Slightly off topic but I am arranging a Battlefield tour for Surrey CC this October, playing squad plus supporters, based in Ypres and following the 48 Surrey players who fell in the war.
Slightly off topic but I am arranging a Battlefield tour for Surrey CC this October, playing squad plus supporters, based in Ypres and following the 48 Surrey players who fell in the war.
Nice enjoy that. See if you can get anything interesting out the players.
Gareth Batty is a hero. Says the word magnificent in every sentence so try saying it back at him and see what he says!
Shame Ansari isn't in the squad. With his double first from Cambridge I'm pretty sure he could out nerd you!
Slightly off topic but I am arranging a Battlefield tour for Surrey CC this October, playing squad plus supporters, based in Ypres and following the 48 Surrey players who fell in the war.
I usually get my pre season squad update and predictions out about now as well as a quick look at how our pre season fixtures have gone.
Things are a bit mad my end - busy job and temporary promotion at work, demanding missus and family stuff have meant Charlton life has taken a back seat (boooo). But I have some time Sunday so I'll try and get my something out.
To be honest it's as much for my enjoyment and interest as it is for you guys.
Interesting article about Ansari in yesterdays Times and his reasons for leaving cricket - seems a bit elitist to me, but he comes over (reasonably) well.
Interesting article about Ansari in yesterdays Times and his reasons for leaving cricket - seems a bit elitist to me, but he comes over (reasonably) well.
Didn't see that. Any chance you still have it and can take s picture?
Surrey at least one batsman short yet again this year. With the team we have I expect the oval to be seamer friendly. Need ideally an opener and middle order batsman but won't happen. Harienth isn't a county player
As I walked off The Oval in April 2017, bowled by Lancashire’s left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan for three, I knew the time had come to end my professional career. I texted my girlfriend and my brother, then spoke to my parents. They all suggested I should allow the normal feelings of embarrassment that come with a low score to subside. Quickly, however, they realised that I had done all the thinking I needed.
This was not the first time I had confided in those closest to me about retiring. In the year leading up to the Lancashire game, I had returned to the subject with tedious regularity. I had also spoken sporadically with colleagues at Surrey about the possibility over the seven years I held a contract there.
I begin with this to emphasise that this was not a kneejerk decision, nor even one made over a period of months. Rather, both through design and accident, I had never reconciled myself to life as a professional cricketer. Throughout my career, retirement was almost perpetually imminent. So why had I never allowed myself to settle into this unique existence? This question implicitly emerged in some of the more sceptical reactions, which largely fell into two categories.
On the one hand, there was a struggle to comprehend why someone would give up something for which so many would sacrifice so much: by calling it a day at 25, I was doing these people a disservice. I can only respond that, from my experience last summer, watching cricket — even avidly — is different from playing it for a living. On the other hand, there was an assumption that the only common-sense reason to stop playing would be to go into the City and make more money than cricket could offer. But this neither captured my lingering trouble with the professional game, nor explained my desire to change paths: money is very good as a county cricketer, and played no part in my thinking.
These analyses, though, were in the minority. In general, reactions were considered and sympathetic, and a third narrative developed: that the problem was an intellectual gap between me and my team-mates. While this was flattering, once again I felt it missed the mark: there are lots of intelligent cricketers, many cleverer than I am.
Instead, I would argue that, if there was a separation, it arose out of my struggle to come to terms with a set of seemingly prosaic ethical demands — values and principles governing everyday conduct — that professional cricket threw up. The need to be permanently competitive, for example, was something I found difficult. In Bangladesh and India in 2016-17, I would watch Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Alastair Cook with admiration and alienation as they conjured up a hypercompetitive spirit, whether on the cricket field or at the hotel ping-pong table. It goes without saying that competition is a foundation of sport: to be competitive is clearly an advantage, providing the mental framework to maximise the chances of success. Yet as my career progressed, I felt uncomfortable conducting myself in this way.
