County memories: The holy grail

Surrey dominated county cricket for a decade under Stuart Surridge in the 1950s. In stark contrast by the mid-1990s, they were perennial under-achievers.

It was a dressing room divided, quite literally with a wall separating capped and non-capped players. A group of precocious, talented youngsters were frozen out of decision-making, seniority deciding selection.

The club was living in the shadows of glories long past. There was little to back up the infamous ‘Surrey strut’. They had won the Championship only twice since Surridge’s retirement and had no silverware to show since, other than one-day titles in 1974 and 1982.

Mark Butcher, who debuted in 1991, recalls a club with a massive hangover from the 1980s: “We, as a group of younger guys coming up, had felt that we weren’t doing ourselves justice as players or as a club.

“We all felt stuff needed to change in order to lift ourselves from where we felt was unacceptable for a club of our size and for players of the quality that we had.

“It was all very well for players to play at The Oval and strut around, but if you haven’t won a trophy for 15 years, there isn’t a great deal to back that up.

“Now, nothing changed in terms of the way that we all carried ourselves, that’s a club legacy, that’s part of the interview process, collars up! But what was very, very important to all of us was it’s completely empty, unless you’ve got titles to go along with it. That’s what we set about doing.”

Over eight seasons from 1996, that Surrey side created their own legacy, winning nine trophies, including three Championships. It was a memorable era of huge highs, but ultimately bookended by tragedy with the loss of two much-loved players.

In 1995 new Australian coach Dave Gilbert set to work alongside captain Alec Stewart, but with the Gaffer away for long periods with England, he forged a strong relationship with pugnacious Australia-born vice‑captain Adam Hollioake.

Down came the dividing wall in the dressing room as Gilbert ushered in a more inclusive and positive, attacking brand of cricket.

Opening bowler Martin Bicknell says Hollioake added another dimension. His partnership with Gilbert and a new no-fear approach had a galvanising effect.

Gilbert began by canvassing the views of players he saw as key to the future. He implemented their ideas but held them to account. Planning and preparation became more important. Contingency planning too was key, with England stars like Stewart and Graham Thorpe away regularly.

Early signs that the club was on that right path came with the 1996 Sunday League won under the split captaincy of Stewart and Hollioake, who led from the front with bat and ball – form that earned him an England debut that summer.

Momentum was building. Bicknell says that title was a catalyst and gave them more belief.

Adds Butcher: “We didn’t look back from there. That was the first piece of silverware for 14 years. Things had changed, and it felt that way.”

A second trophy came in 1997 as Surrey’s brightest young talent Ben Hollioake lit up a Lord’s final. Still only 19, his sparkling 98 against Kent was testament to the new regime’s willingness to back youth.

Of Ben’s remarkable maturity, Butcher says: “It’s always incredibly bittersweet to think about that. He had played a handful of games, gets given the role to bat at No.3 in our 50-over side, does that, plays in the Ashes and ODI cricket the same year. He could have been anything. Sadly, the moments between then and between him not being here anymore were fleeting.”

Bicknell says that while Hollioake’s bowling was still developing, he had the ability to take the game away from the opposition very quickly with the bat: “Once Ben got going, oh my God, put your feet up and enjoy the show. It was one-way traffic for a long time.

“It was in keeping with the rest of his performances. He liked a stage. He knew how to perform and was pretty fearless. That set a bit of a benchmark for us.”

At the end of 1997, Gilbert left The Oval after laying much of the groundwork for success. When Keith Medlycott arrived as coach, Adam Hollioake was well established as captain. The pair complemented each other well with Medlycott excellent behind the scenes working with individual players.

Moreover, they were able to get the best out of a dressing room full of talented, experienced players with strong opinions.

^{Ian Ward batting against Leicestershire in the Championship match at Guildford, July 2000}

Butcher says: “Sometimes in the past that had got in the way of there being any cohesive success. Adam’s great strength was that he was able to pull anybody into line. Didn’t matter whether you were Alec Stewart or Graham Thorpe or one of the young kids playing in his first game.

