A Day At The Kia Oval - How Do Surrey Win Back The County Championship?!

0:00Okay, Seven stops to write this best man's speech. Hi, I'm Liam. And I've got nothing. Stop funny. When he's good. I beat her. He'd never forgive me. What about friendship? Is a journey. Ugh. Crank. Come on. That's it. In year five, Dan had the bright idea to cracking the best best man's speech. On the train. You can. Looking for soccer analysis, more knowing than a Carlo Ancelotti eyebrow raise, with the World Cup around the corner, join me, Max Rushton and the Guardians expert soccer journalists on football weekly for all the latest soccer action and news throughout the week. We'll cover more ground than Drew Bellingham and a Champions League final with conversation sharper than an Arsenal set piece for fine margins, fun debates and full-blooded tackles football weekly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts and watch the full episodes on YouTube. You're listening to following on, I'm Scott Taylor, thanks to your company.

1:14And on today's show, we're just over two weeks to go until the start of the new County Championship season. We head to the Kia Rover, sorry to see how they are going to win back the County Championship after losing it to Nottinghamshire in 2025. They did win it three times in a row in 2022, 2023 and 2024, but narrowly missed out on the title, two nots by 16 points. This year now, from their head coach, Gareth Batty, I spoke to him about the new season ahead, their preparations and rebuilding Oli Pope and Jamie Smith after a difficult wincer in Australia. Gareth, lovely to see you. Let's start by having some quick reflections on last season, having thought of the wincer, where did it get away from last season? I look, you don't just lose it in one game, which everybody remembers the game against Nottingham, an absolute credit to them to come and beat us here, was, you know, it dented to me, Gus, so we've had six months to reflect on that.

2:15A few wrongs from how we allowed the season to get away from us. And just to identify key areas where we want to just brush up on what we need to do. It's the first time for a decent period that we are now chasing, rather than later of the pack. Yes, and so does the mindset change coming into first-day preseason with no longer being chased through other chases? What's the change in mindset? It's a really interesting one, because you can put it into what my words are, but I think there's a very obvious sort of analogy and we'll see first-game. We didn't have a play across the White Wash last year that didn't want to win and didn't compete, but I think you'll see a different person this year. There's just something extra. So whether it is a dent on the ego or whatever it could be, but at the moment, and it needs harnessing, there's a wonderful energy and desire around the group. Just an update on any overseas place, if not bought in any do we have an update on that? We don't have anything that we can sort of say publicly, but we're very, very close.

3:15We're just waiting on some paper work, so rather than me making a rash decision and blurt out, we'll wait for that paper work to be completed and then there'll be announcements to come and you'll be the first to know. You've got a couple of England players coming back into the fold after a difficult win, sir. Someone like Oli who's lost his place in England, so how'd you pick him up after a difficult win, sir? I think it's our sort of promise and our stance to players and our members that we want players to be as good as they can be for us and then we want them to fly. But when they come back, we're going to look after them tenfold. So we're just trying to create an environment for Oli to be the man that he wants to be and to get back to some work where he can hope we do it within the realms of a bit more confinement at Surrey without possibly the bright lights of England to get himself beyond where he's finished with England and really reboot because he's a young man, he's got so much long, so much longevity in his career. In some ways he won't see it now but if he has a very nice reset now which we're in

4:16the process of and it looks like it's going wonderfully well, he adds to what's already 60 odd test matches, it's a really exciting thing for a young man that he's got such a long and prosperous career ahead of him. I guess the proof in the pudding is to start the season and on that, how difficult is it for any player, not just Oli, to you've had a preseason, you've got everything where you want to be technically, then there's so many games you can't really, once you get into a lot of playing games and if you're out of form you can't really fix stuff, how do you find that challenge? County cricket is very much a grind, the volume is the real positive, particularly for batters because you get opportunity to put numbers on paper often. It only becomes a mental grind if you allow it to be, so it's just trusting a process, it's trusting an outcome and we've got a young man there up until a couple of years ago that was average in 99 or whatever it was, batting at the oval, so he plays half his game here, so hopefully you reproduce some of those memories and some of those thoughts

5:18in your mind. I see nothing but it's not even a reset, it's just a small bump in his career which everybody has and he'll reset and see it at the end of his career as a wonderful thing. It's the first sort of time in his career really, he's had a major setback, so what have you seen in the body language of Oli in training that makes you think, right, Oli's back? The desire to improve, the desire to work, the desire to be actually a good teammate around the rest of the squad is a wonderful human being, he's got a wonderful skill set and sometimes you just need to just immerse yourself in what is a very good group here, it's a wonderful talent but there's also good human beings, immerse yourself in it and come out the other side. And on Jamie Smith as well, he had a difficult ashes and you'll obviously know it's sorry is to win the county championship, so how would you find that dynamic with Jamie not keeping it sorry but then going to keep into England and what you do to provide Jamie

