By: Adeel Khursheed
Surrey secured their second triumph in the Metro Bank One Day Cup for the season, largely propelled by Ryan Patel’s remarkable fourth List A century. This dominant performance led to Essex finishing at the bottom of Group A.
Patel exhibited exceptional batting prowess, accumulating 117 runs from 119 deliveries. He orchestrated pivotal partnerships, including a 62-run alliance with the late addition Krish Patel, 60 runs alongside Josh Blake, and 51 runs in tandem with Conor McKerr. These partnerships proved pivotal as Surrey successfully pursued a target of 260 runs, culminating with a boundary on the final ball.
In the lead-up to the match, Surrey’s captain, Rory Burns, sustained an ankle injury during warm-up, necessitating the inclusion of the 17-year-old leg-spin all-rounder Krish Patel.
Initially, Essex seemed to have the upper hand when Dom Sibley, Surrey’s linchpin for anchoring the innings, was dismissed for a first-ball edge that dislodged his middle stump. However, the extraordinary performance by Ryan Patel defied expectations.
Ryan Patel and Josh Blake’s 60-run partnership lasted for 10 overs until Richards claimed Blake’s wicket with a square-leg boundary catch in his initial over. Ben Geddes followed suit, dismissing Aron Nijjar at mid-on.
Ryan Patel, a left-handed batsman, exhibited his prowess by smashing three fours in the first over and reached his fifty in 50 deliveries with a six over midwicket. Despite the loss of Cameron Steel, caught by Webster at long leg, Patel, making his debut, combined forces with his namesake to recalibrate the target to 116 runs off 20 overs.
Patel’s innings concluded at the 45-over mark when he was caught by Allison at short extra cover while driving a delivery. Surrey found themselves in a challenging position, needing 33 runs from six overs with only three wickets remaining, followed by 15 runs from 12 balls. Eventually, the target increased to 13 runs from eight balls, but they lost Ealham to another catch by Webster in the covers off Allison.
Griffiths’ sweep off the first ball of Beard’s final over reduced the required runs to nine from five balls. However, the subsequent two balls yielded only a single, heightening the tension.
Moriarty contributed with a boundary, followed by another, leaving three runs required off the last ball. Griffith’s drive through mid-on for four from a full-toss ultimately sealed the game. Essex’s first three wickets fell to wayward drives within the infield.
Feroze Khushi was dismissed after dispatching Dan Moriarty’s second delivery over the ropes and getting stumped off a legside wide. Luc Benkenstein became the third wicket to fall in the opening ten overs while chasing a wide delivery, dragging it onto his stumps against Steel.
Charlie Allison’s dismissal quickly ensued, as he was caught behind by Steel, leaving Essex at four down after only 14 overs. However, this set the stage for a stabilizing century partnership between Webster and Thain, which resurrected Essex from their early troubles.
Thain’s second six, struck straight off Tommy Ealham, marked the century partnership in 21 overs before both batsmen were dismissed within 13 balls, with McKerr claiming their wickets. Thain edged a rising delivery behind, and Webster was caught at short midwicket.
Virdi contributed with two quick wickets, securing a List A-best of 3 for 38, with Beard falling lbw while attempting an unorthodox shot and Will Buttleman bowled off his pads.
