County Championship Surrey v Yorkshire September 20-23

Surrey win County Championship

Neil Whitaker reports from the Oval

Day 1

SURREY’S Ollie Pope hit his 10th first class  century of his career at the Micky Stewart Oval, his 15th in total,  to take his average there above 90 after he came to the wicket at 53 for two.

He reached his century which came from 102 balls with 11 fours when he reversed swept Dom Bess’ first ball in the attack  to the third man boundary. Pope, who the former England selector Ed Smith said was the most gifted batter of his generation looked busy from the moment he came in, he hit consecutive fours off Jordan Thompson the first off his legs and the second he steered to the point boundary.

Like any good batter when he reached his century he put his foot on the gas and the runs came easy.    He played a tennis shot to Ben Mike over backward point for a six.  Pope was helped in the rescue of the Surrey innings by Jordan  Clark. After tea Clark uppercut Mike to backward point for a six.  When Clark joined Pope Surrey had lost two wickets in two balls.  The partnership was broken after they added 142 in 27 overs when Pope tried to whip Steven Patterson to leg and was bowled.  In the afternoon session Surrey added 162 in 36 overs with the loss of only two wicket in the morning session they 82 and lost three wickets in 28 overs.

Yorkshire’s Patterson who took four wickets said: “It was a mixed day for us, not a particular good day. There was more in the pitch than we got out of it. At 130 for five we could have put ourselves in a position to win the game.  Full credit to Pope he backed himself and put the pressure back on us.  We are still in the game but at 10.30 we would have hoped for a better one.”

In the second full over after lunch the Yorkshire thought they had Pope on 27 caught behind.  All the slips plus Jonny Tattersall and Ben Coad were certain that Pope had got an inside edge but umpire Alex Wharf was unmoved.  

Pope got a leading edge to Coad which just cleared Patterson at mid off.  He clipped Patterson through mid wicket but Finlay  Bean parried it over the rope to take Pope one short off his fifty. He reached his fifty which came off 57 balls and included seven fours with a single off Patterson.  Yorkshire went up for another big appeal when Pope pushed forward at Patterson and offered no shot but umpire Wharf was again unmoved.

He drove Mike to Thompson at extra cover but his return was wild and Pope got an overthrow. To rub salt into Thompson’s wounds when he bowled the first ball of the next over, Pope guided it to the third man boundary.

Pope blasted his way from the eighties to the nineties, firstly he  took a couple of paces down the pitch to Hill and drove him to the extra cover boundary.  He danced down the pitch to the next ball and smashed him to the mid wicket boundary. He glanced a bouncer from Thompson to the third man boundary to take him four short off his century.  

Just as Ben Foakes and Pope were looking good to get Surrey to a big score Foakes edged Patterson to Tattersall who took a low catch diving forward. Foakes turned and walked.  The over after Yorkshire had a confident appeal turned down  against Pope they had another one turned down this time against Foakes.  They thought Foakes had feathered George  Hill to Tattersall, this time it was umpire Russell Warren who was unmoved.

Two balls after Foakes dismissal  Cameron Steel edged Patterson and Tom Kohler-Cadmore took his third catch of the innings.

Clark got off the mark when he thrashed a cut to the point boundary off    Mike.  Watching Pope bat gave Clark confidence  blast the Yorkshire bowlers.  He took a couple of paces down the pitch to Bess and  smeared him to the extra cover boundary to bring up the hundred partnership with Bess in 20 overs. He reached his fifty with a thick inside edge off Patterson to fine leg for a single.

Before bad light stopped play Jamie  Overton stood and delivered  Mike to the point boundary.

The Oval became known as the Micky Stewart Oval for this match only to celebrate his 90th birthday and in recognition of his incredible 75-year association with Surrey CCC.

Yorkshire won the toss on a greenish looking pitch and put Surrey in.  Surrey opened their account when Ryan Patel edged Thompson in the second over between Fraine at third slip and Bean at fourth.  Without adding to the score Surrey lost their first wicket when Rory  Burns felt he had to play at one from Coad, bowling around the wicket, and edged him to Kohler-Cadmore at first slip.

Patel drove Patterson to the extra cover boundary for Patel’s shot of the morning, a shot he repeated in the next over to Mike. Mike had a moral victory with his next ball when he squared Patel up and found the edge but the ball ran past gully.  Patel hit his third four of the over when he chopped Mike down to the third man boundary.

Hashim Amla gave a return chance to Patterson but Patterson’s arm wasn’t long enough but with his next ball he squared up Amla who edged it and Fraine at third slip took an easy catch.

On the stroke lunch Patel nibbled at one from Coad in the corridor and edged him to Kohler-Canmore.  

