Surrey had a disappointing third day against leaders Essex. They could only reduce the margin of their loss to single figures, finishing six overs without losing a wicket. The team began the day optimistic. Their momentum came crashing down as momentum lost in the wake of a quartet of key players falling prey to Essex’s hard-nosed bowling line-up.
Jamie Smith proved to be the standout performer for Surrey, converting his aggressive batting style into runs in a brisk innings at the top-order.… three fours in a very short space of time against Jamie Porter… His authoritative pull off Shane Snater’s opening delivery travelled like a rocket to the square-leg fence. Smith’s promising innings came to a disappointing end when he was caught out for 73. For one reason or another, he’d go for that cover drive and miss it, his off-stump going for a walkabout.
Essex’s Simon Harmer proved to be the standout bowler of the day, inducing an outside edge off Rory Burns’ bat for a caught-behind dismissal. Harmer displayed, quite frankly, ludicrous control – he conceded two boundaries in a remarkably hard-working 26 over stint. With 4-83 from 47 overs, he bowed out of the day with a bang. His outstanding bowling was key to bringing down Surrey’s batting lineup.
Surrey’s batting order then had a meltdown, sinking from 109-1 overnight to 180-6 before they headed into the lunch interval. Ollie Pope was gone after just seven balls, Porter deceiving him outside off to earn an edge to fourth slip. At the other end, Ryan Patel was completely bemused by Harmer’s turn. The pressure mounted, but Ben Foakes attempted to stabilize the innings by pushing Harmer through the covers for a boundary. Foakes reached his fifty in chastising fashion, edging his eighth four just wide of slip through the empty cordon off Snater.
James Taylor’s partnership with Foakes allowed him to regroup. Collectively, they developed a labor-intensive alliance that generated 50 runs through 22 overs. That partnership didn’t last long. Matt Critchley changed ends for one over and bowled a perfectly disguised googly to get rid of Taylor.
As the match approaches the final day’s play, Surrey really will need to find their focus again. Then they must come up with a game plan to combat Essex’s powerful bowling arsenal. The result is anyone’s guess as the playoff-hungry teams battle it out for valuable points in this Eastern Conference clash.
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