This feeling emerged, in part, from a broader left-wing perspective, which informed my approach to life, and was both a cause and an effect of my studying social and political sciences at university, and of my choice of masters thesis: African-American self-defence during the civil rights era. Against this background, I grew wary of a professional culture that treated the uncompromising pursuit of victory as essentially virtuous.
I had not always been such a sceptic. I revelled in my competitiveness as I was growing up. I’m sure it contributed to any success I did achieve. But as the years passed, I tired of the effort it required, and carried my growing suspicion of the merits of competition into my cricket. I would try to subvert this drive in small ways — such as taking pleasure in the success of an opponent — and avoid competition outside work. But I could not maintain it. The sight at close quarters of Virat Kohli living every ball as if it were his last highlighted an absence that had been building within me.
I also wrestled with, and eventually started to resent, the individualising tendency of the professional game. Like the will to compete, this is a defining feature of cricket. Indeed, what distinguishes cricket from many team sports is the productive tension between the individual and the group. Yet this was supplemented by an ethos of individualism to which I responded grudgingly.
The mantra of personal responsibility and a no-excuses culture that went with every act, for instance, were distortions of the reality confronting me every day. And, however glib it may sound, the fact that dependency — on others, on luck, on privilege — represented the rule rather than the exception made the pervasive logic of the individual steadily more jarring. Put plainly, I feel cricketers are heavily reliant on their circumstances and the people around them. Yet this cannot be acknowledged, for fear it would suggest they lack the toughness to take responsibility for their actions.
This perspective may have been a defence mechanism designed to compensate for my limits as a cricketer. And I’m aware of the virtues of this ethic — it drives players to see themselves as the principal authors of their own destiny, and to work harder to improve. Still, as I developed an aversion to it, the problem of my long-term motivation grew in equal measure.
Other factors played into my dissatisfaction. Like many cricketers, I struggled with the way the job pulled me away from friends and family. Similarly, the cycle of scrutiny, failure and judgment, occasionally in the public domain, was a challenge that never quite let up.
The tour of Bangladesh and India was a moment of crystallisation. Reading through old letters and watching home videos of me as a young boy, I was reminded that playing Test cricket had always been my ambition. My three caps still fill me with pride and joy. Even so, it was through touring that the factors I have described coalesced. Being in the presence of other players with an insatiable appetite to compete and better themselves as cricketers was disarming and revealing, since it forced me to challenge my own position.
The trip also raised questions I had not, until then, had to confront. I had avoided social media, for example, because I felt neither qualified to try to influence others casually with my views, nor comfortable with the self-promotion it inevitably involves. At the same time, I am committed to advancing social and economic justice and the chance to do so by harnessing the exposure of an England tour was something with which I had to grapple.
I remember having a long, stimulating conversation during the trip with Mark Ramprakash, our batting coach, and coming away with a sense of the potential that a successful cricketing career might provide. Equally, I was aware that this potential was constrained by the need to avoid any controversy in relation to non-cricketing matters, as the ICC’s decision to ban Moeen Ali from wearing a “Save Gaza” wristband in 2014 exemplified. In short, playing for England provides cricketers with a great opportunity to make themselves heard, but limits what they can say. I concluded that, even in the unlikely scenario of a long international career, this trade-off between exposure and authenticity was not one I wanted to make.
Of course, other jobs come with trade-offs, frustrations and constraints, which in part explains why I agonised so much. I say “in part” because for the previous seven years I had also taken huge pleasure in being a cricketer. I could not have given it up lightly. I’m sure I will miss the feeling of bowling an unplayable delivery, the satisfaction of winning a Championship match, and the excitement of taking part in a Twenty20 game at a packed Oval. I will miss even more the feeling of being a small part of something with a long, powerful history, such as Surrey, and of being a large part of a team, with its friendships and shared moments.
It is telling that in the weeks and months after retiring, I went back to The Oval many times to catch up with old team-mates, and watch them play, as a Surrey supporter. But it is equally significant that I did not feel the urge to do so as a player.
Thanks mate. Not entirely sure what to make of that to be honest.
