Surrey County Cricket Club

Infobox cricket team
county = Surrey County Cricket Club


oneday = Surrey Brown Caps
coach = N/A
captain = Mark Butcher
overseas = N/A
founded = 1845
ground = The Oval
capacity = 23,000
fcdebutvs = MCC
fcdebutyr = 1846
fcdebutvenue = The Oval
title1 = Championship
title1wins = 19 ("including 1 shared")
title2 = Pro40
title2wins = 2
title3 = FP Trophy
title3wins = 1
title4 = Twenty20 Cup
title4wins = 1
website = [http://www.surreycricket.com Surrey Cricket]

Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Brown Caps (formerly the Surrey Lions). Surrey is the richest first class county club with turnover of £22 million in 2006. [ [http://sport.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2171984,00.html Counties warm to salary-cap idea as gap widens between haves and have-nots] "guardian.co.uk" 19 September 2007]

The club is based at The Oval cricket ground, within the Kennington region of Lambeth in south London. Some home games each season are played at Whitgift School, Croydon and at Woodbridge Road, Guildford.

The club colours are chocolate brown and silver. The club badge is the Prince of Wales' three feathers. Lord Rosebery obtained the permission to use this symbol from the Prince of Wales, owner of the land on which The Oval stands, in 1915. [ [http://content-www.cricinfo.com/surrey/content/current/story/261883.html Cricinfo article, "A Brief History of Surrey".] ]

Honours

First XI honours

* Champion County [An unofficial seasonal title proclaimed by consensus of media and historians prior to December 1889 when the official County Championship was constituted; for titles claimed by Surrey teams before the county club was founded, see Surrey county cricket teams] (10) – 1850, 1851, 1854, 1856, 1857, 1858, 1859, 1864, 1887, 1888; shared (1) – 1889
* County Championship (18) – 1890, 1891, 1892, 1894, 1895, 1899, 1914, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1971, 1999, 2000, 2002; shared (1) – 1950:"Division Two" (1) – 2006
* FP Trophy [Formerly known as the Gillette Cup (1963-1980), NatWest Trophy (1981-2000) and C&G Trophy (2001-2006)] (1) – 1982
* NatWest Pro40 League [Formerly known as the Sunday League (1969-1998)] (2) – 1996, 2003:"Division Two" (1) – 2000
* Twenty20 Cup (1) – 2003
* Benson and Hedges Cup (3) – 1974, 1997, 2001

econd XI honours

* Second XI Championship (5) – 1966, 1968, 1975, 1988, 1992; shared (0) –
* Second XI Trophy (1) – 2001
* Minor Counties Championship (4) – 1939, 1950, 1954, 1955; shared (0) –

Earliest cricket in the county

It is widely believed that cricket was invented by children living on the Weald in Saxon or Norman times and that the game very soon reached neighbouring Surrey. Although not the game's birthplace, Surrey does claim the honour of being the location of its first definite mention. Evidence in a 1597 court case confirms that "kreckett" was played by schoolboys on a certain plot of land in Guildford around 1550.

"See :" History of cricket to 1696

Cricket became well established in Surrey during the 17th century and the earliest village matches took place before the English Civil War. It is believed that the earliest county teams were formed in the aftermath of the Restoration in 1660. The earliest known first-class match in Surrey was Croydon v London at Croydon on 1 July 1707 [http://www.jl.sl.btinternet.co.uk/stampsite/cricket/histories/matches.html Classification of cricket matches from 1697 to 1825] ] . In 1709, the earliest known inter-county match took place between Kent and Surrey at Dartford Brent.

Surrey continued to be a major county through the 18th century. Probably its greatest players during the underarm era were the famous bowler Edward "Lumpy" Stevens and the wicketkeeper/batsman William Yalden, who both belonged to the Chertsey club.

