Season Review 2012: An emotional journey

So the 2012 season has finally come to an end, and it has been without doubt one of the toughest I have experienced since I’ve supported Surrey.

Yes, we have had our bad days in the last few years, getting relegated in 2008 without winning a game in the entire season for the first time in our history was demoralising. Watching us get slaughtered regularly by better, much fitter, teams than us in One day cricket was very hard to take. But in the last couple of years that had changed. We gradually became better at 4 day cricket, getting more than the one victory in the LVCC in 2010, and getting increasingly more exciting and dynamic in the One day competitions.

2011 was fantastic. Ok, we may not have done so well at T20, but we’ve been poor in that format since 2006, so nobody really expects us to qualify out of the group. We began to look a strong outfit in both the Championship and CB40, and towards the end of the season we really excelled, winning our final 4 LVCC games to gain promotion, before winning our first silverware since 2003. Everyone stood up and said, “Surrey are back”. “They’re back where they belong” and from there on in, we could only get better.

But due to unforeseen circumstances this year, that hasn’t happened. We started the season perfectly by beating Sussex, and some bookies had us favourites for the Championship. We then narrowly lost to Middlesex at Lord’s, which seemed to spark a poor run of results. It took us over 4 months to find our next LVCC victory, but that’s only half of the story.

We went into the T20 buoyed by a solid, if not spectacular, start to the season in the Championship and CB40, confident of reaching Finals day. We won our first two games against Essex and Middlesex, and we were once again tipped for the trophy, and a loss at Beckenham on the Sunday was seen as a blip. But it turned out to be far worse than a blip.

The very next morning, it was announced that Tom Maynard had died. I couldn’t believe what I was reading on my phone. One of my heroes, and one of the greatest players we had had for the last decade had gone. I was stunned into silence, thinking about what all his family and friends were going through. I’m not old enough to fully remember Ben Hollioake’s passing, but would presume the reaction was similar. Heartbreak and disbelief that Tom had gone, and he wouldn’t be coming back.

How would the players react on the pitch? RHB was given an extended period away from the game, and eventually relinquished the captaincy. It was always going to be extremely difficult for the rest of them as well, but I would categorically say that they have performed out of their skins over the last few months, and have without doubt made Tom proud. The first game after Tom’s passing, the T20 at Chelmsford ended in defeat, but the performance the lads put in was remarkable. To hold it together like that was superb, and it will stick in the memory of Surrey fans for years to come.

The T20 campaign ended with a win over hot-favourites Sussex, thanks to a quick fire knock by KP, but not surprisingly, we hadn’t qualified from the group. The focus turned back to the longer form of the game, and an innings which Surrey fans who were at Guildford that day will remember forever: KP’s 234*. An innings of pure class and imagination, he began to bring a feel good factors back to the club.

It wasn’t until the 9^th of August that we got that next Championship win, against the old enemy Middlesex. It certainly wasn’t easy, winning the game by just the 8 runs, thanks to an inspired performance from my Player of the season, Gareth Batty. That seemed to bring the team closer together, and even though the weather stopped us from defending our CB40 title, we managed to fight off relegation after defeating Nottinghamshire at the Oval. After Tom’s death, I thought it would be inevitable that we would go down, but it wasn’t to be, as the players stood up and performed admirably.

As I said above, the stand out player for me this season has to be Gareth Batty. The man took over the captaincy at an extremely difficult time, and led the side fantastically. The desire he puts in is unquestionable, and that seemed to rub off on the team. I very much hope he gets the job full time next year.

Other standout performances go to Rory Burns, who transferred his second X1 form into the first team, and will be a Surrey opener for years I feel. Arun Harinath finally showed Surrey fans what he is made of, and Jade Dernbach and Stuart Meaker both had very good years, with Jade becoming a regular in the England One day side.

Several players have now left the club, the Legend Mark Ramprakash retired after 25 years in the game, along with Rory Hamilton-Brown who is seeking pastures new, Chris Jordan who struggled this year, and Matt Spriegel who wants more First Class cricket at Northants. I wish all them well for the future.

However disappointed I am those players have gone, our club will survive, as no player is as big as our club. A break is what these players desperately need, and I believe that we will come back next year better than ever. COME ON THE REY!!