Over the last four or five years I have had a little insight into the life of someone who has aspirations to be a professional cricketer. During this time the focus has been cricket, cricket, cricket and more cricket interspersed with school work and when time allows a bit of down time.
It is that thing about whether you enjoy the journey getting there and then whether you are at comfort having got there. Most fall by the wayside getting there - the average success rate in age group cricket at a county is less than one per squad. But, having achieved that goal, some, like Ansari question whether in actual fact if this is what they thought it would be.
It's a known fact that cricket has the highest suicide rate of all sports and the mental issues encountered by the likes of Flintoff, Trescothick, Yardy, Trott and Panesar have all been well documented but this is just the tip of the iceberg. How many other sports can you spend three or four days watching others being successful while you are left to reflect on your failings? There is no place to get away from it because the game is still going on.
Then you're away touring and this is, I suspect, Ansari felt most ill at ease. He sees these other players who don't just treat their profession as competitive but also anything that they do off the field in the same way - as he says it might be table tennis but, equally, it can be a game of cards or even their standings in the fantasy football league table.
And that is what made Ansari feel different. He is a reflective intellectual who started to question whether he was made of the same stuff as Root and Cook. He came to the conclusion that he wasn't and anything less than that meant that he was just doing a job that he didn't particularly enjoy. Hence the desire to go to pastures new that would challenge him in the way he wanted to be challenged.
Thanks mate. Not entirely sure what to make of that to be honest.
Over the last four or five years I have had a little insight into the life of someone who has aspirations to be a professional cricketer. During this time the focus has been cricket, cricket, cricket and more cricket interspersed with school work and when time allows a bit of down time.
It is that thing about whether you enjoy the journey getting there and then whether you are at comfort having got there. Most fall by the wayside getting there - the average success rate in age group cricket at a county is less than one per squad. But, having achieved that goal, some, like Ansari question whether in actual fact if this is what they thought it would be.
It's a known fact that cricket has the highest suicide rate of all sports and the mental issues encountered by the likes of Flintoff, Trescothick, Yardy, Trott and Panesar have all been well documented but this is just the tip of the iceberg. How many other sports can you spend three or four days watching others being successful while you are left to reflect on your failings? There is no place to get away from it because the game is still going on.
Then you're away touring and this is, I suspect, Ansari felt most ill at ease. He sees these other players who don't just treat their profession as competitive but also anything that they do off the field in the same way - as he says it might be table tennis but, equally, it can be a game of cards or even their standings in the fantasy football league table.
And that is what made Ansari feel different. He is a reflective intellectual who started to question whether he was made of the same stuff as Root and Cook. He came to the conclusion that he wasn't and anything less than that meant that he was just doing a job that he didn't particularly enjoy. Hence the desire to go to pastures new that would challenge him in the way he wanted to be challenged.
I hate to bring a Surrey thread back to the front page again () but that's an interesting piece by Ansari, if written in rather "left wing academic" language.
To me, it's clear that while he enjoyed playing cricket, he didn't have the single mindedness that the modern day player needs to have, especially at the highest level. 100% dedication to winning, taking part in events for sponsors, saying the rehearsed lines in interviews etc
I imagine he would have been happier in the sleepier dressing rooms that existed 20 years ago (as described well by Simon Hughes in his "A lot of hard yakka" book) where there was much more scope for players to be individuals, where left wingers could share a dressing room with Phil Edmonds who was always disappearing to make business deals
I hate to bring a Surrey thread back to the front page again () but that's an interesting piece by Ansari, if written in rather "left wing academic" language.
To me, it's clear that while he enjoyed playing cricket, he didn't have the single mindedness that the modern day player needs to have, especially at the highest level. 100% dedication to winning, taking part in events for sponsors, saying the rehearsed lines in interviews etc
I imagine he would have been happier in the sleepier dressing rooms that existed 20 years ago (as described well by Simon Hughes in his "A lot of hard yakka" book) where there was much more scope for players to be individuals, where left wingers could share a dressing room with Phil Edmonds who was always disappearing to make business deals
id go back a bit further and have him in the gentleman class rather than a professional so he could walk through a seperate gate leaving the pavilion,waltz around in a blazer and cravat and feel superior to everybody else..hes obviously very intelligent and highly academic but i did think it was a bit egocentric
The county season starts for Surrey on Friday with Hampshire's visit to the oval. Below is my preview of the season.
