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VOLUME.27 ISSUE NUMBER.1 JUNE 2012 EDITED BY MARCUS HOOK PLEASE NOTE THAT THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS NEWSLETTER ARE PURELY PERSONAL OPINIONS. ANY CORRESPONDENCE REGARDING ‘OVAL WORLD’ SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO MARCUS HOOK AT FLAT 1, 67 BIRDHURST RISE, SOUTH CROYDON, SURREY, CR2 7EJ or E-MAIL [email protected]

FIRST INNINGS - WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN by Marcus Hook

I'm not one to run to 's defence, but if ever evidence were needed that the ECB will do anything to keep SkySports happy, the £2,000 fine he was given for criticising Nick Knight on Twitter was, to use KP's words, ridiculous. If he had criticised SkySports' coverage as a whole - which, I guess, would be akin to a Surrey player saying that Kia cars are rubbish - I could understand it. Never bite the hand that feeds you, and all that. But, honestly, how many viewers, let alone pros, consider Knight to be a decent commentator? He routinely sits on the fence, in fear of expressing an opinion of his own, and yet, if a private conversation he has had with one of the players illustrates a point, he'll quote it on air. Like many things on the internet, Twitter, if used responsibly, can be such a big positive. Just look at what happened when Ben Hollioake's kit and other memorabilia was stolen. I've seen how Twitter brings players and fans closer together. Dishing out fines for expressing widely held views will simply make the England players think twice before tweeting anything of real interest. As for Nick Knight, the sooner Ian Ward leapfrogs him in Sky's pecking order, the better - for all of us.

Just a week after being fined, Kevin Pietersen's relationship with the ECB sunk to a new low when he announced his retirement from one-day international . KP said he would readily continue playing international cricket, but the England management used the event to re-site the goalposts. Having allowed to retire from international T20 cricket, but not ODIs, of the ECB said the policy, now, is for England players to make themselves available for both or forget it. You can't help feeling the ECB have chosen to make an example of Pietersen. Knowing Chris Adams to be pretty shrewd, I imagine he will put his arm around KP and fire him up for the Lions' Friends Life T20 campaign. In-between playing and appearing in the IPL, one assumes it means Pietersen will be available to play a lot more for Surrey. We shall see. All I will say is that a top order of Hamilton-Brown, Davies, Roy, Pietersen and Maynard in the FLt20 would make for an awesome spectacle.

Much as it pains traditionalists like myself to see four-day cricket being played in early April, it's just as well we are. Had the season begun when it used to years ago - in the last week of April - the first round of the would have been washed out; which, no doubt, would have prompted the ECB to call, once more, for the competition to be reduced to 14 games per team. Had Surrey not notched up a championship victory over Sussex before all the rain arrived, we would still be awaiting a first win in the champo. The pre-season form did not augur well, neither did just managing to hold on to beat the students by two runs. But, for once, the boys were quick out of the traps (it was only the second time in 17 years that Surrey have won their opening four-day fixture). What has followed has been a tad frustrating, though. Apart from the wash-out with Durham, Surrey have been in potentially winning positions in every one of the subsequent championship games. At the start of the season I wrote, in my column for the Surrey Mirror, that most of us would settle for mid-table obscurity in the County Championship. So, the fact that Surrey are competing with the other teams in Division One is, in many ways, a positive and gives us hope that they can claim at least three more wins from the nine that remain to make things safe.

Tom Maynard and Rory Hamilton-Brown, in particular, have been in inspired form with the bat. Steven Davies's glovework, when standing up to the stumps, continues to show improvement. On their day, Stuart Meaker and have looked like real match-winners with the ball. But given that Somerset were without Buttler and Trescothick, it did seem a strange decision to rest . I believe you should always field the eleven most likely to win the game, unless the title has been wrapped up or, in the one-day stuff, there's no chance of progressing in the competition. Leaving Dernbach out against Somerset was a mistake, as was not playing a second spinner on a turning pitch against Warwickshire. It was interesting to note Matthew Spriegel taking a seven-fer for the twos the same week. Unlike Keeners (see Keenose Komments), I would always play at least one front-line spinner. I just think you need a bit of balance. But with Murali Kartik about to make his debut and Zafar Ansari due to break-up from university in a month's time, I doubt we'll see Spriegs play in the championship.

Quite a few of the members I spoke with at the Club's AGM questioned the need for Jacques Rudolph. Some, but certainly not as many, also queried why Surrey had signed Jon Lewis. Over the years I have seen what Lewis is capable of. I'll never forget the way he sent Ali Brown's off stump flying when taking 7-72 to wrap the game up inside three days at Bristol eight years ago. And the early weeks of this season have simply underlined what a quality signing Lewis is. Sadly, the knockers were proved right with Rudolph failing to come to the party. If I was able to detect that he has a weakness against full length deliveries aimed at the base of middle and leg, I'm sure and England's management team have as well.

Anyway, I can't sign off without saying that I have driven a Kia car (I hired one once), and I'd swap if for our Peugeot 206 any day.

SUPPORTERS' CLUB NEWS

FUNDRAISING EXCEEDS £60,000 Thanks to the continued success of the Century Club, run by Sarah Atkins, the Surrey CCC Supporters' Club recently handed over a cheque for £2,000 to Paul Taylor of the Surrey Cricket Board. It now means the SCCCSC has raised over £60,000 over the years for initiatives such as the Outreach winter coaching programme, which goes out to schools in South London and most of Surrey. This programme has reached thousands of children and has, we hope, contributed to the development of a future cricketer or two and, just as important, established a bond with Surrey amongst tomorrow’s cricket-following public.

GUILDFORD MARQUEE: 15 JULY At the time of going to press, we were waiting to hear whether the Supporters' Club has been allocated a marquee at Guildford for Sunday, 15th July - when the Surrey Lions play host to the Nottinghamshire Outlaws in the Clydesdale Bank 40. The SCCCSC has never taken the use of a marquee on the Sunday of Guildford for granted. But if this facility is extended to us again, the arrangements will be the same as they were last year in that no refreshments will be available in the marquee. That said, Supporters' Club members are more than welcome to bring along packed lunches and enjoy the game in the more relaxed setting.

OVAL WORLD BY EMAIL? By way of a reminder, if you would prefer to receive this newsletter as a .pdf document, by email, instead of having it sent to you by post, simply inform Marcus Hook at [email protected].

GUILDFORD ROOM This season Surrey CCC have kindly allowed the Supporters' Club use of the Guildford Room on home match days at the Kia Oval. The room, which is situated on the top floor of the Main Pavilion, affords spectators an excellent view of the game. Visitors are always guaranteed a warm welcome from Ann Atkins and various other members of the Supporters' Club committee.

MEMBERSHIP 2012 If you haven't yet renewed your membership of the Surrey CCC Supporters' Club, please make sure you do so as soon as possible, or you could miss out on future editions of Oval World. The annual subscription rates are £6.00 for full members, £4.00 for senior citizens and £1.00 for juniors. Subs, along with a note of your current address, should be sent to Chris Payne, 105 Milborough Crescent, Lee, London SE12 0RP. Cheques should be made payable to: 'SCCC Supporters' Club'.