"For information about Surrey county teams before the formation of Surrey CCC, see : "Surrey county cricket teams

Origin of Surrey CCC

Surrey CCC was founded on the evening of 22 August 1845 at the Horns Tavern in South London, where around 100 representatives of various cricket clubs in Surrey agreed a motion put by William Denison (the club's first Secretary) "that a Surrey club be now formed". A further meeting at the Tavern on 18 October 1845 formally constituted the club, appointed officers and began enrolling members. A lease on Kennington Oval, a former market garden, was obtained by a Mr Houghton from the Duchy of Cornwall. Mr Houghton was of the old Montpelier Cricket Club, 70 members of which formed the nucleus of the new Surrey County club.
The Honourable Fred Ponsonby, later the Earl of Bessborough was the first vice-president.

Surrey's inaugural first-class match was against the MCC at The Oval at the end of May, 1846. [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/0/765.html Scorecard of Surrey's first match.] ] The first inter-county match, against Kent, was held at The Oval the following month. [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/0/771.html Scorecard of Surrey's first inter-county match.] ] However the club did not do well that year, despite the extra public attractions at the Oval of a Walking Match and a Poultry Show. By the start of the 1847 season the club was £70 in debt and there was a motion to close. Ponsonby proposed that 6 life members be created for a fee of £12 each. His motion was duly passed, and the club survived. ["The History of Surrey County Cricket Club" by David Lemmon, 1989. ISBN 0-7470-2010-8, pp14-19.]

Club history

Overview

Surrey CCC has had three notable periods in its history. The club was recognised as "Champion County" seven times during the 1850s; it won the title eight times from 1887 to 1895 (including the first ever officially constituted County Championship in 1890); and seven consecutive outright titles from 1952 to 1958 inclusive following a shared title (with Lancashire) in 1950. In 1955, Surrey won 23 of its 28 county matches, a record that still stands. ["Wisden Cricketers' Almanack", 1993 edition, obituary of Stuart Surridge. (Since 1993 counties have played fewer than 23 matches a season, so there has been no subsequent opportunity to break the record.)] To date, Surrey has won the official County Championship 18 times outright, more than any other county except Yorkshire.

uccess in the 1850s

Surrey enjoyed a great decade in the 1850s, being the "Champion County" seven times from 1850 to 1859 and again in 1864. In 1857, all nine matches played by the county resulted in victory. This was the time of great players like William Caffyn, Julius Caesar, HH Stephenson and Tom Lockyer, and a fine captain in Frederick Miller.

More success in the 1880s and 1890s

Surrey was again Champion County in 1887 and 1888, and jointly in 1889, before the County Championship officially came into being in 1890. They won the official title in 1890-1892, 1894, 1895 and 1899. Much of this success was under the county's first great captain, John Shuter, who led the side from 1880 to 1893. Leading players in these years were batsman Bobby Abel and a trio of top bowlers George Lohmann, Bill Lockwood and Tom Richardson.

From 1900 until World War II

The turn of the century brought a decline in Surrey's fortunes, and they won the title only once during the next fifty years, in 1914. The club's most famous batsman was Jack Hobbs, who began playing for the county in 1905, and he had a notable opening partner till 1914 in Tom Hayward. Between the two World Wars, Surrey often had a good side, but it tended to be stronger in batting than in bowling, Hobbs playing on until 1934 with another good opening partner in Andrew Sandham. The Oval pitches of this period also tended to be very good for batting, so that many matches were left drawn. The club captain for most of this period was Percy Fender, whose closest colleague was the England captain of Bodyline fame (or infamy), Douglas Jardine.

Domination in the 1950s

From 1948 to 1959, Surrey finished either first or second in the county championship in 10 seasons out of 12. They finished runners-up in 1948, shared the championship with Lancashire in 1950, won seven consecutive outright titles from 1952 to 1958, and were runners-up again in 1959. Their margins of victory were usually large (for example, Yorkshire were runners-up in 1952 but were 32 points behind). This success was built on a remarkably strong bowling attack, with Test seamer Alec Bedser supported by the outstanding spin duo of Tony Lock and Jim Laker, the latter widely regarded as one of the finest ever orthodox off spinners. It should be said that Lock and Laker made the most of helpful Oval pitches. The club's success was also due to the attacking captaincy of Stuart Surridge, who won the title in all five years of his leadership from 1952 to 1956. The team fielded very well and a feature was some brilliant close catching. The team also had some excellent batsmen, especially Peter May and Ken Barrington.

