At a Glance
- Greener pitch providing more bowler friendly wickets
- High-scoring draws consistent theme for Surrey this season
- In the ascendancy heading into final day against Sussex
After consecutive uninspiring home draws against Leicestershire and Essex, the batter-friendly nature of The Oval pitch had questions to answer.
However, a remarkable double-wicket maiden over from Matt Fisher towards the end of Day Three showed there is plenty to excite the Surrey bowling attack as they go in search of their first County Championship victory of the season.
Signs of pace and bounce were apparent from the offset of Sussex’s second innings as Tom Haines was dealt a nasty blow to the head with the very first ball.
Haines retired hurt as a result, before Fisher then dismissed Tom Clark and James Coles in the same over.
Soon after, Jordan Clark added to his five-for, from the first innings by removing Jack Leaning LBW.
Sussex rebuilt, but the partnership of Daniel Hughes and Jack Simpson was cut short, as the latter was caught behind off the bowling of Dan Lawrence.
As a result, the visitors trail Surrey by 188 runs heading into the final day with six wickets remaining. View the full scorecard here.
This has gone some way into proving critics wrong, with the Surrey ground staff preparing a pitch to seemingly favour the strong seem attack the home side boast.
New Ball Key to Success for Early Wickets
Back on Day One, Rory Burns won the toss and forced Sussex into bat on a vibrant pitch, in an encounter that started promisingly for the hosts.
In fact, as to the extent of the grass on the pitch, there would have been fans turning up to The Oval unsure as to which wicket they would be using.
And the game’s first session couldn’t have gone much better for the reigning champions, limiting Sussex to just 105-7 at lunch, largely thanks to Clark’s five-for from just seven overs.
However, after the affects of the new ball have worn off, it ‘s apparent that bowlers don’t experience the same desired effects.
The visitors recovered to 358-9 declared, largely helped by just a second career century for Ollie Robinson.
In reply, Surrey recorded 622 all out, with two centurions of their own, including teenage debutant Adam Thomas.
Surrey Can’t Afford to Get Complacent with Record Attendances
The 600-run milestone has been achieved already on the Oval pitch this season. Leicestershire’s only innings last month totalled 691.
In fact, neither home game for Surrey has reached the fourth innings so far, with both previous matches ending in rather uneventful draws.
Surrey will be looking to buck this trend, not just in terms of results, but for entertainment purposes as well.
They currently sit sixth in the table, and look set to be without the likes of Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson when England’s Test summer begins.
From a neutral perspective, however, one-sided clashes with bat and ball aren’t what the crowds want to see.
And with a record attendance this century seen against Essex, it’s important they strike a balance to keep the crowds coming back when the County Championship resumes later in the season.
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