Exits since last season
Obviously the end of last season saw us lose the king himself. A great man, an absolute hero and a run machine. Sanga. He truly became a Surrey legend and a great in the 3 years he was here. It was an absolute privilege to watch him bat and have him at the club. He will be missed as a man and for his runs. Huge shoes to fill and even if his replacement has a great year the other batsmen will still need to step up and cover some of his lost runs.
Ravi Rampaul left at the end of rhe season. After featuring fairly heavily in the first half of the last two seasons he always seemed to lose his place some time in mod season and not appear again. Not a spectacular bowler but did a decent job for us in all formats. If we have trophy ambitions we should be aiming for better. Good luck at derby Ravi.
Ansari and Footit. Both left during the course of last season.
signings
We have once again signed Finch for the T20 blast. He has been exceptional opening the batting with Roy in each of the last 2 seasons and Surrey fans will be glad to have him back.
Morne Morkel has signed as our only kolpak player and will add experience and quality to our attack. Taking 20 wickets was where we struggled last year so let's hope he makes the difference.
Mitch Marsh had signed as our main overseas player to replace Sanga after having a good winter for Australia. He looked liek a great signing adding both experience in the batting department and an option for a 5th bowler. Unfortunately he has suffered an injury and will miss a large portion of the season.
Dean Elgar has been signed to replace him for the early season games and Surrey fans will be happy to see him back after his short stint with us a few years ago. Not sure how long he is with us for the os has been particularly vague over this. I suspect we will go for a chunk of the season with no overseas player. Or maybe finch will play the off 4 day game as he has the last couple of years.
promotions from youth team/seconds
Ryan Patel (top order batsman and medium pacer) who impressed towards the end of last season has been added to the first team squad.
Ollie Pope (keeper batsman) who had a breakthrough year last year and impressed in the t20 and championship has been added to the first team squad.
As have seamer Gus Atkinson who has been the 2s best bowler for a couple of years, Connor Mckerr (quick bowler who made his debut last season and had a loan spell with derby), off spinner Amar Virdi and top order batsman and spin bowler Will Jacks who is an England u19 international.
Existing squad. Rory Burns -captain for this season let's hope he can make the step up and continue to score runs to prove the england selectors wrong for continually overlooking him
Stoneman - back from England duty will be interesting to see how he goes.
Harinath - after seemingly being frozen out in the last couple of seasons and having an unsuccessful spell out on loan he very much seems to be back in the first team picture this season and has featured in every pre season game. I'm not sure he would make our strongest team but he is a useful player to have around. I like him, he is tough and a fighter - qualities we have lacked with the bat of late.
Borthwick - started last season with a bang but struggled later on. Big year for him. Need a to step up and replace Sanga.
Roy - mixed winter with England currently at the IPL and scored 91 not out in their first matxh to win it for whoever they are. Will be key for us in all formats.
Foakes - with England all winter but only played for the lions. Needs to keep knocking on the door. Hope he has a big year with the bat. We all know how good a keeper he is.
Batty -stepped down as skipper but will be our main spinner for the season. Particularly key in limited overs stuff. Him no longer being captain gives us the flexibility to not have to play a specialist spinner in the early season. Borthwick/jacks can bat in the top 6 and bowl spin.
Van den Bergh - finally made his debut last season after being round the squad for what feels like years. Useful as the only spin option we have that turns the ball the other way (left armer). Nor sure he will get in ahead of batty or the up and coming Virdi.
Dernbach - t20 captain for the year and still one of the very best limited overs bowlers in the country. Suspect his role in the 4 day stuff will be limited once everyone is available.