FANTASY LEAGUE - EARLY-SEASON STANDINGS As at May 22, the standings in the Oval World Fantasy Cricket League 2012 were as follows:

1 Marcus Hook Depeche Modi 227.3 23 Anthony Earl ACE XI 161.7 2 Jamie Dowling The Cherry Pie Chuckers 215.2 24 Nick Robinson Comeontheree 161.2 3 Chris Payne Theakstons Old Peculiars 196.4 25 Grahame Cove Lewis 159.7 4 Nigel Sharp Nigel's Nurdlers 193.8 26 Adrian Lofts World Of Sport Umbrella 158.0 5 Andy Woodhouse Aines Blankey Boys 193.6 27 Alistair Gordon Alistair's Allsorts 157.6 6 Ann Millington-Jones Ann's Allsorts 192.7 28 Tracey Field Victoria Sponge Warriors 157.3 7 Paul Blake Blakey's Eleven 191.1 29 Roger Hudson The Wild Rovers 157.2 8 Brian Cowley Ruislip Ramblers 185.9 30 Leigh Jones Coaches Galore 154.8 9 Jean Galsworthy Rosebery Ramblers 184.7 31 Paul Jeater Essex Wombles 153.5 10 Bill Bateman Deflated 180.0 32 Jim Forrest Forrest Firecrackers 152.8 11 David Pearce Pears Hopefuls 179.9 33 Ann Atkins Ann's Team 150.6 12 Michael Greensmith Blackway Allstars 2012 178.6 34 John Lofts John's Crackerjacks 146.7 13 Sarah Atkins Yet More Hash Browns 175.9 35 Nick Wheeler Demons + 1 143.7 14 Paul Witney Sunbury Prides 173.4 36 Tony Raisborough Onecanonlyhope 140.6 15 Richard Budden Surrey Stars 169.1 37 Dot Sharp Strictly Cricket 138.0 16 Thomas Earl 111 All Out 168.9 38 Chris Stoneman Albezanaan 2012 134.8 17 Mark Smith Mountain Madness CC 167.6 39 Don Lambert Don's Donkeys 131.6 18 Rob Lewis Oval The Bars… 167.2 40 Mick Shaw Lukesmile 129.8 19 David Barker The Comics 167.1 41 John Flatley The Sole Judges 118.1 20 Michael Wright Almost Surrey 165.0 42 Bob Parsons Ever Hopefuls 118.1 21 Albert Ratcliff Bertie's Bash Hits 163.5 43 Dave Taylor Hot Chocolates 95.8 22 Chris Keene Keene As Mustard 162.7 44 Chris Levitt The Old And Young Hopefuls 93.2

SURREY CCC MEMBERS' EVENTS 2012

Tuesday, 5th June: Ladies Day at the CB40, Surrey Lions v Scottish Saltires, Kia Oval Monday, 18th June: Pre NatWest ODI Lunch, Long Room, Kia Oval. £120 per person Friday, 29th June: Pre NatWest ODI Lunch, Long Room, Kia Oval. £120 per person

Tickets can be purchased by telephoning 0844-375-1845.

TEAM, CLUB AND OTHER NEWS

PIETERSEN RETIRES FROM INTERNATIONAL ONE-DAY CRICKET On May 31, Kevin Pietersen announced his retirement from international limited-overs cricket. The 31-year-old, who joined Surrey from Hampshire at the end of 2010, and who has played 127 one- day internationals and 36 Twenty20 internationals for England, said: "I think it is the right time to step aside and let the next generation of players come through to gain experience for the World Cup in 2015, but I still wish to be considered for selection for England in Test cricket." Pietersen, who was player of the tournament in England's World Twenty20 triumph in the Caribbean two years ago, had been expected to be to the fore during this year's competition, which takes place in Sri Lanka at the end of the English domestic season. However, it emerged that the ECB no longer allows players to pick and choose between the ODI and Twenty20 formats. Pietersen said: "For the record, were the selection criteria not in place, I would have readily played for England in the upcoming ICC World Twenty20." Hugh Morris, managing director of England Cricket, said the ECB was disappointed with the timing of Pietersen's decision, coming four months before the World T20. Morris said: "As the programming and planning for ODI and T20 format cricket are very closely linked, we have a selection policy that means that any player making himself unavailable for either of the one-day formats, rules himself out of consideration for both formats. The selectors will now replace Kevin in both the ODI and the T20 squads." , captain of England's 50-over team, said: "Clearly every player has the right to decide their future. I'm disappointed. I think Kevin had a lot to still offer the England one-day team and he showed that when we moved him up the order. Our partnership against Pakistan worked really well. He is world class and we will miss him but it gives the chance for someone to take his place." South Africa-born Pietersen, who has an English mother, has been one of the most successful England batsmen of recent times. His 4,184 one-day international runs at an average of 48.14, puts him sixth in the all- time list of England batsmen. In his last two ODI innings, Pietersen made 111 and 130 against Pakistan in Dubai.

BATTY: IT SHOULD BE A NICE FEELING, BUT IT DOESN'T FEEL NICE It is rare for a bowler to take ten in the match and end up on the losing side, but Surrey's Gareth Batty knew how it felt when Surrey lost their championship clash with Warwickshire at the Kia Oval. The 34-year-old off-spinner followed up his 6-73 with three quick wickets early in the visitors' second innings. But with (89 not out) joining forces with Will Porterfield (66) and (40 not out), Warwickshire ultimately took the spoils from a seesawing battle. Batty said: "It should be a nice feeling to get a ten-fer, but this doesn't feel nice. I would have preferred to have got none and gone for millions and us win the game." Batty added: "At times this season, we've played some exceptional cricket and teams are genuinely scared of us. But there's no point being afraid if they get the points at the end of the day. That's something we need to address. I think we need to look at first innings, runs more than wickets - just to make life a bit easier, so we don't have to claw the game back on days two, three and four, if it gets that far. (Surrey's first team coach) prepared some great plans, so we've let him down in both disciplines, with the ball and the bat. The plans were definitely right, we've just got to execute them better. There's just been that odd tough period in the game, which they had yesterday. Alright, they might have had a bit of luck, but you can't rely on luck, you've just got to get a breakthrough and then you're right in business. We're talking about small margins, we're not talking about changing the wheel. If we had got an early this morning, we could still have won that game." Asked whether Surrey are simply finding the margins that much smaller in Division One, Batty said: "You can't give somebody that much of a head start even in the second division, and I think that's what we're doing. The reason why we're getting so close and not crossing the line is because we're playing magnificently well on days two, three and sometimes four. It's like a football team going down 3-0 by half time and expecting to win 4-3. It's not realistic. We have to be better on the first day. If we can go toe-to-toe with people on the first and second days, we have the firepower to win games of cricket. Unfortunately, it was a 400 pitch in the first innings and we didn't get that. We're not in a horrendous place. We were in a worse last year, at this time. But, obviously, we're a big club and people will be liking the fact that we've lost this game. But that's another driving force for us." With Mushtaq Ahmed, England's spin coach, joining Surrey's backroom staff for a month, Batty went out of his way to dedicate his 10-142 to Ian Salisbury. "I don't know what will happen when Mushy arrives," said Batty. "I think Salls is the best spin coach I've ever worked with in my life. That ten-fer's not for me. Salls has put in a hell of a lot of hard work. I love working with him. He's given me little bits in my armoury that I never even thought I would have. If Mushy can offer some more advice, brilliant. Mushy's a lovely fella, I've met him a few times. Maybe he can offer us something that hasn't been offered before, which is great. But I'm very happy with Salls and the way he goes about things."

