Date-stamped : 25 Sep96 - 18:11 County Championship 1996 Surrey v Worcestershire The Oval, London 19, 20, 21, 22 September 1996 ====>Day 1 Moody supresses Surrey`s remote hopes By Charles Randall at the Oval Second day of four: Worcestershire (134-3) v Surrey SURREY, in second place, were supposed to be the side making Leicestershire work for their title. Well, they did not even reach the start line until 1.10pm at the Oval yesterday, by which time the leaders were almost out of sight. Chris Lewis, Surrey`s England all-rounder, had to miss the match, feeling unwell, and frustration mounted at the further delay after the washed-out first day. There was an element of controversy with the timing. Tom Moody, Worcestershire`s captain, would not agree to a morning start, and the umpires concurred, calling an early lunch after an inspection of some apparent muddy areas on the square. Then Moody only increased Surrey`s feeling of helplessness by hitting an excellent 60 not out off 69 balls to steady shaky start by the Worcestershire top order in a day restricted to one session. The loss of the morning`s play squeezed Surrey`s chances of achieving maximum points, and Dave Gilbert, Surrey`s coach, found the ruling by George Sharp and Ken Palmer hard to stomach. Alec Stewart, Surrey`s captain, said he would have been "happy" to play in any conditions, accepting the situation stoically, but Gilbert criticised the delay. "I find it very frustrating. If this had been in the middle of the season, we`d have been playing much earlier," the Australian said. "Because there`s a championship at stake, the umpires seem to be ultra-conservative. It`s not right. Matting could have been put down to cover any muddy patches." Gilbert had a point. Your correspondent made his own inspection at 12.30pm and found some small damp areas some 30 yards away from the match strip and no mud that could not have been easily covered. All this suggested play could have been started at least an hour earlier, though the issue was further complicated by the need to fit in a lunch-break, which was entirely at the umpires` discretion. It would be nice if The Daily Telegraph decided when a cricket match should start but, unfortunately for Surrey, they do not. The problem would not have arisen anyway if the entire square had been covered overnight. However, the run-ups and pitch were bone dry, and there really seemed no need for Moody to refuse a reasonably prompt kick-off after the loss of the entire first day. Surrey earned only one bonus point, and their sense of relief at dismissing Graeme Hick for a low score - caught at extra-cover off a miscued drive - evaporated as Moody took charge. Surrey`s seamers bowled well, especially Martin Bicknell, and the bat was passed often in the first hour, but Moody held out, dispatching anything loose until bad light had the final say. Apart from Adam Hollioake`s failure to hold an awkward return catch when Moody had reached 56, there were no major scares during a blossoming fourth-wicket stand with Reuben Spiring. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) ====>Day 2 Surrey left to fight for second place By Charles Randall at the Oval Surrey (First Innings Forfeited & 15-1 ) trail Worcestershire (362 & 61-1 dec) by 408 runs ALEC STEWART conceded Surrey`s mathematical chance of winning the title during tea-time at the Oval yesterday in exchange for a chance, a difficult one, of finishing as runners-up for the first time since 1980. Surrey would deserve second place if only because they had beaten Leicestershire, the one defeat suffered by the new champions this summer, and they outplayed Derbyshire, their rivals for runners-up. Stewart forfeited the first innings, allowing Worcestershire to jog steadily onwards and to set them a target of 424 at around four runs an over on a pitch that looked sound for batting. Tom Moody struck in the first over when Mark Butcher fished outside his off-stump, and Surrey will have to bat out of their skins today for any success. They would still finish third if Essex fail to win. Despite Moody`s early success after his career-best 13 wickets against Gloucestershire in the previous match, Worcestershire`s strength lay with their spinners, Richard Illingworth and Vikram Solanki, an off-spinner who added to his credentials with a stylish 90 yesterday. Surrey wanted to set up a dignified final day`s cricket - no impossible declarations as at Cardiff last week, thank you very much. For a match effectively reduced to two days and one session by rain and bad light a manufactured target became the logical outcome. With an additional 1,000 available for each victory, a Surrey success today would raise their aggregate reward to 39,000 as runners-up, and failure could mean a return as low as 18,000. The squad won 40,000 for their AXA Equity & Law League crown last Sunday. Worcestershire`s financial incentive for seventh place was less than awesome when calculated per head. The total would be 7,000 prize, plus 6,000 for six wins if they beat Surrey today. Surrey toiled away yesterday for the maximum bowling points that would guarantee them at least fourth place, and Martin Bicknell struck in the morning`s first over, removing Moody`s leg-stump fifth ball. Reuben Spiring, 30 overnight, moved on entertainingly to 63 with some delightful drives and leg-side clips, but it was Solanki who caught the eye with a 63-ball fifty. He drove powerfully when the chance arose and needed only three hours for his 90, falling to Joey Benjamin`s change of pace with a maiden hundred in his sights. Bicknell, as he has been all season, looked by far the classiest bowler in Surrey`s attack and one could only guess that his uneven fitness record in past years weighed against a return to England colours on tour this winter. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) ====> Day 3 Defeat no dampener for Surrey By Charles Randall at the Oval Worcestershire (362 & 61-1) bt Surrey (forfeited & 299) by 124 runs EVERYONE seemed happy at the way the Oval season finished yesterday except for Ernie Robbshaw, the head gateman, whose eyes were brimming on his official retirement day. Robbshaw was presented with an outsized autographed key and - much more to the point - life membership of Surrey on a day that happened to mark the county`s best season for years. A delighted Darren Bicknell ended his Surrey summer on a high note, carrying his bat for his first hundred at headquarters for three years, and Alec Stewart, as captain, described Surrey`s third place as "excellent" when added to the club`s first Sunday title. Dave Houghton, Worcestershire`s coach, regarded seventh place as "an amazing achievement" for a side weakened by injury for most of the summer, most notably in the absence of Phil Newport and Gavin Haynes. Houghton`s work has not finished, because he flies out to Harare on Wednesday to start Zimbabwe`s preparations, as player-coach, for the tour to Pakistan in October, with the inaugural England series to follow. Surrey needed an unlikely 409 in the day to win, and the collective failure of their England and England A winter tour batsmen - including Stewart himself fourth ball - in the morning rubbed out any chance. Brendon Julian signed off an impressive all-round season with 80 off 86 balls to suggest that Surrey had found themselves a player possibly as effective as Brian McMillan, their original choice, at about half the price. Smiles all round, then. And Stewart said afterwards: "We`ve come on a lot this year, playing in a more mature way. "There`s no reason why we can`t compete strongly in all four competitions next year." Assuming Julian is not selected for Australia`s tour of England next year - and an Ashes comeback is not as unlikely now as it was at the start of this summer - Surrey could well justify Stewart`s confidence. Bicknell, who batted five hours for his 129, and Julian, eyeing his third hundred of the summer, added 141 together for the eighth wicket at five runs an over with some stirring orthodox strokeplay. Bicknell`s watchfulness prevented Worcestershire`s eager attack wrapping it all up by lunch, which would have been a depressing finale for Surrey and, not least, for Mr Robbshaw. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)