“So, there never felt as though there was a case of people pulling away or doing their own thing. It was very much ‘we’re all in this together’ no matter our status.”

For batsman Ian Ward, Hollioake was the best captain he played with: “Not least because he was a bloody good player, but you wanted to play for him, because he was an outstanding leader. He was a very strong individual. He’d walk out with his chest puffed out and you thought I’m going into battle here with a bloke that I want alongside me. I don’t want to let him down.

“Also, it was an inordinate amount of fun to play with Adam. Because whilst it was serious at times, there was always a lot of humour and he didn’t take it overtly seriously.”

Ward says the squad probably understood their roles in Championship cricket best. It was in the shorter formats where Hollioake’s tactical brilliance, inquisitive and imaginative cricket brain was pivotal, making up for the side’s shortcomings in one-day cricket.

Crucial to building a side that could challenge for the Championship was the decision to invest in spin in 1997. Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq offered plenty of variations including his revolutionary doosra. Leg-spinner Ian Salisbury had not held down a regular Test place but was one of the best spinners on the county circuit and scored useful runs.

The pair made all the difference at The Oval where it was always difficult to take 20 wickets but where pitches offered plenty of bounce.

They could spin the ball on any surface, though. Even when Sussex prepared a green damp August wicket to arrest their 1999 dominance, Saqlain took 7 for 19 in the first innings.

Not only did they take wickets, but they kept the fast bowlers fresh. Bicknell’s workload dropped. Most of his wickets were top-six batters and he rarely needed to bowl at the tail.

It gave him more freedom to go full out for two spells, knowing that it was unlikely he would have to bowl 20–25 overs in the day and that he had two bowlers coming on after him who were matchwinners.

Bicknell himself was a highly accurate and consistent wicket-taker spearheading Surrey’s attack for almost 20 years. His swing and seam brought him 50 or more first-class wickets on 11 occasions. He was integral to Surrey’s success and made key contributions with the bat.

He formed a strong opening partnership with Alex Tudor, “the perfect foil”, says Bicknell, a bowler who offered plenty of pace and bounce but was equally skilful in getting good players out.

Surrey boasted a formidable top order. Ward says sharing a dressing room with England regulars was a huge motivation and provided extra incentive.

Ali Brown’s runs set the tone. Ahead of his time in one-day cricket, in the Championship too he could accelerate the pace of the innings and take opposition bowlers on.

“Ali Brown just came up with the goods at the right time,” says Bicknell. “He played some incredible innings. He was a real fighter. People saw him as flamboyant, but he could guts out the tough times as well. He produced a lot of very, very good, match-winning performances.

“He wasn’t technically perfect, but he just got the job done. He could build an innings and was hungry for runs.”

Despite two one-day titles, the elusive County Championship remained out of reach. One-day success bred confidence and strong performances throughout 1998, though, putting them on course for a first Championship since 1971.

They missed out due to a heavy loss in their final match against eventual champions Leicestershire. In an effective Championship decider on a dry, late-September Oval surface, Surrey were without Saqlain, their most potent threat, on international duty.

It left a bad taste after a good summer, says Butcher, while Bicknell believes Surrey were not quite ready to get over the line. Defeat stung and they were determined to learn lessons. With another year’s experience, they felt that next season would be their time.

^{Left: Adam Hollioake was an inspiration to Surrey players. Right: Ben Hollioake during the 1997 B&H Cup Final}

1999 was a World Cup year, though, meaning Surrey were without Hollioake, Stewart, Thorpe and Saqlain for much of the early season. Despite that, they dominated, going unbeaten and winning their first Championship in 28 years with two games to spare.

