Surrey players congratulate each other in Southampton after winning the County Championship due to events in Northampton Photo: PA/Stephen Paston < p>Surrey retained their county title in unusual circumstances, not by doing nothing on the field themselves when Essex were eliminated at Northampton with a score below 400 and thus failed to score enough points to overtake the leaders.
< p>Just before lunch on the third day, in the final round of Championship matches, Essex lost their 10th wicket when Jamie Porter was bowled out and they were all out for 211. Essex were to score 400 and beat Northamptonshire while Surrey should have lost. to Hampshire to win the title: but this immediately became theoretical and outdated.
Essex, restarting with four wickets down, needed a serious partnership if they were to reach the magic figure of four points. But they had lost Tom Westley, their captain, and all the other scorers, so they never threatened to disrupt Surrey's victory parade.
Not that it was a parade in damp Southampton. Hampshire took a modest lead in the second innings and quietly accumulated on the third morning as events reached their climax, or anti-climax, at Wantage Road.
The real moment of triumph came as Will Jacks raced forward to score the fourth of his sixth. Jax, fresh from England's match against Ireland, stopped in his tracks and raised his right hand at 12:25 after hearing the distinctive shout from the Surrey dressing room.
It was a very English holiday. That's all. No triumph, no celebrations that could disrupt the flow of the upcoming match. Jacks completed his pass, Surrey's outfield players switched goals, and nothing more, except that a couple of their younger players touched hands.
This is, of course, a very different Surrey side to the Brown Caps who, at times arrogantly, dominated the English domestic cricket scene a decade and two decades ago. The tragedy of Tom Maynard's death sparked a reset: a new humility and professionalism that saw the club clean up its stables and become a role model, a county that many cricketers want to join, regardless of their vast financial resources.
And it was only last year that Surrey won the title under Rory Burns, so this 21st championship isn't much of a surprise. This summer their intention was not to defend their title, but to keep attacking until they retained it — a different spirit.
In the last week or so, Surrey's batsmen have gone on the defensive, having initially failed save the next — against lowly Northamptonshire at the Oval, then in their first innings against Hampshire, albeit on a slow pitch. Their resources were stretched thin, with Ollie Pope suffering a long-term injury and England needing Jax and Jamie Smith for their one-day international series against Ireland. Their batsmen then defended, but only then.
As rain fell again to force an early lunch, Burns led his team off the field with his white hat raised, and Surrey were applauded by several hundred spectators: a more fitting reward for outstanding collective effort.
Свежие комментарии