MUSHY LINED-UP FOR STINT AS COACH AND MENTOR Mushtaq Ahmed is set to join Surrey as "coach and mentor" on a month-long contract. The former Pakistan leg-spinner and current England spin bowling coach will link up with Surrey on June 20. The deal will reunite Mushtaq with his former captain at Sussex, Chris Adams, who is team director at the Kia Oval. The pair combined to take Sussex to the club's first County Championship title in 2003 before winning it again in 2006 and 2007. Adams said: "He will be a magic guy to have around in terms of the environment in the dressing room and is one of the best people I've ever come across in terms of assessing the mood of a side and having a positive influence on tactics both before and during a game. We have a few young spinners at the club at the moment so there is also plenty of work to be done there as well - and I also want to use him with the Second XI and PG Academy, as well as setting up some sessions with batsmen from throughout the club on how to play spin. We've got him here for a month and we'll make sure we work him hard - I've told him it's going to be the same as when I captained him, so he'll be getting through 45-50 overs a day!"

HAMILTON-BROWN DEFENDS ROTATION POLICY Rory Hamilton-Brown defended Surrey's rotation policy following his side's draw with Somerset. At one stage, Surrey were in danger of following on. But thanks to (89) and Stuart Meaker, who took a career best 8-52 in the second innings, the Oval outfit fought back strongly. After the match Hamilton-Brown said: "We've got to look after our bowlers. It's not our job to bowl them into the ground. The thing with having a squad of bowlers, is trying to keep them performing at one hundred per cent, or ninety percent, for most of the season. Jade's played every game this season, he's come off an England Lions game. He's bowled a lot of overs, probably as anyone in the country. There's no doubt in my mind it was a good time to rest Jade Dernbach and, on paper, in my eyes, we selected a good enough attack. George Edwards played last week and almost won us the game. Obviously, we're aware that he's young and this was bowling at some good players. That was good for his future development. Also, when we lose Dernbach and Meaker, we're going to rely on these blokes." Hamilton-Brown added: "It was never getting easier, that wicket. It was only going one way and it was hard to drive on, because it was a bit stoppy and slow. You couldn't hit through the line. The bowlers had to bowl bad balls or too short to give you options. We were six down at tea with nearly forty overs still to go and they were favourites. I thought we lost the right to win the game on the first day. We needed another sixty odd runs (at the end), we let them get 80 too many. I think that's disappointing. We got out of the blocks slow. I actually thought we played quite well to get to 388 to be honest. I thought coming into today, seeing how the wicket played yesterday, that we could save it. But chasing those runs was always going to be tough against George Dockrell, the left-arm spinner. He doesn't bowl many bad balls and he was at you all the time. He was a constant threat. We keep showing that, in the third and fourth innings, we're probably the best side in the country. In the first and second we're leaving a bit to be desired, so that's what we need to improve on. If we can get into a four-day game, like we do in one-day cricket, we'll put in some good performances. Coming up to a higher division... you've just got to look at the standard of cricket that was played in this game... we're showing that we're not this bunch of blokes who bowl it at ninety miles and hour and try and thrash it out of the park. We're better players than that I think. That was the main concern about us and I think the fight we've shown has been something to be pretty proud of." The Surrey captain also paid tribute to Stuart Meaker, who turned in yet another eye-catching performance with the ball. "He's a phenomenal bowler. He keeps doing it and I just hope the selectors don't take notice... but I'm joking," said Hamilton-Brown. "I want him to move to the next level as quickly as possible. He and Dernbach are two outstanding bowlers and their stats this year back that up. With the start to the season, being bowler-friendly, sometimes it's tougher. So, the pressure on them to deliver shows that they're ready to perform at the highest level."

RAMPS DROPPED Under normal circumstances, your editor does not consider the dropping of a player to be newsworthy, except when the player is . On May 16, Ramprakash was left out of a County Championship game for the first time since joining Surrey in 2001. The 42-year-old batsman has only scored 62 runs in eight first-class innings this season, including the third pair of his career, against Worcestershire at New Road. Chris Adams, Surrey's team director, said: "It was a very difficult decision to make, but you do not score the amount of runs that Mark has without knowing your own game and I know he will work hard to find his form again. Mark has had a tough start to the season and has not made the impact with the bat that he would have wanted to. The challenge now for Mark is to push hard to regain his place for the remainder of the season." Ramprakash wrote on Twitter: "Very disappointed to b left out of the Surrey team for both 1 & 4 day cricket. I’m fit/healthy & want to play. Wish the boys every success." Speaking to the Surrey Advertiser (May 15), Ramprakash was quoted as saying: "I'm very disappointed. I seem to have found lots of different ways of getting out this season - run out, caught down the leg-side and getting a couple of shooters. I just need time at the crease and that has been very difficult. I'm still hitting it well in the nets, when we get a chance to practice outside, but the weather has curtailed that as well."

ADAMS: WE'RE DANGEROUS WHEN WE GET IT RIGHT Surrey took no end of positives from the draw at Worcester. However, had the Oval outfit not collapsed to their lowest first innings total for nearly eleven years, they might also have come away from New Road with a victory over one of the unfancied sides in Division One of the County Championship. After the match, Chris Adams, Surrey's team director, said: "It feels a little bit like a loss, but it shouldn't because I thought the boys showed immense character to come back from 43 for eight yesterday to nearly pull off a win. It was just an amazing last day. I thought we showed our potential - that we are a seriously dangerous side when we get our frame of mind right and play that sort of cricket. What we have to do in the forthcoming two games, at the Oval, is to apply ourselves in the first innings as we have done in the second innings here. If we do that, nobody will stop us winning a game." He added: "I thought, last night, if we could get a lead of two hundred then we'll win the game. I thought if we got more than two hundred the concern would be how much time we would have left to bowl Worcestershire out. That's exactly what happened, but sometimes you can't have it all. There's no doubt in my mind we played so well to get back into the game it was never an option to declare any earlier than we did. In fact, had we held our catches we could have gone on to win." Surrey were indebted by Rory Hamilton-Brown and Tom Maynard's fifth wicket stand of 225, which straddled the third and fourth days. "The two young lads batted superbly," said Adams. "Two different types of innings - I thought Maynard's was powerful, aggressive, straight down the ground and showed what a world-class prospect he really is. Hamilton-Brown continued to play how he's played all season. I know he got off to a flyer, but, actually, from there on in, he played with the sort of tempo that's really hard to adopt. It's tempo like that which will see him progress to the next level as well. It was an outstanding innings and a great partnership for us." Adams was also full of praise for 19-year-old seamer George Edwards. "We've been keeping George under wraps for a while," said Adams. "He's out of the wrapper and people will now start to look seriously at him and what he can do. But it was a terrific championship debut. He bowled quick, got the best player out in their side and picked up four dangerous wickets in the second innings. To be totally honest, I thought it was going to be the absolute dream debut, with him picking up six and us winning the game."

