WARWICKSHIRE V SURREY at Edgbaston (SSCC1), 27-30 MAY 2019

Bottom of Division One plays host to fifth. Who would have predicted that these two powerhouses of county cricket would not have a victory to show between them after a trio of outings in this year's County Championship? Surrey have been competitive without looking like the four-day juggernaut of last season while Warwickshire have struggled to find their feet back in the top flight - losing each of their first three.

Injuries have not helped both teams. Surrey’s have been compounded by international calls. While Warwickshire have missed the all-round skills of Chris Woakes for the same reason, the loss of Ian Bell to a foot operation has left the Bears' batting line-up woefully short of stick-ability. That said, a couple of batters have really put their hands up this term.

Dominic Sibley, 23, ended last summer and has started this on a roll, scoring hundreds in six successive first-class matches - he finished the 2018 campaign with 106 against Leicestershire, 144 not out against Sussex and 119 against Kent; then scored 128 for the MCC in the Champion County match against Surrey and compiled 132 and an unbeaten 109 against Kent and Hampshire respectively.

Sibley has notched up 299 championship runs at an average of 59.80. Another 23-year-old, Sam Hain is averaging 55.00, however Tim Ambrose is the only other Warwickshire player averaging more than 24.50 with the willow. Rhodes (8.33), Hose (9.00), Yates (10.75) and Banks (13.33) are in the sort of form that ordinarily gets you dropped. Trouble is, who do the Bears turn to instead? Given that all four are named in the hosts' 13-man squad for tomorrow, the answer appears to be no one.

Jeetan Patel will go into this game as Warwickshire's leading wicket-taker in the County Championship with 13 victims at 30.38 runs apiece. The New Zealand off-spinner has now been at Edgbaston for ten years, which is notable at a time when so many overseas players only seem willing to fly in for a handful of county games before jetting off to pursue other opportunities. In the absence of seamers Olly Stone (back injury) and Ryan Sidebottom (shoulder), new signing Liam Norwell (from Gloucestershire) and the former Yorkshire seamer Olly Hannon-Dalby have also bagged five-fers.

This showdown with Warwickshire comes at just the right time for Surrey's Mark Stoneman, who has taken the Bears for four first-class hundreds, not to mention five half-centuries. Rory Burns also has a very consistent record against them - 531 f-c runs at an average of 48.27, including five fifties.

Surrey v Warwickshire - First-Class Records Sheet

If he plays, it will be Gus Atkinson's county debut. Matt Dunn, who has not featured in a championship game for 13 months, is poised to take his 100th first-class wicket. Dunn currently has 99. Also, Morne Morkel goes into this contest with 1,954 f-c career runs.

There are some new faces in Surrey's 14-man squad for Edgbaston, with Sam Curran (hamstring) and Conor McKerr (heel) joining Jade Dernbach (calf) and Amar Virdi (side) on the injury list; and with Tom Curran, Liam Plunkett and Jason Roy preparing for the World Cup. Those names are Gus Atkinson, Jordan Clark, Matt Dunn and Jamie Smith. Ryan Patel is also in the squad and, one suspects, heads the list of likely replacements for Sam Curran.

The weather forecast looks less than promising. It suggests this could be akin to a three-day game, with rain expected to make an appearance on days one (40% chance), two (50%) and four (a likelihood of 70%). I can't help feeling that Morne Morkel holds the key. So far, the South African has only taken nine championship wickets at an average of 32.44, plus not one Surrey bowler has bagged a four-fer, let alone a five-fer or more. But, on his day, Morkel is the Oval outfit's enforcer with the ball. Verdict - a win for Surrey, but only if the rain stays away.

W.Rhodes, D.Sibley, R.Yates, S.Hain, A.Hose, L.Banks, T.Ambrose (wk), H.Brookes, J.Patel (capt), L.Norwell and O.Hannon-Dalby.

Ian Blackwell and Steve O'Shaughnessy.

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