English domestic cricket in October - another new normal that needs embracing

NICK HOWSON AT THE KIA OVAL: Surrey and Kent duelled in the first match played in the 10th month of the year in England for 156 years. Get used to it

The Kia Oval: Surrey 169-2 v Kent 113-7 - Surrey won by 56 runs

Scorecard

It was the best season of William Mortlock's 19-year career. The middle-order batsman scored 855 first-class runs while representing England, Surrey, South and Players. That showing only included one century, but he was the definition of consistency in 1864.

Mortlock, who was also a slow underarm bowler and a proficient one at that with a career average of 18.02, was born a stone's throw from The Kia Oval, where in the first week of October the last cricket match to take place in England during the 10th month of the year was staged, in the same year as Mortlock's stellar campaign.

Kent and Nottinghamshire played Cambridgeshire and Yorkshire in a three-day game at Newmarket, with the latter prevailed by an innings and four runs with a day to spare. One hundred and fifty-six years later, we're back. In many ways, it's a surprise it has taken this long.

While the pandemic has played a role in cricket being pushed into October, this temporary arrangement will soon become the norm - the ultimate epitaph for 2020. The five-day Bob Willis Trophy final will next year begin on October 2, still 366 days away, as The Hundred, the Blast, the One-Day Cup and England's internationals are crammed into the campaign.

The weather gods will not always be as obliging, but today they have graciously providing conditions to suit the occasion. Kent are back to face a revived Surrey side for a place at T20 Blast Finals Day. Both side's absence from the premier single-day showcase event of the English season feels so long ago Mr Mortlock might be able to recall the occasion.

^{Fans braced sunny skies to watch the action unfold}

Winter coats are replaced by sunglasses, suncream is more useful than a fisherman jumper. Fielder's hands are braced, rather than in pockets. The assembled media are outside, rather than in.

Key to warming the cockles, as ever at such a key moment in the campaign, is the quality of the product. The Bob Willis Trophy and the women's internationals between England and West Indies were played amid baltic scenes at Lord's and Derby, yet at times the cricket was just about thrilling enough to justify its existence. If you're going to make the teams play in these conditions, for goodness sake make it necessary and with a place at the biggest day on the calendar up for grabs they don't come much bigger. For the loser, the trunk goes back in the attic for a few months.

Though Kent bowled and batted like they had early dinner plans, racing through their allocation in 76 minutes and then hitting out lazily, the importance of the occasion was clear to see. The Spitfires have not been to Finals Day since they qualified three years in a row between 2007-2009, winning the competition for the only time 13 years ago.

Lately, it has been 'typical Surrey' to have a watching brief for the big occasions on the county calendar. They haven't reached the four-team shoot-out since 2014, with the inaugural edition in 2003 the last time they went all the way. Despite their squads regularly being stripped of their England stars, it is a rather embarrassing return from a team with such resources.

Hashim 😍#Blast20pic.twitter.com/PwwZynQamF

— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) October 1, 2020

But the stars were out for this knock-out clash. Jason Roy returned for just his third Blast outing of the season; Hashim Amla's spell continued; England's Ben Foakes, Reece Topley and Rory Burns were all available. It is the most glittering line-up available to a county outside of Headingley.

The Spitfires have their own superstars in the form of England's player of the summer Zak Crawley, Sam Billings and Joe Denly - a day on from losing his central contract. Add the redesigned Daniel Bell-Drummond, who had more runs than anyone in this competition, and you have a stellar cast fitting of the stage.

There were times during Roy and Amla's opening century stand that Kent might have been tempting into repeating Mortlock's underarm ball. Surrey did not thrash it to the boundary recklessly, instead, using precision striking to rotate the strike and keep the scoreboard ticking. Such is Amla's class he sticks out like a sore thumb on occasions such as these. The South African hit an effortless 73 from 53. Nine fours and one six are punctuated by an epic check-drive over the top which falls just short of the boundary.

^{Hashim Amla was the class act on show}

The opening pair ensured that Will Jacks had a mere supporting role in the batting line-up. His 23 from 18 balls was rather underwhelming given the high standards the 21-year-old has set himself. But like every great player, Jacks found a way to force himself into the contest. His off-breaks were gentle but probing and it dismantled the Kent top-order and left their chase over before it had begun. Jacks had six wickets in 33 T20s before this match but by the time he'd bowled his allocation across two spells he had a career-best 4-15, a career-best return which did not do justice to his importance.

Gareth Batty deserves plenty of credit for this latest example of the Chertsey-born all-rounder's talent. The 42-year-old may have a coaching role off the field, but it very much impacts the way he captains this Surrey outfit.

He has given the young breed - Dan Moriarty has been a revelation too - confidence and the opportunity express themselves. Jacks doesn't spin the ball a lot, but this side of his game has been liberated under Batty. Those deceptive deliveries saw off the Kent top four, three of them England internationals. Having said that, the ball which got Billings - a low unplayable spinner which left the right-hander dumbfounded and bowled - wouldn't have looked out of place in Mumbai. Much like they were more than a century-and-a-half ago, Kent sunk without a trace.

Cricket extends into October for Finals Day at Edgbaston this weekend. Rain might expose the schedule (not least ensure the title is awarded in the indoor cricket centre) and in the years to come the autumnal calendar will surely have its critics. But if its return is any indication, there is plenty of reason to think that it will work.

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