SURREY V NORTHAMPTONSHIRE at the Brit Oval (FCC1), 28 APRIL – 1 MAY 2004
Under normal circumstances this week’s encounter with Northamptonshire would not
be as critical a fixture as it now appears to have become. But, such has been
their poor start to the season, Surrey are now 8/1 to win the Frizzell County
Championship.
Man for man Northants are no match for the home side, but, a week ago, the
same could be said of Middlesex. New skipper David Sales, Martin van Jaarsveld
and talented wicketkeeper-batsman Gerard Brophy must fill the void in the
batting created by the departures of Mike Hussey and Phil Jacques. The
unpredictable Usman Afzaal is a potential ace card, but according to
Nottinghamshire his problems were less to do with talent and more to do with
attitude.
If the pitch is up to taking spin, Jason Brown and Graeme Swann
could come into their own, but if not the Surrey batsmen will be licking their
lips at the prospect of devouring the bowling of Ben Phillips
and ex-Somerset seamer Steffan
Jones.
Heavy rain tonight is likely to put back the start, but the medium-range
weather forecast suggests that days two, three and four should be largely
uninterrupted.
Potential milestones – If he plays, Martin Bicknell will making his 250th
championship appearance. Jimmy Ormond needs three wickets for 100 in the County
Championship for Surrey. Graham Thorpe requires another 151 runs for 5,000 f-c
runs for Surrey at The Oval, and 189 runs to register 1,000 in his f-c career
against Northants. Alistair Brown needs another three-figure score to register a
fifth championship ton against the Wantage Road outfit.
My success rate so far is three predictions and three wrong guesses,
which probably underlines the extent to which Surrey are under-performing right
now. I honestly believe the results will start to come, and if Surrey could have
chosen who to play next Northants would probably have been high on their list.
The odds-setters make the visitors 6/4 to win this encounter. Maybe I should
predict one outcome and bet on the other. On that basis, as Northants are decent
value, I’m saying: “Surrey win”!
Surrey welcome back Graham Thorpe (rested against Middlesex on the
instructions of the England management) for his first start of the new season,
but Mark Butcher is still unavailable. Martin Bicknell has been added to the
Ovalites’ squad in the hope that his hamstring problem has cleared up. Tim
Murtagh is on standby just in case, even though Alex Tudor came through a 2nd XI
game without any ill effects.
M Powell, T Huggins, T Roberts, U Afzaal, D Sales (capt), G Brophy (wkt),
G Swann, J Louw, B Phillips, S Jones and J Brown.
18-20 Jul 2001 |
Won By An Innings & 55 Runs |
Guildford |
9-12 May 2001 |
Match Drawn |
Northampton |
28 Apr - 1 May 1999 |
Won By 8 Wickets |
Northampton |
17-21 Apr 1998 |
Match Drawn |
The Oval |
23-26 Jul 1997 |
Match Drawn |
Northampton |
3-6 Sep 1996 |
Won By 225 Runs |
The Oval |
18-22 May 1995 |
Lost By 9 Runs |
Northampton |
19-23 May 1994 |
Lost By 3 Wickets |
The Oval |
22-26 Jul 1993 |
Lost By 304 Runs |
Northampton |
30 Jun - 2 Jul 1992 |
Won By 5 Wickets |
The Oval |
7-11 May 1992 |
Match Drawn |
Northampton |
23-26 Aug 1991 |
Lost By 138 Runs |
Northampton |
3-6 Jul 1990 |
Won By 147 Runs |
The Oval |
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