6:21with the tool so that when he does go to England as a wicket keeper, he can fright. Yeah it's the mix of county cricket and England I suppose, county cricket is there to facilitate the growth of players for England to be the best team in the world. So we're trying to in practice up skill give Jamie the best opportunity to have cumulative workload so that he's able and physically able to do the job with England. So our sentiment, our intention is to create and make it almost a positive for him so that when he goes to England he's fresh and ready to go. But yeah it's a difficult one but no player has gone and played for England without coming through county cricket and hopefully now we have a bit of a reset that this is the breathing ground for our next future England players. There is an accusation that the pathways not blocked entirely but it's changed over

7:22the last few years under the current regime of England I'm not asking you to comment on that but someone like Dom Sibley for example who's had this time with England probably come back a better player, 1200 runs in the championship, normally they'd be talk of Dom Sibley getting in England side. So how'd you keep Dom motivated, 30 years old, prime risk career when that opportunity may not be as obvious as it was in the past? It's very simple, get 400 runs, make it so that the question and keeps getting asked. Nobody in County cricket is saying that it is making people ready for test cricket but it's the best first-class structure in the world and if we keep trying to dilute it you're going to dilute your national team. That's not the intention of anybody in County cricket so I think players need to keep getting the runs, keep trying to evolve their game. Situations have changed and that is what you alluded to with maybe how the pathway might be this, it might be that. Well the world changes in front of us, if we think we've cracked it and we're not trying to get better and we're not trying to improve then the game will pass you by so that is

8:26something we're not doing here, absolutely not, we're trying to get everybody as good as they can be but also better than what they've been before which then hopefully could be a different story for Sibs this year, it might play a knock where they see it and all of a sudden they go, oh he's changed what he did, he's changed from three years ago and he's now the player we want but you have to go out there and get the runs, you have to have the work in place to be able to set new benchmarks. And a lot of what's sorry to do well I think is the fact that Ollie and Jamie and Gus come back from England and they want to play for sorry, they want to play County cricket so how proud is that mate you, of the culture you've created that even when they've got a test on their eyes and they want to play for sorry first and foremost. Yeah I mean you can probably see over me there's a there's a marquee in the background, they've been in that marquee for the last three to four weeks, they want to be in a marquee in February and March at the key role so I don't know if it's anything other than just we were starting to invest in people to be better and if you feel like okay I want to

9:28get some work done, they want to come back and hopefully I have a nice environment to work in but more importantly you know we're trying to almost give people the sort of start and the kick start into achieving the dreams that everybody hoped for within our squad has. Stront on that point as well about them playing for their counties, are you disappointed that other counties don't play their England players would you like to see more players from England? You look at someone like Joe Ruth, Harry Brook, they only played one max two before a test summer and if you want to make the county championship the best comp surely you want the best players playing. I think it already is the best comp I think that's the that's the point I'm trying to get across I think the world acknowledges that now but I think England players need to be dealt with on an individual basis and sometimes some tough decisions need to be made from management the staff to say well you're not where you think you are so I'm actually going to do the right thing and get some accumulative load in you if you're a boulder and batting sport

10:30is about repetition at the highest level over and over again and you only need to look at tennis and the couple of grits that are well there's one still going that almost every comp he plays now he has a nugget of genius and one that's recently retired they're training program the volume that they're put to achieve their great heights is second to none you don't get anywhere in sport without doing the work and getting out there in the middle so look it's very individualized of course it is and I would be the first to say that but it will be nice to get some players out there. Just finally talk about the volume six games in seven weeks start the season and then congested into the season is there any concerns always at just embracing the grind as you mentioned earlier. I think it's professional sport isn't it you know we think we have it tough in cricket but if you look at baseball there's something like 165 days you look at basketball you look at NFL it's you look at Premier League football sport is about playing the game that's what the fans want to see so if players want to get paired a bit more they want the adulation

11:32and all this sort of a thing I'd suggest that you get out there and do your job rather than worry about how much you're playing because before you know it the game will pass you by. Okay seven stops to write this best man's speech hi I'm Liam and I've got nothing stop funny and he's good I beat her he'd never forgive me what about friendship is a journey uh Crane come on that's it in year five Dan had the bright idea cracking the best best man's speech on the train you can do you want your soccer analysis more direct than an arsel set peace join me max russian and the guardians expert soccer journalists for the latest action and news from the Premier League to the Champions League and all the way to the world cup will have chat more out of the box than a Dominic sobersly free kick more panellists than Chelsea have players and unlike the AR we know where to draw the line for five margins fund debates and pool blood