COUNTIES SET FOR OVERSEAS TV RIGHTS WINDFALL? According to the Guardian (May 9), the ECB is about to come to the aid of those counties who have embarked on expensive ground redevelopments in recent years. All 18 first-class counties are set to benefit early next year from the sale of overseas television rights to English cricket, notably in Asia, for a sum that could exceed £100m - but especially those, according to the ECB chairman, Giles Clarke, who have "improved the spectator experience". That could mean a payout of £500,000 or more for some clubs, which would make a huge difference at a time when virtually all the counties are struggling financially. The ECB has secured a new four-year deal for domestic TV rights with Sky which is thought to be worth around £260m up to 2017, with a further option until 2019. But it is the additional money from Asia, which has caused some controversy because some claim it exposes the game to a greater risk of corruption, that will fund the fresh payout. The counties have not yet been told the exact terms of the deal and are unaware of how much they stand to gain. But as one executive at a Test match ground noted: "Something like this would be a very welcome boost at a time when the cash flow is pretty horrendous."

ECB TIGHTEN ENGLAND QUALIFICATION RULES The ECB has toughened its qualification rules for England cricketers by extending the minimum residential qualification period from four to seven years. The new stipulation, which was voted in by the ECB board, will apply to players who arrive in England and after their 18th birthday. The tighter regulations aim to put more emphasis on England players being developed through the England system, although overseas players settling in England before their 18th birthday will still only need to complete a residential qualification of four years. The purpose of this two-tier policy is to reduce allegiances of convenience as overseas players win opportunities in county cricket and, as a result, decide to seek England qualification. But it could also conceivably force many young players approaching their 18th birthday into a premature decision about where their future lies - with South Africa bound to be particularly affected. The ECB has long abandoned the notion of birthright, which is increasingly viewed as unsuitable to an age of global mobility, but it aims to prove a sense of belonging by the fact that players have come through the system, whether in schools, universities or cricketing academies. The new rules do not apply to women cricketers. The key provisions are as follows:

(i) All players who are already qualified for England will remain so - provided they continue to meet the existing regulations.

(ii) All players who begin residence in England or Wales before their 18th birthday will need to complete a residence period of four consecutive years.

(iii) Players who begin residence in England or Wales after their 18th birthday will need to complete a residence period of seven consecutive years.

PLAYERS REJECT MORGAN PROPOSALS The members of the Professional Cricketers' Association have emphatically rejected the recommendations of the Morgan Review to restructure the County Championship. The annual player survey attracted responses from 277 county players, around 70% of the total employed. 91% of them consider the championship the most important competition, and 93% believe it should retain a symmetrical fixture list under which teams in each of the two divisions play the others home and away - something that would have been removed under the proposals coming from the Morgan Review. The PCA survey also called for the winners of the domestic Twenty20 Cup to receive up to £1m in an effort to give it some of the glamour of the Indian Premier League. The Friends Life t20 competition was ranked second in importance to the Championship, ahead of the 40-over competition which culminates in a Lord's final. But a majority of the PCA members oppose proposals to play t20 matches throughout the summer at regular 'appointment to view' times - mostly either Friday nights or Sunday afternoons - and have instead urged the ECB to beef up the prize money on offer. The authors of the PCA report wrote: "We conclude that the 2012 structure is preferable to that proposed by the Morgan Review If there are to be any changes to this structure, we must... retain the LV= County Championship in its current form. In designing the optimal competition, we believe ECB must engage with players, spectators, sponsors and broadcasters (both at home and overseas) to understand how best to create a successful competition, played in front of large crowds, and attracting a good TV audience. That means a great spectator experience... keen ticket prices... and world-class players. To accomplish this we must be prepared to invest significant additional sums in the prize money at stake and we would propose £1m for the winners."

LEE FORTIS RETURNS TO THE KIA OVAL AS HEAD GROUNDSMAN On April 30, Lee Fortis succeeded Scott Patterson as the Head Groundsman at the Kia Oval. Fortis, 30, was previously Assistant Head Groundsman. Since leaving the club in 2006, he had been in charge of tending the Honourable Artillery Company's picturesque City ground. Prior to his appointment, Fortis said: "It will be good to return to the Kia Oval and an honour to once again work at such an historic ground and be part of a successful Surrey County Cricket Club."

HAMILTON-BROWN ENCOURAGED Following Surrey's rain-affected draw with Worcestershire at the Kia Oval, Rory Hamilton-Brown said he was encouraged by his early season form with the bat. The 24-year-old said: "I was very fortunate last year to open for the whole season. That was something that brought my game on a huge amount. I learnt a lot more about batsmanship and I think it's something I've been able to bring into my middle order batting at the moment. But it's very early days. There's a lot of big games and good attacks to come across still. So, whilst I'm currently fairly happy with my form, form's only temporary." Although disappointed that Surrey had failed to press home their advantage against one of the sides expected to struggle in Division One, Hamilton-Brown felt the wicket flattened out on the last day. He said: "It certainly felt it was easiest to bat today. When it's sunny, the Oval is a fantastic place to bat, but when it's cloudy it can be tough. Considering the amount of overs we played, which isn't that many, I think all the boys are pretty drained. There were a lot of highs and lows in the game and a few opportunities to win it, but, unfortunately the weather made its own decision." On his own contribution, Hamilton-Brown added: "It's twice (this season) I've been fifty not out overnight and it's hard to be too pleased because you know you've still got a big job to do in the morning. That was certainly the case today. I think that's my job, at five or six, myself and Tom Maynard, if the top boys don't fire we've got to stand up. I pride myself on that being my time to stand up. I was happy I was able to put in a contribution. Hopefully, it can continue." He also praised Stuart Meaker, who bagged 6-39 on his way to going past one hundred first-class wickets. "He's a very special talent and someone we need to look after," said Hamilton-Brown, who added: "He continues to surpass all of our expectations and he's someone who will go a long way in the game."

BEN HOLLIOAKE MEMORABILIA RECOVERED On April 18, Adam Hollioake expressed his thanks after stolen kit belonging to his late brother Ben, the former Surrey and England all-rounder, was recovered by police in Australia. International cricket stars, including Kevin Pietersen, , and had rallied around the Hollioake family after Ben's kit was taken during a break-in at his parents' home in Perth the previous day. Adam, who captained Surrey between 1997 and 2002, first broke news of the burglary on Twitter, prompting a stream of support to help catch those responsible. He later reported that police in Western Australia had recovered some items, although others remained missing. He tweeted: "Guys WA Police have done a gr8 job & recovered half a bag of kit...still alot missing...including his playin shirts." On April 23, Adam wrote on his website www.adamhollioake.com.au: "In this world there are bad people a lot of bad people, but there are a damn sight more good people. In modern day life unfortunately the news covers the bad news more than the good... In this instance the amount of offers I received was unbelievable. I'm not talking 5 or 10 close friends, I am talking thousands of people… literally. At one stage the messages were coming in on Twitter faster than I could read them. That’s especially amazing when you are only allowed 140 characters. My point is don't get down when all the bad and negative are in the media because behind the one or two bad people in the limelight there are thousands more good people working tirelessly behind the scenes."

