivalry aside to come together for an important cause, in a game dedicated to Matt Dunn’s daughter Florence, who lived with Dravet Syndrome – a rare form of epilepsy – and tragically passed away aged just two years old.
The Three Feathers partnered with Dravet Syndrome UK to raise awareness of the condition and funds for the charity, throughout the game and beyond. On the first day, Dunn and a team of runners jogged across the river from Lord’s to The Kia Oval, where the Surrey pacer shared an emotional embrace with one of his best mates, Rory Burns, in front of the Micky Stewart Members’ Pavilion. Dunn was then presented with signed commemorative caps worn by every member of the starting XI from both sides, which were soon auctioned off to support the family’s fundraising effort.
The afternoon session commenced after Dunn walked off the field to a standing ovation from The Kia Oval, with Sam Robson (76) and Pieter Malan (66) resuming Middlesex’s innings on 111/1. The two batters conducted themselves gracefully to add 152 runs for the second wicket but once Gus Atkinson (3/18) sent both back in the hut, inside a span of seven runs, Surrey found their mojo. The charged-up hosts stormed through Middlesex’s middle and lower order, collecting seven wickets at a cost of merely 36 runs, with Dan Worrall claiming his second five-wicket-haul of the season.
Surrey’s reply of 340 was swayed by two terrific innings from Rory Burns (88) and Jamie Smith (97), though both fell agonisingly short of a deserved century before lower-order runs – which had become a feature of Surrey’s success – from Sean Abbott (48) and Worrall (31) stretched the hosts’ healthy lead to 171.
In the second innings, Surrey’s power-packed pace attack, led by the unrelenting Jordan Clark (4/25), found a way to nip Middlesex partnerships before they started to build. Starts couldn’t be converted to big scores – Max Holden (43) and Ryan Higgins (42) coming the closest to the 50-run mark – and Middlesex were all out for 240, meaning Surrey needed 70 runs to bag 22 more points.
An unbeaten 56-run partnership for the second wicket between Ryan Patel (37*) and Dom Sibley (21*) rounded off Surrey’s all-around clinical performance in a special fixture.
A thumping triumph vs Kent to take leaders Surrey into the Championship break
Kent 278 & 141 lost to Surrey 362 & 58/0
The oldest rivalry in English cricket lined up to be a contest between two counties at opposite ends of the table, with a gap of 43 points separating top-ranked Surrey and second-bottom Kent at this stage.
The Three Feathers, having inserted the visitors to bat first at The Kia Oval, began in a commanding manner as would’ve been expected out of the leaders. Despite bidding goodbye to Kemar Roach a game earlier than initially expected, Surrey’s five-star pace attack exposed Kent’s top and middle order, with Jordan Clark (3/61) leading the pack.
Struggling on 118/7, Joey Evison (77*) launched a rescue act against the wave of momentum, featuring stands of 74 with Wes Agar and 82 with Michael Hogan, for the eighth and tenth wicket respectively, steering Kent to a competitive 278 all out, much to the frustration of Rory Burns’ side.
An 84-run stand for the second wicket between Dom Sibley (60) and Ollie Pope (34) was beginning to restore order but Kent fought back through Arafat Bhuiyan’s four back-to-back wickets on a dream debut, which put the ball once again in Surrey’s court.
Walking out at 180/6, Sean Abbott the batter yet again proved worth his weight in gold as his counter-attacking innings of 78 pulled Surrey out of trouble and into the lead. The hosts’ advantage was further magnified to 84 runs by Gus Atkinson’s powerful 55 not out from 44 balls that included three huge sixes over square leg, each of them struck while on one knee!
Until this point of the season, Tom Lawes had quietly impressed with the ball and was attracting eyeballs in the domestic circuit, but in the second innings against Kent, the 20-year-old came of age. Delivering one of the fieriest spells of the season, spread across the dying hours of day two and the morning session of day three, Lawes changed the direction of the match with his maiden first-class five-for as Kent’s 78/1 became 141 all out in essentially no time.
With over five sessions still remaining in the game, all it took for Burns (36*) and Sibley (16*) was 69 balls to chalk off the target of 58 runs as The Three Feathers collected 22 more points from the game, consolidating their lead at the top of tree going into the first red-ball break of the season.