Dunn - missed the whole of last season to injury but seems to be back and bowling well. Let a hope he has a good year. Many had him down for England honours when he first broke through.
T Curran - made his test debut and played a few limited overs games for the national side this winter. Impressed, particularly in the short stuff. Currently in the IPL. Hopefully he comes back in form and builds on this winter.
S Curran - was in England squads this winter and played for the lions. Just keeps getting better.
Meaker - mixed bag as always last year. I rate him so highly as he has the potential to bowl those wicket taking balls even if he does go for a few in the process. Needs to be backed and believed in. It's a confidence issue with him. If he bowls well we do well. Worth the gamble in my eyes.
Pillans - has never quite cemented his place in our side. Will be backup for most of the year unless we have a crisis.
Clarke - joined during last season and impressed in the 4 day stuff. Useful to have some more experienced players to take the pressure of the Currans leading the attack. Shouldn't play in the limited overs stuff.
That's the squad. I make it 16 Surrey youth products. I wonder if we will break our own record set last year for the number of teenagers in the side.
How will the season go?
Hard to tell. I am less confident than I was last year. Then it felt clear we had a quality first 11 in all formats and I felt we could win them all. Unfortunately we just didn't perform to our potential and the losses of Footit and Ansari disrupted things. This year it feels more like we have competition for places and I'm really be sure who will play in each format. This could end up being a blessing as players have to keep performing to keep their spots. Hopefully Morkel will help us take 20 wickets just worried about setting the totals without the king.
My team for Friday would look something like this:
Burns Stoneman Elgar Borthwick Jacks Foakes Pope Sam Curran Clarke Morkel Meaker/Dunn/Dernbach
Plenty of batting and 2 part time spin options and 4 quicks. Roy and TC unavailable. Marsh injured.
Good one Canters. Looks a strong squad (again).However, batting looks a little bit light.
'Jack's'?....Roy?
Roy is unavailable due to IPL.
I was referring to Will Jacks. England under 19 international and has played every pre season game so far. He is a top order bat that also bowls spin. That is part of the reason for me picking him it allows us the extra batsman whilst still having him and Borthwick who can bowl spin despite no specialist spinner - which really isn't needed this early in the season.
Later in the season Roy will probably take that slot. Or maybe a full time spinner Batty or Virdi.
Comments
Gareth Batty is a hero. Says the word magnificent in every sentence so try saying it back at him and see what he says!
Shame Ansari isn't in the squad. With his double first from Cambridge I'm pretty sure he could out nerd you!
Happy days.
Things are a bit mad my end - busy job and temporary promotion at work, demanding missus and family stuff have meant Charlton life has taken a back seat (boooo). But I have some time Sunday so I'll try and get my something out.
To be honest it's as much for my enjoyment and interest as it is for you guys.
Need ideally an opener and middle order batsman but won't happen. Harienth isn't a county player
As I walked off The Oval in April 2017, bowled by Lancashire’s left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan for three, I knew the time had come to end my professional career. I texted my girlfriend and my brother, then spoke to my parents. They all suggested I should allow the normal feelings of embarrassment that come with a low score to subside. Quickly, however, they realised that I had done all the thinking I needed.
This was not the first time I had confided in those closest to me about retiring. In the year leading up to the Lancashire game, I had returned to the subject with tedious regularity. I had also spoken sporadically with colleagues at Surrey about the possibility over the seven years I held a contract there.
I begin with this to emphasise that this was not a kneejerk decision, nor even one made over a period of months. Rather, both through design and accident, I had never reconciled myself to life as a professional cricketer. Throughout my career, retirement was almost perpetually imminent. So why had I never allowed myself to settle into this unique existence? This question implicitly emerged in some of the more sceptical reactions, which largely fell into two categories.
On the one hand, there was a struggle to comprehend why someone would give up something for which so many would sacrifice so much: by calling it a day at 25, I was doing these people a disservice. I can only respond that, from my experience last summer, watching cricket — even avidly — is different from playing it for a living. On the other hand, there was an assumption that the only common-sense reason to stop playing would be to go into the City and make more money than cricket could offer. But this neither captured my lingering trouble with the professional game, nor explained my desire to change paths: money is very good as a county cricketer, and played no part in my thinking.