ALEC STEWART FRUSTRATED BY FIXTURE LIST The former Surrey and England captain, Alec Stewart, writing in his regular column on the BBC Sport website (April 17), described the period in early July, when Surrey have three home games in the FLt20 in the space of four days, as "crazy", particularly in contrast to the lack of four-day cricket at the Kia Oval between the end of May and the middle of August. He wrote: "We're not giving the fans a sensible fixture list where they can look forward and build up to matches. We are also asking them to put their hands in their pockets far too regularly. For a variety of reasons, including the London Olympics, Surrey do not have a single home championship game at the Oval between 23 May and 15 August. On the flip side, there is a crazy period in the first week of July when they play three home Twenty20 matches - against major rivals Sussex, Kent and Middlesex - in the space of four days. Everyone is suffering - the quality of the cricket, the fans who can't afford to go, and the counties who suffer losses in revenue when they can't sell seats. I know the England and Wales Cricket Board are looking at changing this, but the sooner they get a better structure whereby every championship game starts on the same day, and one-day and Twenty20 games have regular slots, the better."

ADAMS DISAPPOINTED BY PITCH AND PERFORMANCE AT LORD'S Despite labelling the wicket for the all-London championship derby as the worst he had ever seen at Lord's, Surrey's team director Chris Adams said he would not be lodging an official complaint. After seeing his side lose narrowly to Middlesex, Adams said: "That's just the way it is. You put it in your report, but if you look around the country... having changed the points system, a draw is almost a loss. You may lose ground to whoever you lose to, but, if you draw, points make no difference whatsoever, so, if ever there was a directive for clubs to actively produce result wickets there it is. For those who came today, what a spectacle for them to come and see. I have to give enormous credit to Middlesex's five-man seam attack. They were absolutely superb. They put it in good areas, consistently, and made life very difficult. There were a lot of tight lbw decisions. Without making excuses, in a tight game one call either way makes it, and it didn't go for us. I feel for the lads because to win here would have exorcised a few demons, particularly from last year. But I think we leave here having shown a lot of fight and a lot of character. We stuck in. I think it's the type of cricket which we're very quickly realising is the way you have to play in Division One. No team will give up without an enormous fight." When asked why he was so unhappy with a pitch that only produced fifteen wickets on the opening two days, Adams responded: "We had such a good March you'd expect wickets to be hard and firm and to be able to produce quality cricket. As I say, it's been quality entertainment. Maybe that's what the directives are now, but the batsmen found it incredibly difficult. Dawid Malan played superbly well, so did Rory Hamilton-Brown. I think Hamilton-Brown's innings yesterday was of the highest quality in terms of the pressure of the situation. When you have a soft wicket, every time the ball pitches, depending on how soft it is, it causes indentations. Of course, now, we don't have the heavy roller to iron them out. So, if the dents are significant you then get inconsistency in bounce. Malan's words, not mine, were that it made driving 'almost impossible', and that's from a bloke that got eighty runs on that wicket." Surrey's skipper, Rory Hamilton-Brown agreed. "I thought it was a poor wicket, one of the worst wickets I've played on," he said. "It went up and down on day two. The seam movement was hugely exaggerated. You just have to look at 19 wickets falling yesterday and two first-class sides scoring just over a hundred. The amount of people who got hit, I just thought it was a pretty average wicket. I think that made for a bit of a battle out there. All the way through it kept us on the edge of our seats, but they were better today than us. We lost by three runs, so it was just a boundary away. The boys are bitterly disappointed. You're always going to be disappointed when you lose a game that tight. But it's not a game we feel we've let ourselves down in and we'll look back on it being a real good game of cricket."

MEAKER BOWLS SURREY TO VICTORY OVER SUSSEX Stuart Meaker celebrated his England Performance Squad call-up by taking five crucial wickets in the LV= County Championship curtain-raiser against Sussex. The 23-year-old speedster said he was "humbled" to be part of England manager, Andy Flower's plans for this summer. Meaker added: "It's great to be part of that whole set-up. It's come off the back of a lot of hard work. I showed them a little glimmer of what I can do in India in October. I finally pulled my finger out in the second innings here. I don't know quite what happened in the first innings, but it was really good to get a nice little blast. I had a nice run out against Essex in pre-season, felt good, was due to play here against Leeds/Bradford MCCU, but was rested as a precaution, then came back all guns blazing here and managed to get a few, so I'm really pleased. It's going alright. It's still not one hundred per cent perfect, but I aim for perfection." Given his record against Surrey over the years, a key ingredient was getting rid of Sussex's Murray Goodwin for just 4 and 0. "His was obviously a big wicket for us," said Meaker. "Sometimes when you get him out cheaply in the first innings he comes out firing in the second, but, luckily, it was a peach of a ball from me. A little bit of inswing. The way the wind was going, across the pitch, it was a good and it came with a few more flames than in the first innings." Surrey's 86-run victory over Sussex saw them take an early lead in the Division One table. Meaker said: "It was unbelievable to get a win first up in Div One. I think it just sends a message out. Don't be surprised if we're still knocking around the top of the table in a few months time. There's a lot of hard cricket to play, but we've shown in this match we've got what it takes. It's going to be a little more attritional at times than it has been previously. I think that's the difference between the two divisions. We've got all the right talent. We've got the work ethic. We just need to marry that with a few more performances like this one." Meaker agreed that the fifth- wicket alliance between Rory Hamilton-Brown and Tom Maynard on day two was key. Meaker said: "It's nice to have those two coming in lower down the order. Last year, due to the lack of an opening batsman, Rory did a very good job, scoring a thousand runs. But this season I'm looking forward to them destroying a few sides. They'll take the game away. They're extremely talented players. Tommy has looked in great touch and he's getting better each day. The same with Rory. He's learnt his trade. He used to be a touch aggressive, maybe, but he's got that ability, now, to knuckle down if he needs to. You forget we didn't have Jason Roy in this game, who is the most destructive batsman of the lot. When the ball's a touch older, having those guys in, I think you're going to see some good cricket."

