Delayed start. We're not having much luck are we...

James Fuller is no joke with the bat and an extremely handy player to have in at 9.

Good day for us, we'd have definitely taken that when we lost the toss. Well pleased.

Great news, this will do his confidence good.

I think this is a good move. Go away and get some overs in then come back.

Mikkyk wrote:

I agree that he should be in the XI if fit, just not sure who you would drop.

If it's purely on bowling form based on the last couple of games, you would have to say Woakes drops out. But I can't see that with his batting and his pedigree.

Ali wouldn't be dropped which then means OHD or Rushworth, who have been the best two bowlers so far! Probably OHD drops out then?

Woakes was good on Day 2 v Surrey, very unlucky to go wicketless. No way was he the worst bowler.

However he may well be rested v Hants. ECB might not want him playing back to back 4 day games.

We've had some doings down at Southampton is recent times...

Any changes?

Poor weather forecast again?

Yep all true. They also have a plethora of good quality homegrown talent. They recruit heavily but also back their own homegrown guys, by showing them a pathway and route into the first XI. 6 of the XI who played against us came through the Surrey pathway/academy.

paulbear wrote:

Why and how is Norwell injured? What has he done between the Hampshire game in Sept '22 till now, to get injured. It is like Rankin syndrome all over again, when Boyd would be unavailable at the start of a season whilst having not played during the Winter months.

Who would you have left out of this XI to accommodate Norwell? Had he been fit of course...

Matt Lamb 99 today away at Durham against a really good attack of Carse, Potts, Raine and Coughlin...

Roach and Worrall bowled really well up front but we really did give them some help. Yates got an unplayable one, that was an absolute seed. Davies got a decent delivery but when you go at the ball as hard as he does you are gonna repeatedly nick off. Hain should have left that one. Rhodes footwork is poor early on in his innings, played across the line. Mousley, as much as I rate him he is a little loose outside of off stump. Burgess slashed at a wide one.

Surrey were on it right from the word go today though, Roach is excellent at left handers and Worrall doesn't bowl any bad balls.

And Jamie Smith was terrific this morning as Worrall chanced his arm.

Really good from Jamie Smith this. This is what we needed Dan Mousley to do yesterday.

We've competed well here and fought really hard. We've been unlucky too losing the toss and getting shoved in those conditions, as perfect a bowling day as you could imagine. Yes that 2 wickets in 2 balls yesterday was a total kick in the guts when it looked as though we were maybe able to put Surrey under pressure. Rushworth opening spell was immense, just doesn't bowl a bad ball. Woakes will bowl worse than he today in the future and walk off with 3 or 4 poles, beat the bat so many times so unlucky. Best I've seen Barnard bowl. OHD a constant threat.

If we finish them off early tomorrow who knows, all to play for.

Good game so far, proper cricket.

Toss was crucial, as has been said. I think it was more the overheads causing problems than anything off the pitch. So overcast and really quite gloomy at times.

Had we won the toss and bowled we'd have Surrey in a similar position I'm fairly sure. It really was a bowlers day.

Dan Mousley good again, and even he had a life!

12 man squad. The XI who beat Kent plus D. Briggs.

Poor weather forecast?

Bethell, stress fracture.

I think that's a fair assessment of the back up bowlers.

That Chris Benjamin dismissal in the 2nd innings...I don't understand what he's doing there?!

Yeah I'd be kicking the door down now if I was you. I had mine about 2 weeks ago.

I thought Hasan Ali was a bit over the top to be honest.

Everyone else was fine though. What do.they expect? Three cheers for the losers?

Kent fans are vile, Hampshire too for that matter. I remember that t20 down at Canterbury.

Highveld wrote:

All part of the challenge of proper red ball cricket, the result is totally unpredictable and a side can recover from a bad position.

This is so true.

What a relief! To have not won after having them 99/7 would have felt like a defeat. Terrific innings by Evison, he's looked good on previous occasions I've seen him, would imagine he'll bat no. 5 one day, right now he's an excellent no.8.

I admit when we signed Rushworth I thought Div 1 might have been a bit much for him at this stage of his career, and I still think he may look a bit innocuous in June/July when the pitches flatten out, but when the conditions are as they were today and yesterday wow...he challenges both edges of the bat and the LBW dismissal is definitely in play as he bowls such a tight line. He really does test a batters technique.

We caught well today, Davies drop aside. Rob Yates in particular has become an excellent slip fielder.