It is certainly a good time to be a Surrey supporter and there are plenty of them given the numbers regularly turning up to the Oval. They will again be favourites to win the County Championship, making it a fourth in a row. This is would be an impressive feat, but they would still have work to do to match the Surrey side of the 1950’s, which won seven successive titles. They will have to do it without Surrey stalwart, Alex Stewart at the helm, having stepped down from his Director of Cricket role. He will remain involved as a part-time high performance advisor. He will not be replaced with head coach Gareth Batty and captain Rory Burns taking the reins, with Stewart in the background.
The strength of the Surrey squad is regularly tested as a result of International call ups and while opposition supporters look on enviously at their financial clout, they should be applauded for the number of players they have brought through their junior program. They also make big signings; last year it was Dan Lawrence from Essex and this year it is Matt Fisher from Yorkshire. He joins a strong bowling attack led by Australian Dan Worrall, who qualifies as a home player with his British passport. They will also have the likes of Gus Atkinson and the Curran brothers depending on other commitments.
Sean Abbott has been at the club as an overseas player since 2021, but only played four Championship games in 2024 and is replaced by New Zealand quick Nathan Smith. Smith was at New Road last summer and impressed by taking 27 wickets at 21.14 in seven games before his stay was cut short by a hamstring injury. He is currently part of the New Zealand squad at the World Cup.
One of the reasons for Lawrence’s move was to be able to bowl more and this was realised as he took 15 wickets with his unorthodox spin. Leg spinner Cameron Steel took 23 wickets, but when Surrey went down to Taunton at the end of the season, with the title potentially on the line, they felt the need to bring in Shakib Al Hasan for the single game. At the same time they have released slow left armer Amar Virdi, while bolstering their spin options with the signing of Mitchell Santner for the Blast.
Surrey can field a batting line up of England players past and present led by skipper Rory Burns, who passed a thousand Championship runs last summer. He and Dom Sibley form a formidable opening pair with the likes of Ollie Pope, Jamie Smith and Lawrence to follow. In their absence players such as Ryan Patel are only too willing to step up, having scored two centuries in his eight Championship games last summer as he amassed 519 runs at 47.18.
When their England players are available, Surrey can field a star studded T20 side and this year it will be led by Sam Curran. He takes over from Chris Jordan, who remains part of a squad that is pretty strong even without their internationals. They will be hoping to go one step further than they did last year, having lost to Somerset in the semi finals.
Key player
When you have so many stars in your side there does not need to be a key player, but Rory Burns continues to deliver for Surrey year-on-year. He has led the side to four Championship titles and the smart money will be on a fifth. He is a proper red ball opener, having scored over 13,000 first class runs at an average of just over 40. He passed 1000 runs for the season again last year and at 34 there will be plenty more.
One to watch
With such a strong squad it is difficult to break into this Surrey side and despite the openings created by the 15 call ups to the Hundred, none of the youngsters really put their hand up in the One Day Cup. The one exception was Ben Geddes, but he has moved to Middlesex in order to improve his chances of first team action. James Taylor is a 23-year-old seamer who made his first class debut for Derbyshire against the West Indies at the age of 16. He moved to Surrey at the end of the 2019 season and has been on the periphery since then. He played three Championship games last summer, taking 7/280. He also took 10 wickets in the One Day Cup and with the departure of Conor McKerr, he will be hoping for more opportunities.
Ins and Outs
Overseas signings: Nathan Smith (New Zealand), Mitchell Santner (New Zealand, for T20, 30 May-20 June and knockout stages)
Ins: Matthew Fisher (Yorkshire)
Outs: Ben Geddes (Middlesex), Conor McKerr (Nottinghamshire), Amar Virdi (released)
How will they fare
They are rightly clear favourites for the County Championship title and one of the fancied teams in the Blast. It would be a surprise not to see their name on at least one trophy.
Opening fixture: CC vs Essex on April 4 at The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford
Likely Championship XI
- Burns
- Sibley
- Pope
- Lawrence
- J. Smith
- Foakes (WK)
- Clark
- Lawes
- Fisher
- Worrall
- N. Smith