LEWIS: SURREY ARE A TEAM GOING PLACES All the talk is of Surrey being a young side, but the arrival of Jon Lewis, from Gloucestershire, now means four members of the squad are over thirty-three, as, indeed, are two of the overseas players. Lewis believes this blend of youth and experience makes Surrey a team that are going places. The 36-year-old seamer said: "We've got a really strong bowling unit. There's eight really fine seamers, all at a young age and there's also solid, aggressive batsmen, two good spin bowlers and two all- round wicketkeepers. So, across the board, this is a really strong squad. The overseas signings are really solid, experienced cricketers bringing knowledge of different conditions into a dressing room that's very keen to learn. My first impression is that the team is very confident, they've got lots of energy and they're very willing to learn and develop. Now all we've got to do is go out and perform on the park." The other thing Lewis has in his locker is experience of bowling with the Dukes ball, as opposed to the Tiflex, which will now only be used in the Second Eleven Championship. "I've used the Dukes ball before we had the Tiflex, two or three years ago," he said. "The Tiflex ball is slightly inconsistent in the way it moves, however the skill of the best bowlers is to adapt to the tool you're using. So, whether it's a Reader ball, Kookaburra or whatever, the best bowlers will always succeed because they can adapt. I feel I'm skilful enough to bowl with anything you put in my hand." But even though he has taken 771 first-class wickets at 25.74 runs apiece, in a career spanning 17 seasons for Gloucestershire, Lewis is looking to do more than pass on pearls of wisdom. He said: "I haven't had the chance to win the championship for a few years. It's one of my goals. I've never done it. I was very keen to do it with Gloucestershire, but now I'm exceedingly keen to bring that championship trophy back to Surrey. It's a big club, full of a lot of legends and they have a great record in the championship. If I can help with my performances on the field, to contribute to a Surrey championship-winning side it would be great for me as well as the team. The test of playing against the best players is the challenge you like as a sportsman, so the higher you play, the better the challenge is and that's the thing that drives you on. To go out there this year and play against first division sides, challenging the top players in the country, is another great challenge to look forward to."

ADAMS: WE WILL COMMIT MORE THAN OUR OPPONENTS This year, Chris Adams has promised that Surrey will work harder, be better prepared and will commit more than all their opponents. At the Club's Press Day on March 9, he said: "We will fight for every run, we will fight for every wicket and we will fight for every point." Adams added: "We are perfecting and developing what I believe, and everybody else here in the club believes is a very strong squad - a squad for the future, a squad that has already got a trophy under its belt. The intention was always to build a team which would compete in all competitions, provide space for our young players to come through and provide England with quality players as well. That's what we're starting to do and the future with these young players looks very bright. We now have a thirst for winning trophies. That is the dream, at the start of the season, to win all of the competitions. I'd expect every team to be exactly the same. We get to compete for the championship for the first time for four seasons. That's something every player within this squad is certainly looking forward to. We know what it's like to go all the way, to a Lord's final. The CB40 is something the squad are looking forward to defending. Whilst we've got a very young squad we're also mindful there is a need to infuse some experience and quality. Jon Lewis needs no introduction. He's had a long and successful career in the county game. He's represented England. He's joined us for the swansong of his career and he will add immensely to the squad. The players are all fit, they're strong and we're all very focused on the season ahead. We've also got a very dedicated and skilful staff around them, who are geared up to giving them everything they possibly can - the right advice and knowledge to help them achieve their ambitions."

SURREY CCC RETURNS £805,000 PRE-TAX PROFIT Surrey County Cricket Club's annual report and accounts revealed a pre-tax profit of £805,000 in 2011, a substantial increase on the previous year’s £502,000 loss. Richard Thompson, the Club's chairman, wrote: "Success, both on and off the field, helped to improve our finances in an otherwise difficult environment and I am delighted to report a healthy trading profit." Alan Dickinson, the honorary treasurer, added: "Whilst 2011 was a successful year, we are very conscious that 2012 will be hugely challenging. The competing attractions of the London Olympics and the European Football Championships will impact both our domestic and international cricket revenues. But the Club is on a much stronger footing financially and is well placed to withstand what will be a difficult year commercially." The report also contained good news for attendances at the Kia Oval, with gate revenue from Friends Life t20 matches staged at the Kia Oval up almost £100,000 from 2010 and five of the seven matches staged at the ground last year boasting crowds of over 10,000.

SURREY CCC SECOND ELEVEN CHAMPIONSHIP SCORES 2012

Bristol: 17-19 April - Gloucestershire 343-0d (BAC Howell 207*, JN Batty 113*). Surrey 151-0 (RJ Burns 88*, A Harinath 53*). Match drawn.

Billericay: 25-27 April v Essex. Match abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Reigate Priory: 2-4 May - Somerset 75 (SR Thompson 20, GA Edwards 5-20) & 189 (TJ Miles 53, GA Edwards 4-27, CJ Jordan 3-48). Surrey 220 (TJ Lancefield 78, RG Mutch 4-34) & 46-0. Surrey won by 10 wickets.

Wimbledon: 23-25 May - Surrey 330 (GC Wilson 123, TM Jewell 48, A Harinath 42, LJ Hatchett 4-48) & 183-3d (A Harinath 84, RJ Burns 63, RJJ Woolley 2-19). Sussex 204 (MD Johnson 40, MNW Spriegel 7-80) & 195 (HZ Finch 56, WA Adkin 50, TE Linley 4-31, TJ Lancefield 3-38). Surrey won by 114 runs.

CRICKET BOOK SALE

Some time ago, following the death of John Wright, the Surrey CCC Supporters' Club was bequeathed over 150 cricket books, which we have finally got around to cataloguing at valuing (see below). If you would like to purchase any of these books, please contact Marcus Hook by email ([email protected]) or in writing (Flat 1, 67 Birdhurst Rise, South Croydon, Surrey, CR2 7EJ) as soon as possible. The prices shown include UK postage and packing. However, if you would prefer to collect in person, to reduce costs, simply deduct £2.25 per book. All of the books are hardbacks and are in a very good condition, except where it is stated to the contrary. The books will be sold on a strictly first come, first served basis.

(SB) = softback (good) = good condition (fair) = fair condition (x2) = more than one is available