Yorkshire gave a Yorkshire championship debut to new signing from Leicestershire Mike.  Amla whipped a legside half volley from Mike to the square leg boundary. While he was expensive he wasn’t afraid to bang the ball in, it was his pace that convinced the umpires to take the players off.

Day 2

SURREY edged closer to the LV County Championship after they made Yorkshire follow on 154 behind after dismissing the Tykes for 179 and when bad light stopped play Yorkshire were 65 behind with eight wickets standing

Tom Lawes took four for 31 in 12 overs but the pick of the bowlers was Dan Worrall who only took one wicket 21 but kept beating the bat but couldn’t find the edge.  His only wicket was that of Will Fraine.  Worrall got one to bounce up at Fraine who edged it but it fell short off the slips. Again he got Fraine to edge him but this time Ryan Patel at slip dropped him.  Two  balls later he finally got a wicket when Ollie Pope at second slip took a comfortable waiste height catch.  

Surrey thought Finlay Bean had got and inside edge to Worrall before he had scored  on its way to Ben Foakes but umpire Alex  Wharf didn’t move.  They got an early breakthrough in the ninth over when Kemar  Roach squared Adam  Lyth up and got an outside edge to Patel at third slip.

On the stroke of lunch Bean played around a straight ball from Lawes trying to hit to leg and the ball clattered into his off stump. George Hill who had battled against the moving ball against must have thought he would add a load of runs when the sun came out but his patient innings came to and when he edged a drive off Lawes when  he had no need to play at.

Yorkshire’s top scorer was Tom Kohler-Cadmore playing his penultimate match for Yorkshire before he joins Somerset hit 55 sharing in fifth wicket partnership of 72 with his skipper Jonny Tattersall who was unbeaten on 45.  Kohler-Cadmore  went down the pitch to Roach, showed him the makers name of his bat, held the pose as he drove Roach into the pavilion for a six.   

He smashed Jordan Clark straight back with venom between the bowler and cut the next ball to the point boundary.  Then he went down the pitch to Clark, smashed him high and straight. It looked odds on another six but the ball plugged just before the boundary and rolled across it to bring up his fifty off sixty balls with eight fours and a six.  After that both he and Tattersall found runs easy to come by.  But all good things come to an en end, Kohler-Canmore took a couple of paces down the pitch to Lawes and top edged a slogg to Foakes.

Lawes got his  fourth wicket when he was brought back into the attack and yorked Ben Coad as Coad backed away.  

Dom Bess had a big swing at a Clark but he bottom edged on to his stumps.  Jordan Thompson had a torrid time for his 13 ball duck, eventually Clark squared him up found his outside edge and Foakes did the rest.

Surrey introduced leg spinner  Cameron Steel into the attack and he struck with his third ball.  Ben Mike pushed forward at him, offered no shot and was bowled. Steven Patterson edged away from Jamie  Overton, stuck his bat out  and edged him to Pope at second slip. 

Trailing by 154 Yorkshire lost their first wicket when Worrall got  one to swing in late at Bean and bowled him through the gate.  Yorkshire lost their second wicket when Overton was brought into the attack after 21 overs.  His height got one to bounce at Hill and took the shoulder of his bat and Pope at second slip took a comfortable catch.

Hill said: “The wicket has got a bit better and the first hour tomorrow will be big and if we can get through that we can save the game and turn things around, they’ve been in the field a long time but they/ve got the best attack I ’ve faced. When I batted it was so frustrating because I had done all the hard work and played a daft shot.  The ball flies off the square.”

Play on the second day under the floodlights and Surrey lost their last four wickets for 41 in eight overs. Mike completed the over he started and beat Clark for pace to get his first championship wicket for Yorkshire without adding to his overnight score. Overton played around a straight one and was leg before to Hill. Four balls later Hill got his second wicket when he bowled Roach with a ball that came back a mile and knocked his leg stump out of the ground which must have Roach for when had the ball in hand.

Hill added: “I was surprised by that and I was quite pleased.  The ball definitely swung this morning.”

After Roach’s departure it was bang, crash, wallop as Worrall got Surrey’s third batting point when he smashed Hill to the long off boundary. Surrey kept up their record of getting 300 in every first innings of the season. Yorkshire took the new ball when it was available and Worrall clipped Coad off his legs for the second six of the match.  Two balls later he went for another this time he found Mike on the mid wicket boundary.

Day 3

AT 2.35 Surrey thrashed their oldest rivals Yorkshire by 10 wickets to become the first county to win four LV County Championship’s this century.

Needing 54 to win openers Captain Rory  Burns and Ryan Patel made short work of their target reaching it in six overs when Burns thrashed Jonny Tattersall to the square leg boundary.  He managed to dig out the first ball of their chase from Ben Coad to the third man boundary. Three balls later he danced down the pitch, missed the ball but Tom Kohler-Cadmore, stumping instead of Tattersall,parried the ball to the fine leg boundary. Burns finished the over with consecutive boundaries.