These analyses, though, were in the minority. In general, reactions were considered and sympathetic, and a third narrative developed: that the problem was an intellectual gap between me and my team-mates. While this was flattering, once again I felt it missed the mark: there are lots of intelligent cricketers, many cleverer than I am.
Instead, I would argue that, if there was a separation, it arose out of my struggle to come to terms with a set of seemingly prosaic ethical demands — values and principles governing everyday conduct — that professional cricket threw up. The need to be permanently competitive, for example, was something I found difficult. In Bangladesh and India in 2016-17, I would watch Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Alastair Cook with admiration and alienation as they conjured up a hypercompetitive spirit, whether on the cricket field or at the hotel ping-pong table. It goes without saying that competition is a foundation of sport: to be competitive is clearly an advantage, providing the mental framework to maximise the chances of success. Yet as my career progressed, I felt uncomfortable conducting myself in this way.
This feeling emerged, in part, from a broader left-wing perspective, which informed my approach to life, and was both a cause and an effect of my studying social and political sciences at university, and of my choice of masters thesis: African-American self-defence during the civil rights era. Against this background, I grew wary of a professional culture that treated the uncompromising pursuit of victory as essentially virtuous.
I had not always been such a sceptic. I revelled in my competitiveness as I was growing up. I’m sure it contributed to any success I did achieve. But as the years passed, I tired of the effort it required, and carried my growing suspicion of the merits of competition into my cricket. I would try to subvert this drive in small ways — such as taking pleasure in the success of an opponent — and avoid competition outside work. But I could not maintain it. The sight at close quarters of Virat Kohli living every ball as if it were his last highlighted an absence that had been building within me.
I also wrestled with, and eventually started to resent, the individualising tendency of the professional game. Like the will to compete, this is a defining feature of cricket. Indeed, what distinguishes cricket from many team sports is the productive tension between the individual and the group. Yet this was supplemented by an ethos of individualism to which I responded grudgingly.
The mantra of personal responsibility and a no-excuses culture that went with every act, for instance, were distortions of the reality confronting me every day. And, however glib it may sound, the fact that dependency — on others, on luck, on privilege — represented the rule rather than the exception made the pervasive logic of the individual steadily more jarring. Put plainly, I feel cricketers are heavily reliant on their circumstances and the people around them. Yet this cannot be acknowledged, for fear it would suggest they lack the toughness to take responsibility for their actions.
This perspective may have been a defence mechanism designed to compensate for my limits as a cricketer. And I’m aware of the virtues of this ethic — it drives players to see themselves as the principal authors of their own destiny, and to work harder to improve. Still, as I developed an aversion to it, the problem of my long-term motivation grew in equal measure.
Other factors played into my dissatisfaction. Like many cricketers, I struggled with the way the job pulled me away from friends and family. Similarly, the cycle of scrutiny, failure and judgment, occasionally in the public domain, was a challenge that never quite let up.
The tour of Bangladesh and India was a moment of crystallisation. Reading through old letters and watching home videos of me as a young boy, I was reminded that playing Test cricket had always been my ambition. My three caps still fill me with pride and joy. Even so, it was through touring that the factors I have described coalesced. Being in the presence of other players with an insatiable appetite to compete and better themselves as cricketers was disarming and revealing, since it forced me to challenge my own position.
The trip also raised questions I had not, until then, had to confront. I had avoided social media, for example, because I felt neither qualified to try to influence others casually with my views, nor comfortable with the self-promotion it inevitably involves. At the same time, I am committed to advancing social and economic justice and the chance to do so by harnessing the exposure of an England tour was something with which I had to grapple.
