Finishing seventh last summer would have come as a severe disappointment after heavy investment the previous winter. Surrey have again welcomed several new recruits for 2011 in Tom Maynard, Yasir Arafat, Kevin Pietersen and Zander de Bruyn so will the forthcoming summer see an upturn in fortunes?
Strengths
A top six comprising Mark Ramprakash, Pietersen, de Bruyn, the immensely promising Jason Roy, Steven Davies and head prefect Rory Hamilton-Brown looks impressive, although Surrey fans shouldn’t expect to see too much of KP.
The bowling looks good too with Chris Tremlett, Yasir Arafat, Jade Dernbach, Gareth Batty and Stuart Meaker plus having Chris Jordan back from injury will be like having another new player.
Weaknesses
Can this collection of individuals be gelled into a team? Tremlett, Pietersen and possibly Davies and Dernbach are likely to miss several games due to international duty.
Main man
If his back holds up expect the imperious Mark Ramprakash to continue his astonishing exploits with the bat. Enjoy it whilst you can, because even this evergreen 41 year old cannot go on much longer. Surely?
Look out for…
KP getting lost en route from Chelsea to The Oval and heaven forbid if he has to get to Guildford – that’s nearly in Hampshire!
Prediction
3rd – A hugely improved season but just missing out on promotion
Where next?
County Championship Previews - Division 2: Derbyshire, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Kent, Leicestershire, Middlesex, Northamptonshire
County Championship Previews - Division 1: Yorkshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Sussex, Somerset, Nottinghamshire, Lancashire, Hampshire, Durham
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Good point about KP and Guildford - maybe his contract has a clause saying he's excused from the outground games! I'm swinging from wildly optimistic to doom and gloom at the moment, i think 3rd or 4th is being realistic though.
Posted by: Josh | Thursday, April 07, 2011 at 09:06
KP probably has it in his contract that he only has to turn out at The Oval, but maybe that ground is even too far from Chelsea! I think Surrey will do well this season - RHB is a decent captain and will have learned a lot from last season
Posted by: The Reverse Sweep | Thursday, April 07, 2011 at 09:13
Watch out for supersecretsuperweapon Tim Linley. ^^
Posted by: Wes ~PFCNFS~ | Thursday, April 07, 2011 at 12:50
Ill keep an eye out for him Wes. Cheers.
Posted by: The Reverse Sweep | Thursday, April 07, 2011 at 15:08