Surrey ease to victory in Showcase match

SURREY defeated Suffolk by 101 runs on DLS in Sunday’s rain-affected NCCA Showcase match at Woolpit CC.

Suffolk did themselves proud with the way they bowled and fielded, restricting their first-class visitors to 216 for 9 in their 50 overs.

However, the gulf in class was all too apparent when Suffolk went out to bat, ending on 45 for 6 after 18 overs.

Surrey, who included Suffolk-born England international bowler Reece Topley for his first match after suffering a dislocated shoulder, won the toss and, not surprisingly, opted to bat.

On a slow and low wicket, Surrey took time to adapt to the conditions and were reduced to 67 for 4 off 18 overs, before Josh Blake took centre stage.

The left-hander scored a run-a-ball unbeaten 96 to steer Surrey towards a competitive total, receiving good support from Adam Thomas in a stand of 42 for the fifth wicket.

Jack Beaumont (10-2-30-2) and Tom Harper (10-1-26-2) were the pick of the bowlers for Suffolk, whose ground fielding was excellent throughout.

Suffolk had good reason to feel pleased with their efforts bearing in mind a year ago Kent Spitfires racked up 431 for 7 on the same ground.

The absence through injury of four of Suffolk’s regular top-six in white-ball cricket – Darren Batch, George Rhodes, Ben Claydon and Darren Ironside – meant it was going to be a tough task for Suffolk’s batting unit.

Jacob Marston was promoted to open the innings for the first time with Jack Beaumont, with both falling to Topley in his four-over spell.

The Suffolk innings was in disarray at 33 for 5 off 14 overs when rain forced the players from the field, with the majority of the near-1,000 crowd deciding to leave at that point.

An hour’s delay followed before play resumed, Suffolk now facing a revised target of 214 from 44 overs, although this was never going to be within their reach.

Only six overs’ play was in effect lost as Suffolk had bowled their overs so quickly, but just four more overs were possible during which time Adam Mansfield was bowled, before further rain brought the match to a premature end.

Alex Oxley, who was undefeated on 19 for 32 deliveries, was the only Suffolk batter who appeared comfortable against Surrey’s attack.

Skipper Mansfield said afterwards: “It was a real shame. I thought the boys did superbly with the ball and then going out to bat against a really good Surrey attack we struggled a little bit but we did ourselves proud.”

Scorecard

Tags: Adam Mansfield, Jack Beaumont, Josh Blake, NCCA Showcase, Reece Topley, Surrey CCC, Tom Harper, Woolpit CC

Categorised in: Suffolk CCC