TITLE AUTHOR YEAR PRICE 8 Days a Week - Diary of a Professional Cricketer Agnew, Jonathan 1988 £5.00 All Round View Khan, Imran 1989 £3.00 Another Bloody Tour: England In The West Indies, 1986 Edmonds, Frances 1986 £2.50 Another Day, Another Match: Diary of a County Cricketer's Brain, Brian 1981 £5.50 Season Another Word From Arlott Arlott, John 1985 £3.50 Archie: Biography Of AC MacLaren Down, Michael 1981 £3.50 Art Of Captaincy Brearley, Mike 1988 £2.50 Ashes: A Centenary Illingworth, Ray; Gregory, 1982 £4.00 Kenneth Ball of Fire: An Autobiography Trueman, Fred 1977 £2.50 Bedside Cricket Martin-Jenkins, Christopher 1985 £2.50 Benaud On Reflection Benaud, Richie 1985 £2.50 Benson and Hedges CRICKET YEAR, Third Edition Lemmon, David 1984 £7.50 Benson and Hedges CRICKET YEAR, Ninth Edition Lemmon, David 1990 £7.50 Best Loved Game Moorhouse, Geoffrey 1987 £3.00 Bobby Abel Professional Batsman Kynaston, David 1982 £5.50 Bodyline Derriman, Philip 1986 £3.00 Botham Mosey, Don 1987 £2.50 Boycott Mosey, Don 1986 £2.50 Boycott: The Autobiography Boycott, Geoffrey 1988 £2.50 Captain's Diary: England in Australia and New Zealand, Willis, Bob 1983 £2.50 1982-83 Chelsea Story Moynihan. John 1982 £7.00 : The Authorised Biography McDonald, Trevor 1986 £3.00 Complete Who's Who of Test Cricketers Martin-Jenkins, Christopher 1980 £4.50 Compton On Cricketers Past And Present Compton, Denis 1980 £4.00 County Champions Author unknown 1982 £3.00 Cricket and All That Compton, Denis; Edrich, Bill 1978 £3.50 Cricket Bag: A Miscellany For The Twelfth Man (good) Frewin, Leslie 1965 £6.50 Cricket Cauldron - With Hutton In The Caribbean Bannister, Alex 1954 £6.50 Cricket Cauldron - With Hutton In The Caribbean Bannister, Alex 1990 £7.50 Cricket Choice Bedser, Alec 1982 £3.50 Cricket Conversations Walker, Peter 1979 £5.00 Cricket My Destiny Hammond, W.R. 1946 £5.00 Cricket Revolution - Test Cricket in the 1970's Willis, Bob 1981 £5.00 Cricket XXXX Cricket Edmonds, Frances 1988 £2.50 Cricket's Lighter Side: A "Cricketer" Collection Martin-Jenkins, Christopher 1988 £5.50 Cricket's Strangest Matches (SB) Ward, Andrew 1999 £2.50 : With Time to Spare Gower, David, Lee, Alan 1980 £3.00 Declarations Murphy. Patrick 1989 £3.50 Diary Of A Cricket Season Willis, Bob 1979 £3.00 Double Life Neale, Phil 1990 £3.50 England On Tour Wynne-Thomas, Peter 1982 £3.50 Essential John Arlott: Forty Years of Classic Cricket Writing Arlott, John 1989 £3.00 F.S.Jackson: A Cricketing Biography Coldham, James P 1989 £6.00 Famous Cricket Grounds Meynell, Laurence 1951 £7.00 Fifty Incredible Cricket Matches Murphy. Patrick 1987 £6.00 Fifty Years In Cricket Hutton, Sir Leonard 1986 £3.00 Figures on the Green Lodge, Derek 1982 £3.50 First Wicket Down Parker, John 1987 £3.00 Fred: Then and Now Mosey, Don 1991 £3.00 Fresh Pick of The Cricketer Melford, Michael 1969 £5.50 From Bradman to Boycott: The Master Batsmen Dexter, Ted 1981 £4.00 From the Pavilion End Bird, Dickie 1988 £2.50 Game Enjoyed: An Autobiography May, Peter 1985 £2.50 Glad Season Robinson, Ray 1956 £4.00 Gordon Greenidge : The Man in the Middle Greenidge, Gordon; Symes, 1980 £6.50 Patrick Great Innings (Great Sporting Moments) Roebuck, Peter 1990 £2.50 Greatest Of My Time Bailey, Trevor 1968 £3.00 Hamlyn A-Z of Cricket Records Wynne-Thomas, Peter 1983 £6.00 History Of Cricket (good) Bailey, Trevor 1979 £5.50 History of Surrey County Cricket Club Lemmon, David 1989 £3.50 History Of The Foster's Oval Yapp, Nick 1990 £4.50 Hit For Six (good) Brodribb, Gerald 1960 £5.00 Hitting Across the Line Richards, Viv 1991 £3.00 I Declare Denness, Mike 1977 £5.00 Imran: Autobiography of Imran Khan Imran Khan, Patrick Murphy 1983 £6.00 In the Fast Lane: West Indies Tour, 1981 Boycott, Geoffrey 1982 £2.50 Incredible Tests 1981 Botham, Ian 1983 £2.50 Innings of a Lifetime Barker, Ralph 1982 £3.50 Jack Hobbs: Profile Of The Master Arlott, John 1981 £4.50 John Arlott's 100 Greatest Batsmen Arlott, John 1986 £6.50 John Arlott's Book of Cricketers Arlott, John 1982 £2.50 Kapil: The Autobiography of Kapil Dev Dev, Kapil 1987 £11.50 Bose, Mihir 1980 £5.00 Lancashire Cricket at the Top (good) Addison, Vernon; Bearshaw, 1971 £4.50 Brian Lasting the Pace Willis, Bob 1985 £3.00 Leading from the Front: The Autobiography of Mike Gatting Gatting, Mike 1989 £2.50 Lord's Moorhouse, Geoffrey 1983 £3.00 Lord's Taverners Sticky Wicket Book Rice, Tim; Rushton, William 1979 £3.00 Monty: His Part in My Victory (War Biography Vol 3) Milligan, Spike 1976 £2.50 Opening Up Boycott, Geoffrey 1980 £2.50 Parkinson On Sport Parkinson, Michael 1976 £5.00 Patsy Hendren Peebles, Ian 1971 £6.00 Phil Edmonds: A Singular Man Barnes, Simon 1986 £3.00 Playfair Cricket Annual 2006 (SB) Frindall, Bill 2006 £2.50 Playfair Cricket Annual 2007 (SB) Frindall, Bill 2007 £3.00 Seasons Past: The Cricketer Diaries of… Martin-Jenkins, Christopher 1986 £3.00 Shep: My autobiography Shepherd, David 2001 £2.50 Sun Has Got His Hat On Randall, Derek 1984 £17.00 Surrey CCC Yearbook 1977 Author unknown 1977 £7.00 Surrey CCC Yearbook 1978 (good) Author unknown 1978 £5.00 Surrey CCC Yearbook 1979 Author unknown 1979 £7.00 Surrey CCC Yearbook 1980 (good) Author unknown 1980 £5.00 Surrey CCC Yearbook 1981 Author unknown 1981 £6.50 Surrey CCC Yearbook 1982 Author unknown 1982 £6.50 Surrey CCC Yearbook 1983 Author unknown 1983 £6.00 Surrey CCC Yearbook 1984 Bickerstaff, Anne 1984 £6.00 Surrey CCC Yearbook 1985 Bickerstaff, Anne 1985 £6.00 Surrey CCC Yearbook 1986 Bickerstaff, Anne 1986 £5.50 Surrey CCC Yearbook 1987 Bickerstaff, Anne 1987 £5.50 Surrey CCC Yearbook 1988 (good) Bickerstaff, Anne 1988 £4.00 Surrey CCC Yearbook 1989 (good) Bickerstaff, Anne 1989 £3.75 Surrey CCC Yearbook 1990 (good) Bickerstaff, Anne 1990 £3.75 Surrey CCC Yearbook 1991 (good) Bickerstaff, Anne 1990 £3.75 Surrey CCC Yearbook 1992 Bickerstaff, Anne 1992 £4.50 Surrey CCC Yearbook 1993 (good) Bickerstaff, Anne 1993 £3.25 Surrey CCC Yearbook 1994 Bickerstaff, Anne 1994 £4.50 Surrey CCC Yearbook 1995 Bickerstaff, Anne 1995 £4.00 Surrey CCC Yearbook 1996 Bickerstaff, Anne 1996 £4.00 Surrey CCC Yearbook 1997 Midwinter, Eric 1997 £4.00 Surrey CCC Yearbook 1998 Midwinter, Eric 1998 £3.50 Surrey CCC Yearbook 1999 Midwinter, Eric 1999 £3.50 Surrey CCC Yearbook 2000 Thacker, Matt 2000 £3.50 Tales from Around the Wicket (fair) Tarrant, Graham 1989 £2.50 Declares Dexter, Ted 1967 £6.00 Test Cricket Records from 1877 Gibb, James 1979 £3.50 Test Match Special 2 Baxter, Peter 1983 £6.50 Test of Fire Gooch, Graham 1990 £2.50 Testing Times Gooch, Graham 1991 £3.00 This Curious Game of Cricket Mell, George 1983 £3.50 Thommo: Story of Jeff Thomson Frith, David 1980 £5.00 Thoughts of Trueman Now Trueman, Fred 1978 £3.00 Tich' Freeman and the Decline of the Leg-break Bowler Lemmon, David 1982 £4.50 Tiger Smith of Warwickshire and England Murphy. Patrick 1981 £5.00 Tour of Tours: Border's Victorious Australians of 1989 Eagar Patrick; Ross, Alan 1989 £7.50 Twin Ambitions: An Autobiography Bedser, Alec 1986 £3.00 Victor Trumper and the 1902 Australians Brown, Lionel H 1981 £4.00 Foot, David 1979 £2.50 Viv Richards, the authorised biography McDonald, Trevor 1985 £3.00 W.G. Cricketing Reminiscences & Personal Recollections Grace, WG; Swanton, EW 1980 £7.50 W.G.Grace: His Life and Times (good) Midwinter, Eric 1981 £4.00 West Indian Summer: The Test Series of 1988 Eagar Patrick; Ross, Alan 1988 £3.50 Wisden 1956 (SB, fair) Preston, Norman 1956 £22.50 Wisden 1957 (no dust jacket) Preston, Norman 1957 £30.00 Wisden 1958 (no dust jacket) Preston, Norman 1958 £30.00 Wisden 1974 (SB, fair) Preston, Norman 1974 £20.00 Wisden 1979 (SB) Preston, Norman 1979 £7.00 Wisden 1980 Woodcock, John 1980 £11.00 Wisden 1981 (SB) Woodcock, John 1981 £7.00 Wisden 1982 Woodcock, John 1982 £11.00 Wisden 1983 (torn dust jacket) Woodcock, John 1983 £8.50 Wisden 1984 Woodcock, John 1984 £10.50 Wisden 1985 (x2) Woodcock, John 1985 £10.00 Wisden 1986 (x2) Woodcock, John 1986 £10.00 Wisden 1987 (SB) Wright, Graeme 1987 £7.00 Wisden 1988 Wright, Graeme 1988 £9.50 Wisden 1989 Wright, Graeme 1989 £9.50 Wisden 1990 Wright, Graeme 1990 £9.50 Wisden 1991 (SB) Wright, Graeme 1991 £6.50 Wisden 1992 Wright, Graeme 1992 £9.50 Wisden 1993 (SB) Engel, Matthew 1993 £6.50 Wisden 1994 Engel, Matthew 1994 £9.00 Wisden 1995 Engel, Matthew 1995 £9.00 Wisden 1996 (x2) Engel, Matthew 1996 £8.50 Wisden 1997 Engel, Matthew 1997 £8.50 Wisden 1998 Engel, Matthew 1998 £8.00 Wisden 1999 Engel, Matthew 1999 £8.00 Wisden 2000 (SB) Engel, Matthew 2000 £6.00 World of Cricket 1978 Bailey, Trevor 1978 £7.00 Yorkshire and Back: The Autobiography of Raymond Illingworth, Ray 1980 £3.00 Illingworth

