Cricket News: Surrey has won their second County Championship

They wrapped up their second County Championship title five years after defeating Yorkshire Vikings within three days by ten wickets at the Oval.

After the win, Surrey cricket tweeted, “WE HAVE WON THE LV= COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE AFTER VICTORY TODAY AGAINST YORKSHIRE. 

We will be officially crowned Champions next week at Lancashire when we’re presented with the trophy #SurreyCricket.”

Ollie Pope, 136 in the first innings, took Surrey to 333 runs, to which they bundled Yorkshire Vikings on 179. After they imposed follow-on, Yorkshire could give a target of just 55 runs to Surrey. 

The second-placed Hampshire Hawks had already lost to Kent Spitfires, thus, leading Surrey to an unassailable lead with just one game left. 

Surrey secured their eighth win from 13 matches, making them the only county from both divisions to remain unbeaten in such a triumphant campaign.

Indians who excelled this year in County Championship

With everything going on in the county, another attraction came with Indian players who participated in the tournament. This year, eight Indian players got an opportunity to feature in English Domestic Cricket and gave some fantastic performances.

• Cheteshwar Pujara- The batter has been in his purple form while playing for County Division two team, Sussex Sharks. He accumulated 1094 runs from 13 matches, taking his average to 109.40. He smashed five tons to be an impactful player for the county, with his highest score being 231. His performance on English soil helped him regain his spot in team India’s red-ball squad, before which he was dropped for the 2-match series against Sri Lanka. 

His sublime form continued in the white ball, too, as he impressed everyone with his performance in the Royal London Cup. He fetched 624 runs from 9 matches at an average of 89.14 and strike rate of 111.62. This included his three centuries and two half centuries. 

• Umesh Yadav- This year has been quite different for Umesh. From being unsold in two rounds of IPL auctions, he left everyone impressed with his skills with the new ball. Following this, he was signed as a replacement by Middlesex in the county championship. He even played in the Royal London cup, picking 16 wickets at an economy of 5.17 in 7 matches. 

• Mohammed Siraj- His arrival in the county was marked by stunning figures of 5/82 and 1/32 on his County debut against Somerset. His bouncers and inswingers troubled a lot of batters on the crease, giving him success to return with a 5-wicket haul. 

• Washington Sundar- The 22-year-old all-rounder that looked to cement his place in team India struggled with his position due to frequent injuries that he caught. Making his comeback after recovery, he registered figures of 5-76 in the first inning on his county debut. His contribution with the bat also came in as massive support for Lancashire Lightning to register their victory. But his stint ended as another shoulder injury ruled him out of the remaining Royal London Cup tournament. 

• Navdeep Saini- While playing for Kent Spitfires of the first county division, he scalped 11 wickets in 2 matches. He registered figures of 5/72 and 2/39 on his county debut, and his fiery bouncers left Warwickshire’s batters bamboozled.