Contingency planning paid off. The club blooded several youngsters and fielded 21 players. Everyone who came in performed. The club maintained team spirit despite an ever-changing line-up. Butcher and Bicknell highlight the role played by players like Jason Ratcliffe and Nadeem Shahid, experienced pros who were content to fill the gaps.

Butcher captained the side during the World Cup and brought powerful lessons to bear from the previous September.

“We’d dominated at times during ’98 but learned not to take that for granted. We learned also that you might potentially have one of your trump cards removed, but how do you still go about winning games of cricket. We did that in ’99.

“Most teams wouldn’t have been able to cope with that. But we coped unbelievably well. By the time everybody came back, we were top and clear.”

They were unstoppable that summer, yet ironically, Bicknell says he never felt that dominance because Surrey had not won the Championship for so many years. Instead, they focused on winning every game, every session, worried they could still blow it.

Fittingly, they wrapped up the title at The Oval, inside two days against Nottinghamshire. A big weight was lifted with the Championship pennant finally back. 

After the win the players sat out on the pitch until dark, telling stories and waiting for the second eleven players who had played their part to join them. It had been a huge, collective effort.

“It was the holy grail for the club, winning the Championship after 28 years,” says Bicknell. “We always felt we were getting closer. The one-day success had helped massively. It gave us a bit more belief. The Championship was always going to be the hardest thing to win.

“I think the overriding feeling for us was not only relief, but we wanted to go and do it again. We wanted to cement our place as a great team in Surrey’s history. The history of the club is so important to all the players.”

There was a feeling, says Ward, that the only thing that could knock them off top spot was if they lost any of their absolute focus, hard work and motivation.

The title defence did not get off to the best start though and they faltered. By the time Surrey came back to The Oval in mid-June, after two heavy away defeats at Durham and Derby, they had only a solitary, narrow victory to their name.

The tide turned after they dispatched Somerset by an innings. Butcher says: “Inevitably, everybody thought it was a bit of a fluke, they’ll go back to strutting around and not winning anything again. We barely got off the bottom of the table.”

There were arguments in the dressing room and a team meeting after the game at Derby helped clear the air.

Butcher adds: “Again, testament to the strength of the management. Everybody was encouraged to have their say and there were a few choice words flying around. From then on, things went back to normal again. We started to pile the runs on the board and once we did that, nobody could live with us.”

Bicknell says those away defeats were a wake-up call: “That period of play between the Somerset game onwards to the end of the season, that’s the best cricket we played in that entire period. We were just dominant.

“We had lots of very, very good players peaking at the right time. We were lucky to have almost 11 internationals on the pitch at times. The confidence that breeds, the fear it instils in other teams was pretty palpable.”

Brown scored a career-best 295 not out against Leicestershire at Oakham, while in the return fixture at Guildford, Bicknell took a staggering 16 wickets on a good pitch with short boundaries and a fast outfield. He believes that day one of that game was the best he ever bowled, although his herculean effort in the second innings, battling exhaustion and out of rhythm, was just as notable.

Surrey also finished as Division Two champions in the National League to cap a memorable start to the new millennium.

The following summer though, they flirted with relegation in the Championship, but celebrated as Ben Hollioake played one more sparkling innings in a Lord’s final. In partnership with his brother, he smashed a match-winning 73 against one-day kings Gloucestershire, rescuing Surrey from a perilous 118 for 5.

^{Alistair Brown was a batsman before his time}

With another trophy in the bag, Surrey were on a high and ready for another crack at the Championship in 2002.

Then the unimaginable happened. Ben Hollioake was killed in a car accident in Perth. He was just 24.

The impact was devastating and dealt a second blow to a club which had lost another loved player in wicketkeeper Graham Kersey to a road accident in Brisbane just five years previously. Speaking at the time, Stewart described Kersey as the most popular member of the side – “a true players’ player”.

