Surrey captain and England opener Rory Burns passed 10,000 first-class runs during Surrey’s LV= County Championship match with Leicestershire this week so we decided to take a look at some of his best innings.
Known for his dogged determination and iron will since breaking into the Surrey side back in 2012, Burns has perhaps been the standout performer in the English domestic red-ball game over the last decade.
He scored at least 1000 runs in every English summer between 2014 and 2019 with only the shortened season due to the coronavirus pandemic bringing the run to an end in 2020.
You don’t amass those kinds of figures without drawing the attention of the England selectors and it was in 2018, after guiding Surrey to the County Championship title as captain, that he was finally rewarded with international honours.
He looks in good form yet again in 2021 and appears ready to cash in as conditions for batting improve with the warmer weather. Here are some of his finest performances through the years.
121* v Middlesex, 2012
There’s no time and place like a Kia Oval London Derby to score your maiden first-class century and really announce yourself at the highest level of the domestic game. Against an attack including Tim Murtagh, Toby Roland-Jones & Neil Dexter, Burns went about turning a heavy first innings deficit into a narrow victory.
There’s been no looking back from this moment.
219* v Hampshire, 2017
Rory spent more than 10 hours at the crease for this incredible feat of endurance, saving a game in which Surrey had fallen well behind in early on. In fact, he spent almost every minute on the field across all four days of this one.
Against an attack including Kyle Abbott, Fidel Edwards and Mason Crane and in the searing July heat Burns scored almost half of Surrey’s first innings 483.
151 v Hampshire, 2018
Same opponents, different venue. There’s just something about Hampshire, despite all their high quality performers, that brings out the best in Rory.
In truth, there were so many excellent Rory innings during the successful 2018 season that many others could feature here. With a momentum shifting win over Yorkshire a few weeks earlier, Surrey knew that if they could win this one then they would be well set to put together a title challenge.
They did just that and the next few months were a wild ride with skipper Burns leading the way.
122 v Worcestershire, 2018
Knowing a win would seal the Division One title, the pressure was on at New Road. With Worcestershire making 336 in the first innings and Burns watching several partners fall at the other end, he had to hold firm to keep Surrey in the game.
His three figure score kept his side in touching distance and gave Morne Morkel the fire to make the difference with the ball in the second innings.
133 v Australia, 2019
An Ashes Test less than a year into your international career is one heck of a challenge. It’s those big challenges when Burns really brings his A game. A full crowd at Edgbaston in the 1st Test saw Steve Smith make a century on the opening day and knew their side needed a big response.
Burns led that and got the series off to a flying start with this innings lasting 312 balls and 473 minutes.
103 v Sussex, 2020
With Surrey winless in the Bob Willis Trophy going into the final first-class game of the year, Rory Burns returned from England’s Test series against West Indies and Pakistan to take charge once more.
He did that as captain and opener too, making a much needed century that helped Surrey to win and may have had some impact on building the confidence that took us all the way to the Vitality Blast final.
Have we missed any? Of course we have! Let us know your favourites by tweeting us at @surreycricket.
Every Surrey home match will be available to view either on kiaoval.com or Sky Sports this season. Away matches will be streamed by the county hosting the match and shared here where possible.
The best way to get your seat at The Kia Oval when restrictions allow is with a 2021 Membership, starting from £69 for adults and £20 for U16s.
