Batty’s not so bullish but time already against Warwickshire
April 21- 24, Edgbaston, Birmingham, 11:00
BARELY two weeks have passed since Gareth Batty’s side mauled Warwickshire in their County Championship opener, but the Surrey captain is keen to keep his players’ feet firmly on the ground as they look to do the double over JimTroughton’s strugglers.
The two renew hostilities at Edgbaston this morning with Batty’s charges flying high after also drawing with Lancashire, while Warwickshire suffered a second heavy defeat at the hands of Yorkshire last week.
But despite riding the crest of a wave, the 39-year-old spinner is more than aware both teams start on 0/0 come this morning’s toss.
Nevertheless, having been forced to wait until mid-June for their maiden four-day win last season, the skipper is delighted they have found some early form upon which to build for the rest of the season.
“We wanted to start quickly and we have – it’s been positive and as a group you’re able to feed off that,” said Batty, speaking at a media day for the upcoming One-Day Cup.
“Confidence is a good thing, so long as you keep it under control and don’t let it get away from you.
“We need to start well with both bat and ball, build those blocks and earn the right to play in a certain manner.
“Warwickshire have some excellent talent, Jonathan Trott is still one of the best players in the world and guys like Ian Bell and Jeetan Patel are wonderful players.”
Title aspirations have quickly transcended into relegation fears for Warwickshire, with two innings defeats leaving them with just three points in a division where a quarter of sides will suffer the drop.
But with the blip potentially out of the way early, the only way is up for Trott and the Bears as they seek to live up to their earlyseason hopes.
Trott said: “Hopefully we can turn it around this week against Surrey, we’ve had a below average start, no question, but we’ve got a chance to make amends.
“We’ve got the One-Day Cup coming up, so it would be nice to hit that with some form.”