Of course, other jobs come with trade-offs, frustrations and constraints, which in part explains why I agonised so much. I say “in part” because for the previous seven years I had also taken huge pleasure in being a cricketer. I could not have given it up lightly. I’m sure I will miss the feeling of bowling an unplayable delivery, the satisfaction of winning a Championship match, and the excitement of taking part in a Twenty20 game at a packed Oval. I will miss even more the feeling of being a small part of something with a long, powerful history, such as Surrey, and of being a large part of a team, with its friendships and shared moments.
It is telling that in the weeks and months after retiring, I went back to The Oval many times to catch up with old team-mates, and watch them play, as a Surrey supporter. But it is equally significant that I did not feel the urge to do so as a player.
Still a good read though.
It is that thing about whether you enjoy the journey getting there and then whether you are at comfort having got there. Most fall by the wayside getting there - the average success rate in age group cricket at a county is less than one per squad. But, having achieved that goal, some, like Ansari question whether in actual fact if this is what they thought it would be.
It's a known fact that cricket has the highest suicide rate of all sports and the mental issues encountered by the likes of Flintoff, Trescothick, Yardy, Trott and Panesar have all been well documented but this is just the tip of the iceberg. How many other sports can you spend three or four days watching others being successful while you are left to reflect on your failings? There is no place to get away from it because the game is still going on.
Then you're away touring and this is, I suspect, Ansari felt most ill at ease. He sees these other players who don't just treat their profession as competitive but also anything that they do off the field in the same way - as he says it might be table tennis but, equally, it can be a game of cards or even their standings in the fantasy football league table.
And that is what made Ansari feel different. He is a reflective intellectual who started to question whether he was made of the same stuff as Root and Cook. He came to the conclusion that he wasn't and anything less than that meant that he was just doing a job that he didn't particularly enjoy. Hence the desire to go to pastures new that would challenge him in the way he wanted to be challenged.
To me, it's clear that while he enjoyed playing cricket, he didn't have the single mindedness that the modern day player needs to have, especially at the highest level. 100% dedication to winning, taking part in events for sponsors, saying the rehearsed lines in interviews etc
I imagine he would have been happier in the sleepier dressing rooms that existed 20 years ago (as described well by Simon Hughes in his "A lot of hard yakka" book) where there was much more scope for players to be individuals, where left wingers could share a dressing room with Phil Edmonds who was always disappearing to make business deals
Exits since last season
Obviously the end of last season saw us lose the king himself. A great man, an absolute hero and a run machine. Sanga. He truly became a Surrey legend and a great in the 3 years he was here. It was an absolute privilege to watch him bat and have him at the club. He will be missed as a man and for his runs. Huge shoes to fill and even if his replacement has a great year the other batsmen will still need to step up and cover some of his lost runs.
Ravi Rampaul left at the end of rhe season. After featuring fairly heavily in the first half of the last two seasons he always seemed to lose his place some time in mod season and not appear again. Not a spectacular bowler but did a decent job for us in all formats. If we have trophy ambitions we should be aiming for better. Good luck at derby Ravi.
Ansari and Footit. Both left during the course of last season.
signings
We have once again signed Finch for the T20 blast. He has been exceptional opening the batting with Roy in each of the last 2 seasons and Surrey fans will be glad to have him back.
Morne Morkel has signed as our only kolpak player and will add experience and quality to our attack. Taking 20 wickets was where we struggled last year so let's hope he makes the difference.
Mitch Marsh had signed as our main overseas player to replace Sanga after having a good winter for Australia. He looked liek a great signing adding both experience in the batting department and an option for a 5th bowler. Unfortunately he has suffered an injury and will miss a large portion of the season.
Dean Elgar has been signed to replace him for the early season games and Surrey fans will be happy to see him back after his short stint with us a few years ago. Not sure how long he is with us for the os has been particularly vague over this. I suspect we will go for a chunk of the season with no overseas player. Or maybe finch will play the off 4 day game as he has the last couple of years.
promotions from youth team/seconds
Ryan Patel (top order batsman and medium pacer) who impressed towards the end of last season has been added to the first team squad.
Ollie Pope (keeper batsman) who had a breakthrough year last year and impressed in the t20 and championship has been added to the first team squad.
