Rory Burns hundred a timely reminder of England opener's aptitude against spin

JACOB PHILLIPS: The Surrey captain, on his county return after a long summer in England's bio-secure bubble, looked more comfortable than any of his peers on a surface that saw 30 out of 34 wickets fall to spin

At long last Surrey fans were treated to the return of their captain at the Kia Oval.

The tail-wagging back-lift of England opener Rory Burns once again graced the south London county and with it came the first victory for Surrey in the Bob Willis Trophy.

More importantly, Burns knocked up 155 runs in his two innings, including his fastest first-class century.

Speaking on the steps of the Bedser stand, Burns explained to journalists in the press box on the other side of the stadium over Zoom that he felt no pressure on his Surrey return.

“I felt a lot of freedom. Obviously, the responsibility of being captain and leading the side allowed me to think about other things really,” the 30-year-old explained.

“Bubble life probably wasn’t the easiest in terms of Test match cricket and some of it I didn’t enjoy away from the game, but I managed to come outside and get some runs.

“Bubble life is very much you go from one end of the ground to the other end of the ground and sit in your hotel room.”

In the England bubble, Burns enjoyed a mixed summer. Against West Indies, he seemed to look more comfortable as the series progressed.

He made two starts in the first innings, scoring 30 and 42 before finishing the series with 57 and 90 as part of a dominant victory for the hosts.

His average dropped to 28.22 at the end of the six Tests in the bubble after a series of low scores against Pakistan and particularly 20-year-old fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi.

“I actually felt like I was hitting the ball pretty well in the Test series,” Burns said.

“I got some handy deliveries up top and batted at some quite unfavourable times as well. It was tough to take at points but you bounce back.”

^{Burns was back on captaincy duty for Surrey}

Scores of four, ten, zero and six combined with the flying form of England newbie Zac Crawley, who usually opens for his county Kent, may lead the England selectors to consider juggling the England order around.

However, Burns looked very much an international player in registering his first hundred of the Covid-shortened summer.

What particularly shone was his ability to play spin on the final day. The crumbling wicket at the Oval looked like it would be more suited to Mumbai than SE11 and spin dominated the game.

In total, 30 out of 34 wickets in the match fell to spin and in the last two innings just seven overs of seam bowling were bowled. 

With England still hoping for winter fixtures in the subcontinent – with the postponed series against Sri Lanka alongside a five-Test tour of India in January, Burns' assuredness against spin will come in handy.

Back at home, the England opener appears incredibly relaxed. The positive environment at Surrey resonates through his press conference.

Firstly, matters are delayed as the Surrey team is sung in the dressing ground. While Burns talks through the proceedings of the day, a heckling padded-up Gareth Batty sings ‘Guess who’s back’ in the direction of his skipper as he heads out to train.

On Surrey’s poor form in the Bob Willis Trophy – they lost four of their five games, Burns praised the way they have been able to turn things around.

He said: “Results haven’t gone our way this year for guys to perform the way they did is very pleasing.

“It’s been a strange year with coronavirus, so obviously results might not have gone our way. However, to get younger guys games and get them up to the standard of first-class cricket is an important thing. We’ve exposed them to it now. They’re working and trying to get better now all the time.”

^{Burns was especially impressive against spin in his hundred}

There will be lots of hope at Surrey when red-ball cricket does eventually return. In Amar Virdi and Daniel Moriarty, they have found two quality spinners.

Moriarty in particular excelled against Sussex, claiming his maiden ten-wicket haul across in the final game of the campaign.

Playing in just his second first class game, the 21-year-old took his third consecutive five-wicket haul, meaning he has taken 17 wickets so far in his fledgling career.

His skipper had a lot of praise for him. Burns said: “There’s a bit of Garethy Batty in there I think in terms of a competitive streak which is always handy in a spinner.

“He bowled nicely. He bowled with good control. Him and [Virdi] dovetailed very nicely on this surface and really controlled the game for us at various points.

“When I first came into the side, we had [Zafar] Ansari and Batty going full flow which was obviously pretty handy. It gives us options to have two frontline spinners.”

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Since returning to the side, Ben Foakes has also looked in fine form. Since leaving the England bubble, he has impressed, with scores of 118, 57, 44 and 60 not out. Against Sussex, he hit 39 and 13 not out, including a match-winning six into the 1845 Stand.

With Surrey hopeful that Foakes, Burns and the Curran brothers will be able to balance their England duties with Surrey again in the future, Alec Stewart’s side could become competitive in red-ball cricket very quickly once more.

Until then, Surrey will turn their focus to the T20 Blast. So far, they sit second in the table, having beaten Middlesex and Hampshire in consecutive games.

Burns explained: “It’s about taking momentum forward. As a group we are quite clear how we want to play our T20 cricket, particularly at home.

“We are second in the group with a couple of wins and we need to keep that up.”

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