Surrey Promoted to Division 1

Surrey have been promoted from the LVCC second division after beating Derbyshire by an innings and 126 runs at The Kia Oval.

The morning started with Surrey knowing that 13 wickets would give them promotion, with what happening at Wantage Road, not affecting Surrey, if they win. Gareth Batty gave Surrey the perfect start when he had Tim Groenewald caught by sub Ansari. And Pragyan Ojha wrapped up the innings when he had Paul Borrington stumped for 87, and trapped Mark Footitt lbw first ball. Derbyshire 190 all out, trailing by 278.

Unsurprisingly, Surrey enforced the follow on, and Chris Jordan made the perfect start when he bowled Lineker for 16. And Derbyshire were 2 down, when Ojha trapped Wayne Madsen lbw for 8. Stuart Meaker got in on the act when he got Durston lbw, and just before lunch, Ojha had his second wicket of the day when he bowled Borrington with a fantastic ball, which turned and gripped, past the opening batsman. Derbyshire 59-4 at lunch, and Surrey sniffing promotion.

And straight after lunch, Ojha was at it again when he combined again with Ansari, getting Redfern caught for 13. Luke Sutton joined Ross Whiteley at the crease but it wasn’t long before Ojha had his fourth, when he bowled Sutton for 5. Jonathan Clare then was Ojha’s fifth victim, his second fifer for Surrey, when Maynard took the catch at slip. Derby 83-7, and in desperate trouble.

And it got worse when Meaker banged one in at Whiteley, and with a lot to do, Chris Jordan took a brilliant catch, and the young batsman went for 18. Groenewald didn’t give up, and along with Tom Knight, started to play some shots. Groenewald hit Ojha for a six and then hit two more maximums in a Gareth Batty over. However, Knight went, when he came down the ground to Ojha, and was stumped for 14. 10 wickets in the match for Ojha, and he has proved a fantastic signing for Surrey, playing a massive part in the last few games of the season.

And the moment came not long after, when Gareth Batty had Mark Footitt caught by Stuart Meaker and Surrey were promoted back to division 1. After winning their final 4 games of the season, Chris Adams and his staff and side should be hugely proud of this moment. A young team, with a young captain have had their critics, but they have achieved their target fantastically.

Surrey now head to Lord’s, for the final game of the season, the cherry on the cake some might say, if they can beat Somerset in the CB40 final on Saturday.