If nothing else the One Day Cup is a great leveller
It is difficult to imagine many counties being able to field a competitive side having had 15 of their best players taken away, but that is the task facing Surrey in this competition. The strength of their squad was borne out when then they were still able to field three England Test players in their opening match against Yorkshire. Their bowling has undoubtedly been hit hard and Yorkshire scored 240/6 from their 33 overs in a rain affected game. With none of the Surrey batters quite able to take control, they fell 25 runs short of the Duckworth Lewis adjusted target. Yorkshire have lost seven players, but most of these are not available on a regular basis and they should be contesting for a knock out spot and will certainly be expecting to improve on their two wins from last year.
Glamorgan have now lost three players to the Hundred, with the late call up of Colin Ingram to the Northern Superchargers, although he should return following the completion of the Major League Cricket competition this week. Their opening game was against neighbours Gloucestershire and in another match reduced to 33 overs-a-side they came out on top. It was a game of fluctuating fortunes as Glamorgan were thankful to 20-year-old Ben Kellaway’s 65 not out from 60 balls for their total of 187/8 on a pitch that was giving assistance to the bowlers. James Bracey led the challenge from the Shire with 86 from 79 balls, but the Glamorgan bowlers fought back at the end to take the last five wickets for just three runs. Timm van der Gugten is the lynch pin of the Glamorgan attack, with James Harris unlikely to be fit until the return of the Championship. Jamie McIlroy has had a difficult season, but bowled effectively to concede just 19 runs from his five overs and they were backed up well by Andy Gorvin and Dan Douthwaite. The concern for the Glamorgan management is the lack of any young seamers coming through to push for a starting spot and the spin cupboard is pretty bare in the absence of Mason Crane, with the part time options of Ben Kellaway and Tom Bevan pressed into service. They may struggle on pitches where spin is the favoured form of attack.
These two sides last met in this competition back in 2021 when Glamorgan won by five wickets. Surrey were bowled out for 132, Andrew Salter taking 3/37 and a half century from Hamish Rutherford helped Glamorgan reach the target inside 27 overs. Glamorgan went on to beat Durham in the final.
Glamorgan should start as favourites, although Surrey still have the talented individuals who could turn the game their way.
Key players:
It is understandable if Ben Foakes feels a little peeved at the moment having lost his Test spot to his county colleague Jamie Smith. Smith has had a steady start with the gloves for England and was considered the better batting option, although his first class average of 41.71 is only marginally better than Foakes’ 38.05. Foakes gave up the gloves to Josh Blake in Surrey’s opener against Yorkshire, but did contribute 40 off 38 balls with the bat. With him and Rory Burns in the middle order, Surrey will be hoping for some strong batting performances to make up for the bowling weaknesses.
In the absence of any overseas bowling it falls to Timm van der Gugten to lead the Glamorgan attack and he has been more than up to the job over the last two seasons. He has not played an ODI for the Netherlands since 2021, but it is always difficult for associate players to balance loyalties between their county and country. Glamorgan will be desperate for him to stay fit for the remainder of the season.
Team News
Surrey’s young off spinner Tom Ealham is out with a hamstring injury.
Surrey Squad (probable): Rory Burns (c), Nathan Barnwell, Josh Blake (wk), Matt Dunn, Ben Foakes, Ben Geddes, Yousef Majid, Conor McKerr, Ryan Patel, Dom Sibley, Cam Steel, Ollie Sykes, James Taylor, Amar Virdi
Sam Northeast, James Harris and Zain ul Hassan are injured. Glamorgan are unlikely to make any changes to the squad, unless Ingram is available.
Glamorgan squad (probable): Kiran Carlson (c), Tom Bevan, Eddie Byrom, Dan Douthwaite, Andy Gorvin, Alex Horton, Ben Kellaway, Jamie McIlroy, Ben Morris, Billy Root, Asa Tribe, Will Smale (wk), Timm van der Gugten, Henry Hurle
Weather and Conditions
The forecast is for it to be sunny with temperatures up to 26°C.
Pitches at the Oval normally have plenty of runs in them, but Surrey may try and produce something that favours their stronger spin options, with Cameron Steel and young Yousef Majid.
Date: 28th July 2024
Time: 11:00am
Ground: The Oval, London
