Hampshire plan harming Crane, declares Batty
Hampshire 423 & 201 (f/o) lost to Surrey 637-7d by an innings and 13 runs
SURREY captain Gareth Batty inspired his side to a vital victory with bat and ball and then likened Hampshire’s use of Mason Crane to “throwing him under the car”.
Leg-spinner Crane, 19, bowled 51 overs – the most in an innings at the Ageas Bowl – as Surrey amassed 637-7 declared during the first two days of a match that they went on to win by an innings and 13 runs.
Playing only his 11th first-class game, Crane bowled with excellent control for the most part, on an unresponsive pitch, to finish with a respectable 3-210 (including 2-78 from 25 overs on day one).
But after taking 6-51 on the final day – following his first century for ten years, when he was still at Worcestershire – Batty launched a scathing attack on Hampshire for their use of one of the brightest talents in English cricket.
“You hear Warney [Shane Warne] talk a lot about how spinners are used and I thought he was thrown under the car, to be honest,” he said.
“For a young fella to be bowling 50-odd overs and senior bowlers only bowling 20... that wouldn’t be happening under my watch. I look after my young fellas, particularly if it was a spinner. He’s got a lot to offer and he showed a lot of heart. Credit to him, to bowl 50-odd overs when we were in the ascendancy pretty much the whole time... fair dos to the lad and hopefully he goes well in the next game.”
Hampshire captain Will Smith said he “couldn’t get the ball out of [Mason’s] hands”.
But Batty continued: “I get that but at times you have to do what’s right for individuals within your group.
“It’s as much about looking after yours as anything else.You look after them and they look after you in the long run. When the game had gone and they were just looking for a declaration, that’s possibly a time to be saving him.”
Off-spinner Smith bowled ten overs but lacked other spin options with Liam Dawson on England Lions duty. “Mason just wanted to bowl,” he continued.
“He saw it as an opportunity in dry conditions and knew it was his job, as the main spinner, to bowl as many overs as he could. I’m incredibly proud of the effort he put in. I bowled a few but with Daws not here the way he stepped up to the responsibility in first-innings conditions, holding up an end for the seamers to rotate... for the most part he was unbelievably good at restricting their rate. He went at threes for most of his overs.
“Bowling those 50 overs, and the experience he’ll get with every over, is paramount.”
Surrey were without the slow leftarm skills of Zafar Ansari due to a back injury (they are awaiting the results of a scan), but still took 18 wickets on what was still a very flat surface on two of the hottest days of the year.
The pace and reverse swing of Stuart Meaker together with Batty’s off-spin accounted for all the second-innings wickets as Surrey climbed out of the relegation zone with their second win of the season – which was secured with 39 balls of the match remaining.
Wicketkeeper Lewis McManus’s superb maiden first-class century contributed to a first-innings tenthwicket stand of 96 with Brad Wheal – a Hampshire record against Surrey.
But his dismissal late on day four was the first of four wickets to fall for three runs in 19 balls.
“Total credit to McManus, he made it incredibly hard and is one for the future, but for us to get over the line was a monumental effort,” added Batty, 38, who played down any chance of an England recall, 11 years after the last of his seven Tests, insisting that he was much more concentrated on his partner giving birth next month.
“My focus is on that and winning as many games as possible with Surrey,” he said.