...it is also a very important aspect of a winning club (note the lack of the word side or team).
The reason I am harping on tonight is that Surrey's second team trounced their Essex counterparts by 93-runs today in a display that will only be sadly noticed by the die hard fans, and me.
A winning squad needs players who are on the fringes to be playing well and also needs players to push those above them to keep the stakes high and ensure everyone is performing to their maximum.
This year it looks like that might happen at the Oval.
For too long Rory Hamilton-Brown has been criticised for 'picking his mates', an argument that I have never bought in to. But head of cricket Chris Adams always said this was a three-year project and here we are, year three.
Surrey now have a group of about 16 or 17 players that can put in match-winning performances and rotating them will be key. Chris Schofield is the man I believe will do a lot of chopping and changing, his second team captaincy role will be to inspire others to make themselves regular first team choices.
The names that pushed forward after today's 40-over match in Chelmsford are Arun Harinath (70 in 50 balls), Chris Jordan (50), but mostley Matt Spriegel who scored 46 off 38 balls, including a massive six over extra cover, and then later took 4-23, capping it all with a stunning catch - surely he is knocking on the first team dressing room door? According to the Telegraph "We need a spinner who can bat a bit."
Next up is Glamorgan. A stern test in Cardiff and with the first game nerves gone we will begin to see how good this Surrey side is...hopefully.
No comments:
Post a Comment