Signings of Pollard, Narine adds experience to depth as county seeks to emulate 2003 title
Matt Roller08-Jun-2022The Kia Oval is described as ‘The Home of T20 Cricket’ on advertisements around South London, a strapline which nods not only to the strong crowds that the Vitality Blast attracts in Kennington but also to Surrey’s status as the first county to truly embrace the format.They were the Twenty20 Cup’s inaugural champions back in 2003, and reached Finals Day in each of the first four seasons. It feels like an anomaly that they have only reached the knockout stages four times in the last 15 years, a bizarrely poor record for a club with such deep resources.This year, in the competition’s 20th season, they look set to put that right. Along with Lancashire, they are one of two unbeaten teams in the country, with four wins and a no-result from their first five games, and the depth of their squad is unrivalled. Even with Ollie Pope and Ben Foakes away on Test duty, Rory Burns and Gus Atkinson cannot get in the side while Jordan Clark and Dan Moriarty have played only once each.Back in the early years, Ali Brown starred with the bat and Nayan Doshi with the ball, but there were contributions throughout a dynamic, versatile squad, with Adam Hollioake, Rikki Clarke and Azhar Mahmood all used as genuine allrounders. The current side bears more than a passing resemblance: in home games against Gloucestershire and Hampshire last week, their side featured eight bowling options and had so much batting depth that Jamie Smith – the talented young wicketkeeper-batter – was due to come in at No. 9.It is a substantial turnaround from their fifth-placed finish last year which saw them miss out on the quarter-finals. They used 21 players last season with availability presenting major issues and while England’s ODI series in the Netherlands will see them lose Sam Curran, Jason Roy and Reece Topley, they look significantly better-equipped to cope this time around.Curran has been the star man to date as both their leading run-scorer and wicket-taker while filling two crucial roles in the side: he has taken the new ball, nipping the ball around in helpful early-summer conditions, and has batted at No. 3 with complete licence to go hard, evidenced by a strike rate of 170.31 when facing spin.Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine are Surrey’s T20 overseas players•Getty Images for Surrey CCCBut the biggest impact has been the addition of three Caribbean-born players with over 1,250 T20 appearances between them: Chris Jordan, who returned to his old club over the winter as T20 captain after nine seasons with Sussex, and two undisputed legends of the shorter formats in Sunil Narine and Kieron Pollard, long-time Trinidad and West Indies team-mates.Narine, playing county cricket for the first time, has started remarkably. His 16 overs to date have cost 76 runs including only three boundaries, with teams simply looking to play him out; in the win against Hampshire last week, he hit 52 off 23 balls from No. 6, including 22 off 5 against Mason Crane’s legspin.Pollard has been quieter, with two brief innings, one wicket and a superb catch his only contribution to the scoreboard and a minor knee injury limiting his involvement. But when he has played, his impact as a senior player has been obvious, in regular discussion with bowlers from mid-on and with his partners while batting.
What a catch from @KieronPollard55
The celebration isn't too bad either #Blast22 pic.twitter.com/NlAB3G0m68
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) June 2, 2022