Recent times

Over the next forty years to 1998, Surrey won the title only once, in 1971 during the career of England opener John Edrich. But then another successful period was achieved under the captaincy of Adam Hollioake and the influence of Keith Medlycott, who was county coach from 1997 to 2003.

This recent run of success came to an end in 2005, when Surrey was relegated to Division Two of the Championship, but an immediate recovery took place in 2006 as Surrey won Division Two. However they were again relegated to Division Two in 2008.

A one day record

Surrey scored a world record 496 for 4 in one day cricket in the 50 over Friends Provident Trophy clash against Gloucestershire in April 2007. Ali Brown (176 in 97 balls) and James Benning (152) put on a Surrey record of 294 for the first wicket, only the second time that two batsmen had passed 150 in the same one day innings. Rikki Clarke passed 50 in 19 balls and scored 82 runs in 28 to take Surrey to the highest ever score made in one day cricket anywhere in the world. Jonathan Batty hit the boundary that took Surrey beyond Sri Lanka's score of 443 for 9 against the Netherlands. 22 sixes and 47 fours were hit in the innings as a whole.

Current squad

* Usman Afzaal 7
* Jonathan Batty (Wicketkeeper) 1
* James Benning 2
* Michael Brown -
* Mark Butcher (Captain) 4
* Richard Clinton 10
* Pedro Collins 3
* Jade Dernbach 16
* Laurie Evans 21
* Robert Frylinck 42
* Arun Harinath 25
* Chris Jordan 27
* Simon King 14
* Stuart Meaker 18
* Chris Murtagh 22
* Murtaza Hussain 29
* Scott Newman 11
* Matt Nicholson 9 (overseas)
* James Ormond 15
* Mark Ramprakash 77
* Jason Roy 24
* Neil Saker 17
* Saqlain Mushtaq 6
* Chris Schofield 30
* Matthew Spriegel 28
* Stewart Walters 26
* Gary Wilson 19

Note: The number shown after each player's name is his squad number.

Notable Surrey players

Batting records

Highest individual scores for Surrey:357* R Abel v Somerset at The Oval 1899:338 WW Read v Oxford University at The Oval 1888:316* JB Hobbs v Middlesex at Lord's 1926:315* TW Hayward v Lancashire at The Oval 1898:306* A Ducat v Oxford University at The Oval 1919:301* MR Ramprakash v Northamptonshire at The Oval 2006

Most runs in a season:3246 TW Hayward in 1906

Highest partnership for each wicket:1st - 428 JB Hobbs and A Sandham v Oxford University at The Oval 1926:2nd - 371 JB Hobbs and EG Hayes v Hampshire at The Oval 1909:3rd - 413 DJ Bicknell and DM Ward v Kent at Canterbury 1990:4th - 448 R Abel and TW Hayward v Yorkshire at The Oval 1899:5th - 311 MR Ramprakash and Azhar Mahmood v Middlesex at The Oval 2005:6th - 298 A Sandham and HS Harrison v Sussex at The Oval 1913:7th - 262 CJ Richards and KT Medlycott v Kent at The Oval 1987:8th - 205 IA Greig and MP Bicknell v Lancashire at The Oval 1990:9th - 168 ERT Holmes and EWJ Brooks v Hampshire at The Oval 1936:10th - 173 A Ducat and A Sandham v Essex at Leyton 1921

Bowling records

Bowlers taking all ten wickets in an innings:10-43 T Rushby v Somerset at Taunton 1921:10-45 T Richardson v Essex at The Oval 1894:10-54 GAR Lock v Kent at Blackheath 1956:10-67 EA Watts v Warwickshire at Edgbaston 1939:10-88 JC Laker v Australians at The Oval 1956

Best match bowling:16-83 GAR Lock v Kent at Blackheath 1956

Most wickets in a season:252 T Richardson in 1895

Fielding records (excluding wicketkeepers)

