Bob Willis Trophy presents perfect chance for Vikram Solanki to bed in at Surrey

BOB WILLIS TROPHY PREVIEW: Solanki has succeeded Michael di Venuto as head coach at the Kia Oval and, without many star names due to international duty, he will get the opportunity to assess the depth of his squad

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Ins: Reece Topley (Sussex), Hashim Amla, James Taylor (Derbyshire), Nick Kimber (Nottinghamshire), Daniel Moriarty, Nick Reifer

Outs: Stuart Meaker (Sussex)

Fixtures: August 1 - Middlesex (h), August 8 - Essex (a), August 15 - Hampshire (a), August 22 - Kent (h), September 6 - Sussex (h)

Remind me what happened last year?

A title defence that faded into midtable obscurity. With many of their star names - Burns, Roy, Curran, Curran - off on England duty, Surrey never found a great deal of consistency and only recorded two wins.

A relegation fight might have been much more pressing in any other season, but Nottinghamshire’s implosion and the three-up, one-down nature of the Championship meant the competition was effectively over for Surrey with several games left.

Ollie Pope’s long injury absence did not help - in the games the batsman did play he managed 561 runs at more than 80 - and more might have been expected with the bat from Ben Foakes and Dean Elgar.

With the ball, Morne Morkel’s average more than doubled in the Championship year on year, although the emergence of Amar Virdi, especially in tough early-season conditions, was encouraging.

What’s happened over the winter?

Surrey have a new head coach in the shape of Vikram Solanki after Michael di Venuto left the club.

Di Venuto’s contract was due to expire in March 2021 but an agreement was reached which meant he would not return from his family home in Tasmania even in the event of the English season beginning post-lockdown.

Surrey worked tirelessly throughout the height of the coronavirus pandemic in the United Kingdom to show how fans could be reintegrated within sporting events safely, and the Kia Oval held the first pilot for such a scenario when Middlesex visited in pre-season.

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Who’s arrived and who’s left?

Hashim Amla is due to take up a Kolpak deal with the county, and there has been no announcement that he will no longer be a part of Surrey’s plans. Whether he and Morkel will be able to gain entry to the UK to play is another matter. The management team at The Oval are hopeful both will be available at some point during the summer.

Stuart Meaker ended his long association with the club by moving to Sussex. Long-serving 2nd XI members Arun Harinath and Freddie van den Bergh have been released.

Reece Topley’s impressive recovery from multiple surgeries continued with a lucrative switch to south London. Topley, however, has signed a two-year white-ball deal and will not feature in the Bob Willis Trophy.

Who will be the key men in 2020?

The same faces will be missing for Surrey for much of their red-ball campaign: Burns, the Currans, Roy and Pope are all in England squads. 

In their absence, and if Amla is not available, the responsibility for runscoring will fall heavily on the shoulders of Mark Stoneman, Will Jacks and Foakes. Rikki Clarke will be the glue that binds it all together, as so often he has during his long career.

There ought to be opportunities for young players such as Ryan Patel and Jamie Smith to make an impression in the middle order. James Taylor, the England Under 19 bowler signed from Derbyshire in the off-season, is one to keep an eye on.

What can we expect from this team this season?

Given who is missing, and with the possibility that Amla and Morkel are unable to get to the UK, Surrey can be excused a season of trial and error under new management.

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