As have seamer Gus Atkinson who has been the 2s best bowler for a couple of years, Connor Mckerr (quick bowler who made his debut last season and had a loan spell with derby), off spinner Amar Virdi and top order batsman and spin bowler Will Jacks who is an England u19 international.
Existing squad.
Rory Burns -captain for this season let's hope he can make the step up and continue to score runs to prove the england selectors wrong for continually overlooking him
Stoneman - back from England duty will be interesting to see how he goes.
Harinath - after seemingly being frozen out in the last couple of seasons and having an unsuccessful spell out on loan he very much seems to be back in the first team picture this season and has featured in every pre season game. I'm not sure he would make our strongest team but he is a useful player to have around. I like him, he is tough and a fighter - qualities we have lacked with the bat of late.
Borthwick - started last season with a bang but struggled later on. Big year for him. Need a to step up and replace Sanga.
Roy - mixed winter with England currently at the IPL and scored 91 not out in their first matxh to win it for whoever they are. Will be key for us in all formats.
Foakes - with England all winter but only played for the lions. Needs to keep knocking on the door. Hope he has a big year with the bat. We all know how good a keeper he is.
Batty -stepped down as skipper but will be our main spinner for the season. Particularly key in limited overs stuff. Him no longer being captain gives us the flexibility to not have to play a specialist spinner in the early season. Borthwick/jacks can bat in the top 6 and bowl spin.
Van den Bergh - finally made his debut last season after being round the squad for what feels like years. Useful as the only spin option we have that turns the ball the other way (left armer). Nor sure he will get in ahead of batty or the up and coming Virdi.
Dernbach - t20 captain for the year and still one of the very best limited overs bowlers in the country. Suspect his role in the 4 day stuff will be limited once everyone is available.
Dunn - missed the whole of last season to injury but seems to be back and bowling well. Let a hope he has a good year. Many had him down for England honours when he first broke through.
T Curran - made his test debut and played a few limited overs games for the national side this winter. Impressed, particularly in the short stuff. Currently in the IPL. Hopefully he comes back in form and builds on this winter.
S Curran - was in England squads this winter and played for the lions. Just keeps getting better.
Meaker - mixed bag as always last year. I rate him so highly as he has the potential to bowl those wicket taking balls even if he does go for a few in the process. Needs to be backed and believed in. It's a confidence issue with him. If he bowls well we do well. Worth the gamble in my eyes.
Pillans - has never quite cemented his place in our side. Will be backup for most of the year unless we have a crisis.
Clarke - joined during last season and impressed in the 4 day stuff. Useful to have some more experienced players to take the pressure of the Currans leading the attack. Shouldn't play in the limited overs stuff.
That's the squad. I make it 16 Surrey youth products. I wonder if we will break our own record set last year for the number of teenagers in the side.
How will the season go?
Hard to tell. I am less confident than I was last year. Then it felt clear we had a quality first 11 in all formats and I felt we could win them all. Unfortunately we just didn't perform to our potential and the losses of Footit and Ansari disrupted things. This year it feels more like we have competition for places and I'm really be sure who will play in each format. This could end up being a blessing as players have to keep performing to keep their spots. Hopefully Morkel will help us take 20 wickets just worried about setting the totals without the king.
My team for Friday would look something like this:
Burns
Stoneman
Elgar
Borthwick
Jacks
Foakes
Pope
Sam Curran
Clarke
Morkel
Meaker/Dunn/Dernbach
Plenty of batting and 2 part time spin options and 4 quicks. Roy and TC unavailable. Marsh injured.
Looks a strong squad (again).However, batting looks a little bit light.
'Jack's'?....Roy?
I was referring to Will Jacks. England under 19 international and has played every pre season game so far. He is a top order bat that also bowls spin. That is part of the reason for me picking him it allows us the extra batsman whilst still having him and Borthwick who can bowl spin despite no specialist spinner - which really isn't needed this early in the season.
Later in the season Roy will probably take that slot. Or maybe a full time spinner Batty or Virdi.