With the 2021 domestic season now behind us, we will spend the next few weeks taking a look at what our players achieved and how they will reflect on their efforts this summer.
Across all three formats, 34 men represented the Club’s first XI at least once this summer. The LV= County Championship saw us finish in fifth place in Division Two of the conference format that was adopted for the 2021 season.
Although we were eliminated at the group stage of the Vitality Blast, we did reach the semi-finals of the Royal London Cup before defeat to eventual runners-up Durham.
Progressing alphabetically, this week is the first that will go through our men’s squad before we also cover the women’s team.
Sean Abbott
Matches: 1 (First-class)
Wickets: 2
Australian seamer Abbott was expected at Surrey as replacement for Kemar Roach after an excellent Australian season. Unfortunately, he managed just one match, taking two wickets in an innings victory over Gloucestershire, before injury ended his stint.
Hashim Amla
Matches: 18 (13 first-class, 4 List A, 1 T20)
Runs: 1041
Amla fell just six runs short of a 1000 run first-class season, generally regarded as the gold standard. There were several standout performances with the bat, including a double century against Hampshire and 173 against Gloucestershire. However, it was his 37* from 278 balls in the battle to save a draw at the Ageas Bowl fixture against Hampshire that will live long in the memory for many.
Ravichandran Ashwin
Matches: 1
Wickets: 7
One of the best spinners in the world joined us for the LV= County Championship fixture with Somerset in July and it turned out to be his final appearance in England this summer. The wicket proved tricky for the spinners in the first innings but Ashwin really came into play on the final day, taking six wickets for 27 runs as the visitors were bowled for 69.
Gus Atkinson
Matches: 12 (2 first-class, 2 List A, 8 T20)
Wickets: 25
2021 was the year that saw Atkinson really breakthrough in terms of taking the white ball at the crucial moments in the innings; the powerplay and the death overs. His 15 wickets in T20 cricket this year demonstrates that increased responsibility with best figures of 4/36 in the Kia Oval London Derby proves his mettle on the big occasions.
Gareth Batty
Matches: 13 (All T20)
Wickets: 8
Now retired from the professional game after 24 years and taking up a position as Assistant Coach, Batty again captained the Club in T20 cricket this year. While he wasn’t quite as prolific in terms of wicket taking, his economy rate was an excellent 6.78 – acting to slow up the opposition through the middle overs.
Rory Burns
Matches: 18 (9 first-class, 9 T20)
Runs: 702
Club captain Burns got eight matches in the LV= County Championship in before heading off to England’s Test summer and returning for the period between the New Zealand and India series. His highest score of the year came for England against New Zealand but he also scored one century and seven 50s for his county.
Jordan Clark
Matches: 22 (12 first-class, 10 T20)
Wickets: 37
Clark won the Club’s Kia Bowler of the Year award, selected by the coaches. He took the second most wickets of any bowler in the squad, behind Daniel Moriarty. 32 came in the LV= County Championship, often with the new ball in hand. His best figures came against Hampshire, with his 6/21 the key part of bowling out the visitors for 92 in the first innings of the match.
Rikki Clarke
Matches: 23 (11 first-class, 9 List A, 3 T20)
Wickets: 20
Runs: 377
Another retiree at the end of the 2021 season and this one was emotional! The all-rounder called time on his career more than 20 years after it began. He continued to feature in all formats but much more regularly in red ball and 50 over cricket and often found himself bowling with the new ball. He top scored with 82 in the Royal London Cup and had best figures of 3/34 in first-class cricket.
Sam Curran
Matches: 4 (All T20)
Runs: 94
Wickets: 6
With England for much of the summer, Sam played four Vitality Blast matches for Surrey this summer. They were pretty memorable matches however, including the thrashing of Middlesex at Lord’s and Somerset at Taunton, which he made an unbeaten 72 in.
Tom Curran
Matches: 4
Wickets: 3
Due to international commitments throughout the summer, TC played the same matches his brother did and had a crucial role in that excellent start to the T20 campaign. His impact on those four matches will perhaps be best remembered for a truly astonishing catch from backward point at Lord’s.
Tim David
Matches: 14 (10 List A, 4 T20)
Runs: 400
Wickets: 4
Initially arriving for the final few T20 group stage matches on short notice, David remained on with the Club as the Royal London Cup got going shortly afterwards. He will be delighted he did too, smashing two centuries at The Kia Oval that captured the attention of the wider world and earned him contracts for The Hundred, Caribbean Premier League & Indian Premier League.
Jade Dernbach
Matches: 2
Wickets: 0
Another player that left Surrey at the end of the season, Dernbach hasn’t retired from the game. Instead, he is currently with Italy for T20 World Cup Qualifiers and on the hunt for a county contract. His four matches this season came in the Vitality Blast South Group, two at Surrey and two on loan with Derbyshire shortly afterwards, where he took five wickets.