Now they had to deal with another incalculable loss. Understandably, Adam missed the first two months of the season with Ward and Butcher sharing captaincy duties. Ward says winning the Championship in Ben’s honour wasn’t discussed openly but adds: “There was a definite feel that, come on, this is important. Let’s get this done. It was a very, very difficult time. But yeah, I think there was an inner determination to do well.”

Butcher agrees: “I have no doubt that that was the driving factor.”

It was perfect that Surrey won the Championship that year, says Bicknell. “We just knew that we wanted Adam back. That was important to us to get him back and involved. We were a pretty tight family.”

Surrey’s opening game at The Oval was unbearably poignant. Their opponents Sussex had lost allrounder Umer Rashid and his brother in a drowning accident during pre-season.

The cricket was a release. Surrey amassed 575 for 8 declared with Brown and Shahid making 150s, enforced the follow-on and won by 10 wickets. Victories followed against Yorkshire and Lancashire and they never looked back.

When Hollioake returned in mid-June, Butcher noticed a marked change in his captain.

“Certain things were unbelievably different. The team was his. There was no doubt about it, and you knew that when he was captaining the team. But none of that was there anymore, in terms of him being all over the details and all over everything all the time.

“But he just came in and encouraged everybody to basically just play by the seat of their pants and we weren’t going to prepare particularly well, we weren’t going to do this, that and the other, we’ll just have a laugh and see what happened. He would walk out to bat and just hit his first ball for six.

“I think that was perhaps, without knowing at the time, the start of the end. Because the slight disengagement that Adam had and the strength that we had all taken from him as a leader and his partnership with Keith Medlycott kind of changed forever. It’s pretty easy to understand why. But things changed massively at that point.”

Ward was prolific throughout that 2002 campaign, scoring 1,708 runs including seven centuries. Meanwhile Mark Ramprakash – a “phenomenal signing” in Bicknell’s words – added even more firepower to the batting line‑up.

Surrey nearly won the treble in 2003 after claiming the National League and inaugural T20. Hollioake immediately grasped the basics of the new format: hit sixes and take wickets.

He admitted though that the pleasure of winning two trophies did not outweigh the disappointment of missing out on the Championship. Surrey had led the table earlier in the season over eventual winners Sussex, only to finish third.

Bicknell earned a surprise England recall that summer, missing two vital games, and says: “We played a lot of good cricket in 2003, but it was a real sign that things were turning. I think from that moment on, the back end of that Championship season, we were never quite the same again.”

Change was afoot. Stewart announced his retirement while Ward was let go. Hollioake meanwhile, announced that 2004 would be his last season and he was replaced as captain by Jonathan Batty.

Surrey finished third in the Championship in 2004 but had a dismal run in limited-overs cricket, although they reached the T20 final. Butcher took over as captain in 2005 but they were relegated to Division Two of the Championship. The cycle had come to a premature end.

Despite the success, Ward says it does not stand comparison with Surrey’s achievements in the 1950s.

“We didn’t win enough. We should have won two or three more Championships and probably more one-day cups.

“But with the death of Ben, things change, understandably so. The players are getting a bit older, the younger guys that were coming through hadn’t seen the work necessarily that we’d all put in in our formative years and the early part of the success.

“The focus and the foot came off the gas. It just sort of petered away. It was a very, very good Surrey side, but it’s not a patch on what Stuart Surridge did. We just didn’t keep the success up for long enough.

“We didn’t quite have that hunger or that focus long enough to really probably fulfil the potential that we had. But we played some fantastic, really entertaining cricket. We won trophies for a club that had been starved of trophies for a long time. So, we put some smiles on the supporters’ faces. And a lot of us went on and played for England, which is ultimately another thing that counts.

“We did a lot of that in a relatively short period of time. It was a hell of a blast. It was such fun. When you see how much hard work went in off the field and you get the rewards with your mates, it’s a bloody satisfying feeling.”

This article was published in the March edition of The Cricketer - the home of the best cricket analysis and commentary, covering the international, county, women's and amateur game