KEENOSE KOMMENTS

1) I know I have spoken about it before, but it’s important to pick a balanced side, taking into account the opposition and the conditions. The make-up of the final player can often depend on the strengths, weaknesses and form of the other ten. The England team against West Indies for example, could play five bowlers with Prior at six, Bresnan at seven, Broad at eight and Swann at nine. They would have bowled out West Indies more cheaply and won the games earlier and easier. Against South Africa, they may want another all-rounder rather than a fourth seamer. Rikki Clarke is in fine form - he's a brilliant catcher and his bowling seems a lot tighter - otherwise . Surrey did not need a spinner in the early part of the season, but could have played four seamers with another batsman at seven. Dernbach, Lewis, Linley and Meaker would have been fine with a couple of batsmen who can bowl and a wicket-keeper opening the batting. When the wickets get dry, a spinner can come in for one of the seamers. This could have made a real difference in the close games.

2) Being based in Ireland at present, I stumbled upon championship cricket on Radio Five Live Extra throughout the summer - Division One obviously being their priority. The first game I stumbled upon was Surrey at Lord's. Like a football commentary, when you know your team is going to concede a goal, I knew when Surrey were going to lose a wicket. Not being there, makes you feel even more helpless and I always knew on the Sunday morning we were going to lose. They were using the Radio London commentary, which does seem if it’s coming from a 1950s time- warp.

3) The season starting time is ridiculous. The only saving grace was that the weather made batting so difficult, there were a good number of definite results. I’m sure the cricket authorities will back any plans to abolish the clocks going back in October. This will mean they could have the light to start the season at the beginning of March and Surrey could complete their home championship programme before the FA Cup Final. I know the players require rest but why can’t they all rest at the same time instead of two matches one week and three the next. Some sides have played seven games and others only five. It makes no sense. There should be four matches in each division in each round of championship matches.

4) With the IPL and an all-year-round international programme, you no longer get current Test players in county cricket. It will be interesting if the opportunities for more English players helps or hinders the development of the Test team. It is overseas seam bowlers, especially, who don’t play on the county circuit any more. Batsman can carry on for longer. Maybe this is the reason why England appear to have strength in depth in this department and the Surrey talent can’t break into the side.

CENTURY CLUB

The results of the first three Century Club draws of 2012 were as follows:

1st Draw 3rd Draw 1st - £40 - Joyce Tipper (No.101) 1st - £200 - Kim World (No.49) 2nd - £12 - Chris Payne (No.27) 2nd - £25 - Les Brewin (No.10) 3rd - £8 - Tony Packwood (No.56) 3rd - £15 - Brian Sanders (No.59)

2nd Draw 1st - £40 - Rebecca Garrard (No.50) 2nd - £12 - Rob Boney (No.77) 3rd - £8 - Tricia Garrard (No.2)

Anyone wishing to become a Century Club member for the remaining nine draws can do so by sending a cheque for £27.00 (made payable to the SCCCSC Century Club) along with their details to Sarah Atkins at The Cheviots, 236 Ashbourne Road, Mitcham, Surrey CR4 2DR.

SIR EVE OF TEST MATCH LUNCH

Wednesday 18th July - 12.30pm for 1.00pm The Long Room, Kia Oval Also, take the opportunity to inspect the wicket and watch the South African players train Includes drinks reception, three-course lunch and fine wines Guest speaker, The Rt Hon Sir John Major KG CH Spaces limited. Tickets are £95 including VAT

For more information contact Steven Blackwood on 020-7820-5718 or [email protected]