MATCH PREVIEW: Lancashire vs Surrey
Happy new season, folks. And what a way to start.
Lancashire vs Surrey
LV= Insurance County Championship, Division One
Thursday April 6 - Sunday April 9, 2023 (11am)
Emirates Old Trafford
Last year’s champions Surrey face second-placed Lancashire in a blockbuster battle which ushers in the summer in spectacular fashion.
The Red Rose head into the new season with confidence high that they can go one better in all competitions this year after a trio of second-placed finishes in 2022.
But Surrey will no doubt be brimming with belief too. While we are chasing a first Division One title since 2011, the Oval county are targeting their third triumph in six years.
Keaton Jennings takes charge of his first competitive match as Lancashire’s permanent captain, and New Zealand overseas all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme could make his debut against the county whom he represented early last year.
This fixture is being televised live by Sky Sports and is being streamed on LancsTV.
Opponents:
Despite their success last season, Rory Burns’ side return to Emirates Old Trafford aiming to avoid back-to-back Championship defeats.
Lancashire beat Surrey convincingly in the final game of last season, by an innings and 130 runs inside three days.
It has since been mentioned by a number of people, including those from within the Lancashire camp, that Surrey were perhaps in celebration mode having already secured the title the week before.
But what can’t be denied is that it was a fantastic performance from Lancashire against the champions of 2018 and 2022.
South African great Hashim Amla has retired and has ended his overseas stay in South London, though England fringe opener Dom Sibley has returned home from Warwickshire. He will open the batting alongside captain Burns.
West Indian quick Kemar Roach has returned for a third overseas spell with Surrey and is available for the first six Division One games, while Australian seamer Sean Abbott has signed a deal until July and is due to start the season.
He briefly played for Surrey in 2021, though that spell was cut short by injury.
England Test duo Ben Foakes and Ollie Pope could both feature.
Opposing player to watch:
New ball seamer Dan Worrall, an Australian playing on a British passport, starts his second season as a Surrey player.
The 31-year-old, a three-time ODI player for Australia with 273 first-class wickets to his name, was Surrey’s leading Championship wicket-taker last season with 39 from nine matches.
There are similarities between Worrall and Lancashire’s Will Williams, the seamer from New Zealand.
Both men are not express pace, but incredibly skilful and accurate. They are, in many ways, the ideal bowlers for English conditions, especially early season.
Previous meeting:
Keaton Jennings and Tom Hartley were the stars of the show as Lancashire hammered already crowned Surrey inside three days to end last season in style and pinch second place in Division One from Hampshire.
The Red Rose won by an innings and 130 runs at Emirates Old Trafford in late September.
Jennings’ superb first-innings 199 was supplemented by 86 for Steven Croft and 97 for George Balderson as the Red Rose racked up 512 all out, a total which Surrey failed to match.
Left-arm spinner Hartley and Will Williams claimed three wickets apiece as the champions succumbed to 209 all out early on day three.
Made to follow-on, they encountered further problems in form of Hartley’s left-arm spin.
Having reached 127-2, Surrey looked set to make a much better fist of things second time around. But Hartley became the last man to remove the great Hashim Amla before his retirement, trapping the South African lbw.
It was his second of five wickets for 52 from 29 overs, with the visitors losing their last eight for 46 to slip to 173 all out and finish the match inside three days.
Hartley’s fellow spinner Matt Parkinson also chipped in with 3-57 from 20.1.
Surrey captain Rory Burns scored 61 in the second innings, his side’s highest score of the match.
What they said:
“If anything, our squad looks stronger.”
That is Glen Chapple’s view of the group of players he has at his disposal ahead of the forthcoming summer, with Lancashire bidding to progress from a trio of second-placed finishes.
“As an all-round season, it shows how strong we were across all three competitions,” said the coach.
“The last two seasons, we’ve been second in the Championship, and the previous year was even closer. We’re confident of our abilities in this form of the game.
“If we can keep to those standards and create some more match-winning moments, which crop up through circumstance as much as anything, we can certainly give it a good go.”
On the Surrey game, Chapple said: “It’s exciting and a challenge, and I’m sure both teams will be looking forward to it.”
Chapple is set to hand a debut to Colin de Grandhomme, the 36-year-old former New Zealand all-rounder who played three Division One matches for Surrey early last season.
And the former Red Rose all-rounder is excited to have the Kiwi at his disposal.
He added: “Having signed Will (Williams) the year before as an out and out seamer, an all-rounder seemed to fit the bill for us.
“Colin’s a quality player who can bat in the top six, but his bowling record’s fantastic. It enables us to start to think about a different balance of team and maybe preparing a different type of pitch.
“We have three quality spinners in our squad, so as the season moves on it enables us to play a different balance of team against certain opposition if we want to.
“More than anything, you want a quality international who is keen to come and play.
“That’s why we’re so happy to have signed the overseas players we have, Colin and Daryl (Mitchell) as well.”
How’s Stat!
This fixture will be the earliest ever first-class home game played by Lancashire.
The previous earliest? In 2011 and 2021, Sussex visited Liverpool and Emirates Old Trafford respectively for home Championship matches starting on April 8.
The Red Rose are also on an eight-game unbeaten streak in the Championship dating back to losing against Essex at Emirates Old Trafford last May.
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