Some reflections on Surrey versus the Essex Slappers back down at the Oval on Sunday evening.
tl;dr that was shit.
With qualification already assured for the quarter finals of the Blast for Surrey, up for grabs this evening was a plum home tie in the last eight.
This is not to be sniffed at, not only in terms of the sporting advantage, but also what it means to the club when it comes to the BOOZE fest such an event brings to the bar.
Chin chin.
Essex meanwhile, also had plenty to play for - much more to play for. They needed a win to guarantee their progression. I think you know what’s coming, right?
The game itself also had some very odd scheduling. A 6:30 pm start on a Sunday evening in term time is just odd. There was absolutely no reason why it couldn’t have been brought forward, apart from the women’s game starting earlier in the afternoon.
‘cos that’s gonna bring in the punters to SE11, yeah?
True to form Surrey had labelled this Blast game the Sustainability match. I’m all for sustainability but I still see absolutely no reason why a bloody game of cricket in the Blast needs to be given such a tag.
Just to rub salt in your sustainable wounds, it wasn’t that sustainable for Surrey out in the middle. Evans, J-Roy and Philippe were all GAWN cheaply. It was left down to Dan Lawrence to try and salvage something against his old club.
In the end the inevitable Surrey collapse occurred. It’s always criminal not to bat out your 20 overs in a T20 competition.
The Oval crowd was very quiet. The highlight of the evening appeared to be the scrambling of towels in the home dressing room to block out the sun rays bouncing off the fancy new players’ balcony.
The changing rooms were refurbished last summer. They don’t seem that… sustainable.
The run chase set by Surrey was a stroll in the park for Essex. They won off a wide, which kinda summed up the whole evening.