There was to be no denial of Warwickshire’s glorious triumph at Edgbaston. They scored a record aggregate total of 665-5 declared against Surrey in the County Championship Division One match. This extraordinary performance brings a new history of Warwickshire, recording the highest ever score against Surrey. Whatever it was, the team’s batting greatness really took flight on a wonderfully amenable pitch.
Tom Latham was the early main contributor with a fine 184 from 319 deliveries. This stunning knock now sits as the highest score by a debutant for Warwickshire. His innings was full of patience and precision, which enabled him to anchor the innings beautifully. Ed Barnard was another central figure, scoring his career-best total of 177 not out. Barnard’s innings was critical in both runs and role. Further consolidation of his unbeaten innings by the close of play on day three exhibited masterful incision when it came to building partnerships and capitalising on optimal batting conditions.
Zen Malik, a high achiever in his own right, got his first century as well with a fine knock of 105 not out. Despite Malik’s century, his excellent knock was needed to get his side over the line, showing the strength in depth of Warwickshire’s batting unit. He thanked the 12 person foundation made by his teammates, saying,
“They were favourable batting conditions, definitely, and the lads at the top of the order had done such a great job. The work done by Tom, Yatesy and Barny made my job a lot easier for me going in there. All in all a really good day.” – Zen Malik
The game played out with Warwickshire in control from start to finish. Cause for Surrey hope came at the hand of Ethan Bamber, whose no-nonsense spell was by far the best on offer. He could do little as the match went on thanks to a cannonade from Warwickshire’s batters. Perhaps more notably, Ed Barnard trapped Rory Burns — with a big in-swinging yorker — lbw to show himself as a useful bowler.
As the day wore on, Taylor went on to spill a vital catch with Barnard on 78. That blunder might have changed the momentum back to Surrey. Warwickshire really dug in and stood up to the challenge in the match. INCREDIBLE PERFORMANCE Tom Lawes really impressed taking 2 wickets for 107 runs in his spell. Surrey’s lead is now a daunting 567 runs with nine wickets still standing for Warwickshire.
As Jim Troughton said, looking at the wider picture, both teams’ task was monumental, whoever it was that was going to face it.
“It’s going to be tough for either team to take 20 wickets but we have got to earn the right to stay in the game.” – Jim Troughton
On such a thumping score Warwickshire will surely take some stopping over the next few days as they seek to build on their best opening day ever. The combination of Latham’s resilience, Barnard’s consistency, and Malik’s explosive century sets a formidable challenge for Surrey as they look to recover.
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