2024 marks the third year in a row that Surrey have captured County cricket’s most prestigious prize - The County Championship.
Not since the 1960s has a side won the County Championship 3 years in a row, that side being the great Yorkshire side of the time which featured the likes of Fred Trueman, Ray Illingworth, Geoffrey Boycott, Chris Old and captained by the inimitable Brian Close.
Rory Burns finds himself emulating the late Close as the first man in 56 years to captain his county to a hat-trick of titles and has a similarly stellar side to back him up. Surrey’s side is littered with talent and would be a strong Test side in their own right.
Burns, Dom Sibley, the Curran brothers, Gus Atkinson, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes, Jamie Smith, Dan Lawrence and Jamie Overton have all made appearances for Surrey in red ball cricket this year as well as previously winning England Test caps.
That’s before you even get to the imported stars like Kemar Roach, Dan Worrall, Sean Abbott, Sai Sudharsan and even Shakib Al Hasan who have all made appearances this year for the Brown Caps.
There’s no denying that money talks and Surrey certainly have been blessed in that department.
Where most counties have been forced to carefully monitor the ins and outs in order to keep their heads above water, Surrey have been fortunate to be able to spend more on bringing players in. In recent times, September has marked two things for the South London side: a Championship and the start of a winter recruitment drive. Already in the last couple of weeks it has been announced that once-capped England seamer Matthew Fisher will be heading south too.
Much to the chagrin of other counties, the winter marks the opportunity for Surrey to scrape the cream off the top of English talent.
With no sign of let up over the winter, who and what can possibly stop the Surrey dominance of the last 3 years?
Somerset, Hampshire and Essex all pushed Surrey this year but were rarely in control of the race to top spot. Lacking the financial clout of the South London club, recruitment needs to be shrewd. Hampshire and Essex do have the ability to pull in promising players from outside of the county and bigger overseas stars. Somerset on the other hand tends to rely on local talent.
One big thing that could change over the winter is Hampshire’s position. Last month, they were acquired by GMR Group, the owners of the Delhi Capitals. Even a fraction of the investment that is added to the IPL could make a huge difference to their recruitment this winter.
Away from proactive prospects from other counties, Surrey could also end up falling foul of their own success.
Many of the players that I’ve listed above are likely to be at least partially absent throughout the season on international duty or even in overseas leagues. This has left Surrey overcompensating and carrying a far larger squad than most.
Players like Sam Curran may be unavailable at times of the season due to both overseas leagues and international call ups
A brief look at some of the Second XI sides that Surrey have put out this season have included players who would more than make the grade elsewhere: Amar Virdi, Ben Geddes and Matt Dunn interspersed with other recognisable and yet still fringe members of the Surrey First XI.
Should those players decide on seeking opportunities elsewhere for First team cricket to excel their careers, the reliable back-ups may soon dwindle - the promising Ben Geddes has already signed a 3 year deal with Middlesex.
Surrey have made use of the loan systems which have allowed them to control where their fringe players play to ensure they don’t bolster the stocks of immediate rivals.
Beyond the talent exchange, consistency is incredibly difficult in cricket and a fourth successive title would represent huge stability within the club with players' form and an XI that remains more-or-less the same throughout a season.
It would take a good season to pip Surrey to the title, but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility…
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