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| Stephen Moore will prove to be a key player for Lancashire tomorrow. |
Left-arm spinner Gary Keedy makes his return to Emirates Old Trafford tomorrow, as Surrey take on Lancashire in the Yorkshire Bank 40 campaign.
Speaking about his come back, he described it as “a proud moment.” He acknowledges that “Surrey’s my cricket team now, and I want to do as well as I possibly can for them, but nobody will ever take away the fact that I played 18 years at Old Trafford, which I consider my cricketing home.”
Lancashire are still searching for their first victory of the competition, after suffering a defeat to Durham at home and experiencing frustration last Sunday as rain washed-out their visit to Derbyshire.
Surrey’s first and only victory of the competition over last years champions, Hampshire, proved to be comprehensive, but they are now without the South-African opener, Graeme Smith, who scored an explosive 74 against the Royals. Wicket-keeper batsmen Steve Davies will therefore be a crucial player for the visitors, with a century already to his name in the 40-over tournament.
The visitors toughest task however, is to bounce back from their 114-run loss to Nottinghamshire in the County Championship this week, a match they seemed destined to win until a flurry of wickets saw them slump to 144 all out.
Lancashire ought to be fully prepared for the encounter and coach, Peter Moores, has stressed the importance of this fixture. He said that “We were hoping Derby was going to be our chance to get off and running,” said coach Peter Moores. “We’re desperate to get going. We were disappointed with how we played in the first game against Durham, and we looked a bit rusty in all parts of the game. We’ll want to play well against Surrey. It’s not an easy game, but we’re at home. We’ll fancy our chances if we play well.”
Team news:
Lancashire 15-man squad: Simon Katich (captain), Karl Brown, Jordan Clark, Steven Croft, Gareth Cross (wkt), Kyle Hogg, Paul Horton, Simon Kerrigan, Arron Lilley, Stephen Moore, Oliver Newby, Stephen Parry, Ashwell Prince, Luke Procter, Wayne White.
Surrey 13-man squad: Gareth Batty (captain), Jason Roy, Steven Davies (wkt), Vikram Solanki, Zander de Bruyn, Gary Wilson, Rory Burns, Tom Jewell, Jon Lewis, Gary Keedy, Stuart Meaker, Chris Tremlett, Jade Dernbach
Key men:
Following his score of 46 versus Durham and fine form for the second XI’s, Stephen Moorewill be the home sides key asset in this fixture. His role alongside Ashwell Prince at the top of the order is the backbone of Lancashire’s batting attack in this format and will give them the best possible chance for victory.
His absence from the Championship team certainly reflects a dip in form for the South-African born batsmen, but with an average of 30.91 in this competition he is still a very capable player.
For the visitors it is hard to see past Steve Davies being their key player. Behind the stumps he is one of the best in the country and his score of 127 versus Hampshire makes him the one-to-watch with the bat.
Prediction:
Betting odds (via Coral):
Lancashire: 4/5
Surrey: Evens
Lancashire are slight favourites with the bookmakers and this prediction may well prove to be the case. The hosts are yet to record a win, but this will make them hungry for victory and Surrey’s recent form, and injury problems, will have impacted moral. But make no mistake, the match will be a close encounter and the number of spinners named by both teams displays a healthy knowledge of the Emirates Old Trafford wicket. With that in mind, Gary Keedy’s return promises to carry added importance as he and skipper Gareth Batty will hope to record their second win of the campaign.
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