Dom Bess took the new ball at the Micky Stewart pavilion end and Ryan Patel drove him to the extra cover boundary. Burns reversed swept Tattersall to the third man boundary to take Surrey within nine runs of victory.

Burns said: “It’s a special feeling. Better than winning it for the first time and to do it here at the Micky Stewart Oval in front of our fans who have been great all season.  Every time we’ve needed someone to step up they have.  I am delighted for our coach Gareth Batty.

We just tried to focus on this game because we knew that there is always an opportunity to do the business here and get over the line.  All of our senior players have stepped up at different times.”

The victory was set up on the final day by Dan Worrall who took three wickets to finish with four for 61 as Yorkshire were dismissed for 208 and he took the final two Yorkshire wickets in five balls. Ben Mike hooked his second ball from Worrall just over Tom Lawes  on the fine leg boundary for a six but he was bowled by one that held its line as Mike was shaping to play it to leg.  

Worrall got his fourth wicket when Steven  Patterson backed away  from him and Worrall hit the top of his off stump.   In the third over after lunch  Worrall got his first wicket of the day when he trapped Jordan Thompson leg before  to one he expected to rise but it kept low.  It was Thompson’s 10th consecutive innings that he has failed to reach double figures.

In the first hour of the morning Yorkshire lost three wickets for 21 in 14 overs so the result was in no doubt. Surrey got an early breakthrough when Cameron Steel, who only came on to bowl so that Worrall could change ends, bowled Kohler-Cadmore with a googly with the last ball of the first over which kept low.  Kohler-Cadmore only added four to his overnight score, 

Before Will Fraine had scored he edged Worrall but the ball dropped inches short off Ollie Pope at second slip.  But it was Jordan Clark who got rid off Fraine when he  jagged one back at Fraine who played on from his glove.

Adam Lyth was beaten comprehensively in consecutive balls by Kemer  Roach but the West Indian couldn’t find the edge.  In his next over Lyth was forced to play at one and edged it to Patel who took a comfortable catch at third slip.

Yorkshire needed a repeat of captain Tattersall’s  first innings or his 180 he hit against Surrey at Scarborough.  After an early chance on three when he ŷ was squared up by Clark and edged but Patel at third slip couldn’t take the catch. He drove Clark straight for a nice drive, Yorkshire fans had some hope.  On 21 he was back in the hutch.  Jamie Overton, who didn’t come on until the 22 nd over of the day, got his second wicket of the innings in his second over when Tattersall tried to flick a short ball off his legs but the edge went to Foakes.

Bess guided Overton to third man  for a single to make Surrey bat again and used his feet to Steel to hit him to the long on boundary.  He guided Worrall off his back foot to the third man boundary.  But his defiant innings ended when he gloved Roach down the legside and Foakes took a terrific catch moving to his left.


Yorkshire head coach Ottis Gibson said: “Congratulations to Surrey. Over the three days, they were miles ahead of where we are at the moment as a team. They have played Championship-winning cricket all year, and we haven’t reached that level yet.

I said to the guys in the changing room as Surrey were singing their team song, we’re in a bit of transition, but there’s no reason why in a year or two we can’t be doing the same.

The last three days has been a challenge for the lads, and I talk all the time about learning. I hope the way Surrey sung their song gives us something to reach for. It’s been a disappointing three days. I expected us to bat better in both innings.

The second half of the season has been a disappointment, and you can’t hide from that. At the start of the season, we were making 500 every time because of the personnel in our team. We had Dawid Malan, Joe Root, the most in form batter in the country at the time in Harry Brook. Taking those guys out of our team, and we’ve exposed a lot of young inexperienced. It’s shown that we’ve still got work to do when guys underneath get their opportunities if we’re going to play Championship-winning cricket.

“Surrey had Burns back from England, they had Pope, Foakes and two overseas in Hashim Amla and Roach. We haven’t got an overseas and are playing without our two England stars. If we put them back into our team, it’s very different. 

I said to our young guys when you get an opportunity against a good Surrey team, I want you to show what you’re capable of. The work we have to do with the young guys is to try and ensure that when the England guys are missing, we still maintain a strong core and have strong performances.

It’s been a long season. Guys have played a lot of cricket. But if you’re performing well, you don’t feel tired. I’ve been there myself as a player. When I’m performing well, I don’t feel tired. 

Next week against Gloucestershire is a massive game because we don't want to be playing in any other division than the first. Whatever the guys are feeling now, they have to get over it in time for practice on Sunday and be motivated to make sure this club is still playing in the first division next year.”
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