Most catches in an innings:7 MJ Stewart v Northamptonshire at Northampton 1957

Most catches in a match:8 GAR Lock v Warwickshire at The Oval 1957

Most catches in a season:77 MJ Stewart 1957

Most catches in career:605 MJ Stewart 1964-1972

Wicketkeeping records

Most dismissals in an innings:8 (ct 8, st 0) JN Batty v Kent at The Oval 2004 "(equals world record)"

Most dismissals in a match:12 (ct 8, st 4) EW Pooley v Sussex at The Oval 1868

Most dismissals in a season:91 (ct 74, st 17) A Long 1962

Most dismissals in career:1221 (ct 1035, st 186) H Strudwick (1902-1927)

Limited overs records

World Record "List A" One-Day Total:496 for 4 (50 overs) v Gloucestershire at The Oval, April 29th 2007. [Crook, P Daily Telegraph Sports Section S32 "496: Surrey rewrite the record book"]

"'World Record "List A" One-Day Individual Score:268 by AD Brown v Glamorgan at The Oval 2002

urrey Facts and Feats

*80,000 people attended the Surrey v Yorkshire CCC match at the Oval in July 1906. Walter Lees had chosen this match as his benefit and pocketed 2,120 pounds. Surrey won the match.

*Tom Hayward scored 3,518 runs in all first-class cricket in 1906, equalled C.B. Fry's record of 13 centuries in a season and, in one six day period, scored two centuries at Trent Bridge and two more at Leicester. He scored his hundredth hundred, appropriately enough, at the Oval in 1913.

*Alf Gover took 200 wickets in both 1936 and 1937, a fine achievement for a fast bowler on the flat Oval track. Though he generated his pace from an untidy action himself, he became a highly respected coach.

*Surrey reduced the Indian Tourists to 205 for 9 in 1946 before C.T. Sarwate, number 10, and Shute Nangerjee, number 11, came together to post 249 for the last wicket. They both scored centuries and passed the record, in England, of Woolley and Fielder who had compiled 235 in 1909.

*Surrey made 706 - 4 declared in answer to Nottinghamshire's 401 at Trent Bridge in May 1947. 4 Surrey batsman scored hundreds, E.R.T. Holmes (122*) and Jack Parker (108*) following Stan Squires (154) and David Fletcher (194 in only his second match).

*In 1999, Surrey's staff included three sets of brothers: Bicknell (Darren and Martin), Butcher (Gary and Mark) and Hollioake (Adam and Ben). The Butchers' father, Alan, was the 2nd XI Coach and had played a County Championship match in an emergency the previous season. The staff also included Alec Stewart, whose father Mickey was a previous captain of the county.

*Ali Brown has scored 2 double hundreds in one day cricket. His innings of 268 against Glamorgan is the highest score ever made in one day cricket, beating Graeme Pollock's former record score. Surrey scored 438.

*Surrey made a one-day world record score of 496-4 from their 50 overs, the first of which was a maiden, against Gloucestershire at The Brit Oval on 29th April 2007. Ali Brown top scored with 176 from just 97 deliveries.

Notes

References

* Derek Birley, "A Social History of English Cricket", Aurum, 1999
* Rowland Bowen, "Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development", Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970
* Arthur Haygarth, "Scores & Biographies, Volume 3 (1841-1848)", Lillywhite, 1862
* "The History of Surrey County Cricket Club" by David Lemmon, 1989. ISBN 0-7470-2010-8
* "Surrey County Cricket Club First-Class Records 1846-2000, Limited Overs Records 1963-2000", compiled by The Surrey Statistics Group, published by Surrey CCC
* Surrey CCC Yearbooks
* "Playfair Cricket Annual" (various editions)
* "Wisden Cricketers Almanack" (various editions)

External sources

* [http://www.cricketarchive.com/Surrey/index.html Surrey Cricket Archive]
* [http://www.surreycricket.com/ Official Site]
* [http://www.surreycricket.tv/ Surrey TV Match Highlights, Player Interviews etc.]