Betfair Official Blog

FTP preview - Surrey v Essex

The Friends Provident Trophy is coming down to a vital period with many counties going into their final three Conference games knowing that one more defeat will leave them on the verge of an early exit, despite the fact that four teams instead of two progress this season.

The weather has played havoc with the competition over the past three weeks with only two of the 20 teams yet to have suffered a dreaded 'no result', while only Warwickshire and Surrey are unbeaten - both top their respective division.

But despite their solid campaigns, neither side is guaranteed a place in the semi-finals with Warwickshire heading the outright market at 4.1 over Hampshire at 5.2, with Surrey on offer at 5.3 in a fairly congested field.

This weekend could prove to be the vital one in the South Conference, where the big game between Surrey and Essex takes place in the tight confines of the Whitgift School in Croydon, where run scoring has not been a problem in the past - mainly for their opponent.

The Brown Caps have been beaten in all three of their last visits to the Whitgift in various competitions, with all the defeats come in games of 45 overs or more.

Last season was the worst of their defeats as they crashed by eight wickets to Hampshire, in a game dominated by spin bowling, having scored 177 only thanks to a patient knock from the evergreen Mark Butcher.

But once he was run out, Shane Warne took over as the Australian ace grabbed 6-42, and with Surrey's own spin star Nayan Doshi taking the only two Hampshire wickets to fall, slow bowling could again make the difference on Sunday.

Doshi will again be relied on by Surrey, but the key figure in the game could be Essex leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, who is their leading List A and First Class wicket-taker this season with 37. If the Pakistan international can tweak the ball as he has on helpful pitches so far in 2007, then he will be a threat to all.

But it would not be wise to think that bowlers will dominate this game, as Hampshire last season proved that runs can be scored quickly in chasing down their 178-run target in only 26 overs at over a run-a-ball. Prior to that, Warwickshire proved victorious in 2005 when scoring over 300 in 45 overs and Lancashire were winners in Croydon in 2004, when they replied to Surrey's total by cracking 238-2 in 38 overs.

Butcher's knock last season is the best by a current Surrey player, although the ever-dangerous Alistair Brown did hit a breezy 52 in defeat by Warwickshire in 2005 and will be a threat in the top run-scorer market despite only one innings of note - a 176 in their world record 50-over score of 496-4 against Gloucestershire in the spring. Brown though has scored only 20 runs in his three FPT innings since then.

However, the fact that they have four other batsmen averaging 58 runs or over, and all eight of their front-line batters are averaging at least 35, shows just how effective they are in one-day cricket and explains their position atop the South Conference table on 10 points.

Essex, on the other hand, face an early exit from the competition if they fail to win on Sunday, as they stand three points off Surrey with three games remaining.

The Eagles were beaten by Gloucestershire last time out and, combined with a weather-beaten clash with Glamorgan, has them in a precarious position despite some fine individual performances of their own.

Skipper Ronnie Irani has led by example with an average of 78.33, while England Test discard Ravi Bopara has amassed 248 runs at an average of 62 as well as taking seven wickets - only Kaneria has taken more in one-day cricket.

The big game in the North Conference pits local rivals Worcestershire and Warwickshire together at New Road, with the Bears seeking a win to move them closer to a place in the final four.

Warwickshire have an identical record to Surrey in the South, with four wins from four completed games and two no results, but like Surrey could drop out of the top two if they are beaten on Sunday by a Worcestershire side who have to win to improve their hopes of progress.

The Royals have two wins and two defeats on their resume, with just one game spoiled by rain, but with the likes of Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Durham all to pass, will need to win at least three of their remaining four games.

Warwickshire are another team to have benefited from the quality of their batting line-up this season, with strong batting all the way down to current number nine Heath Streak, owner of one Test century and 24 50's in the one-day game.

The addition of Sri Lanka wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara as a specialist batsman has given the top of their order fresh impetus and if they need late runs, keep an eye on young South African Tim Groenewald, who has proved a six-hitting machine this season so far.

Worcester have been struggling to take wickets, mainly due to a series of injuries that has seen Doug Bollinger, Matt Mason and Roger Sillence sidelined, but the recent loan addition of Lancashire seamer Kyle Hogg could be an important move in their bid to reach the semi-finals.

Phil Jaques, Graeme Hick and Vikram Solanki all have the talent to test the Bears and can make their job of progressing further in the competition a lot harder than their table-topping position would suggest.

• Cricket
• County Cricket