12:33articles football weekly listen wherever you get your podcasts and watch the full episodes on YouTube tight of your card insurance rate going up even with a clean driving record you're not alone that's why there's Jerry your proactive insurance assistant Jerry compares rates side by side from over 50 top insurers and helps you switch with ease Jerry even tracks market rates and alerts you when it's best to shop no spam calls no hidden fees drivers who save a Jerry could save over $1,300 a year switch with confidence download the Jerry app or visit Jerry dot AI slash a cast today so as a head coach sheriff batty speaking to me ahead of the start of the tournament I also spoke with their captain Rory Burns didn't store a county championship hundred last season and he's looking to put that right this season as we looked head to the start of the new campaign Rory thanks for joining us let's start off by looking back at last season you've had six months to to think about it to dwell on it where do you think it went wrong or not wrongs you came second but

13:34the title slipped away for you it just came down to that title decided didn't it we lost the game acrylic here against knots you know for large portions of it as well we're right in the you know to lose by 20 odd runs was it at the back end is obviously gutting when it comes down to that so obviously title aside in game but yeah we did a lot of good stuff over there over the course of the year and some bits that we can tidy up on of course and get better at but yeah just looking forward to this one and is the mindset change from being you know the team that's getting hunted to now the team hunting down not even sure even if it is a subconscious mindset have you seen that sort of change yeah a little bit I think so you know obviously being the guys of the targets on our back for such a period of time obviously three and three you know it's a different mindset to keep trying to I suppose defend it and keep trying to find a ways to try to attack a season so yeah to be number two and to have to chase down number one again and get in front yeah it's really nice thing and how's the sort of mindset change for you at all at this stage of career compared

14:35to say what five years ago when you're in the England side how does preseason feel for you now busy yeah just I don't think anything really changed to me like I love competing I love winning um love playing cricket so yeah whenever a season comes around preseason obviously the nice bit everyone comes back you know 25 blokes back in rather than like seven or so that you see in the winter um a lot of energy in the room and yeah come on to get cracking and there's obviously a busy start of season six games seven weeks and then you've got a ridiculously busy end to the campaign is there any concerns about the welfare of the squad or is it just I speak to bats you saying it's the grind isn't it's kind of cricket yeah I mean that is county cricket and that show isn't it is a grind you know it'd be nice not to be turning around four day games in two days come the back end of the year um being a scheduling issues I've been going on for as long as I can remember now um there's a lot of cricket in our calendar four four mats to try and fit in four competitions um yeah it's difficult so there's never going to be a perfect scenario um

15:38yes it's a grind for a reason and it's it's probably the most rewarding one for a reason when you get to the end of it and you've had a lot of lads come back from a from a difficult tour with England the likes of Ollie and Dustin Jamie what have you seen in them over the last few weeks how have you managed to pick them up ahead of the new season for them to go again um a lot sure what happens to pick them up but you know they come back somewhere that you know it feels like home um they know the value that we place in them here and how much to try and get around them um and they're sorry boys right so they're hungry to get going for us um like I say it's a different energy for them getting around 20 old blokes they haven't seen the while um and yeah we've been supported in the whole time when they've been wafers it's nice to get them back in our dress room and be able to get around them and I suppose in that respect there's a good thing about sorry compared to other counties these players do want to come back and play for sorry ahead of test series so what's that say about what you and bats have created in the dress room that even when they are essentially contracted every opportunity to do the again they want to come back um I suppose that thing isn't it when you you know when you hold a place in high regard when

16:43it feels like home and you feel valued by the guys here that you're you're going to want to come back and play um so yeah hopefully you know maybe that is me and bats maybe that's just everyone here that in the whole environment that sort of makes it that way but um yeah I think if you if you come back somewhere you feel valued you're going to want to play last season for you you didn't get 100 but are you sort of more motivated now to sort of tick that off the list and how do you feel looking back at last season did you you did it like parking it and then looking ahead to the new season yes I mean I still got a fair amount of runs I think I need like didn't get to start in two games or something stupid sips kind of pulled me up on that at the end of the year and and told me so now I'm still obviously reducing a weight of runs obviously you know it would be nice to get some big big hundreds and and really contribute but um yeah anything that contributes to to a win or a match any sort of match winning performance even if that's 70 60 whatever it might be um as long as we get in the points and get up the right end of the table that's uh that's the real motivation

17:43I think and just the word on sips the other good season last season but there seems to be a perception right or wrong about getting into England sides a lot harder nowadays under this regime so how does someone like Dom who's 13-hour prime risk career stay motivated to try and break that door down to Ernest for someone like sips I think the key point of it is that he keeps scoring his runs and keeps churning them out and then doing what he's doing but like you say he's 30 and he's got the ability and he has done this got obviously you see some of his 2020 performances here as well that he can keep improving and there's a bloke that still wants to get better in there um you know that's something that probably you know other guys can tap into and you know for guys looking down on selections or or what they're thinking or preconceived ideas on people I think it's just that reminder that people can still keep improving people's that keep getting better regardless of age and just one wider one on the county championships obviously as I said sorry to it very well we're playing England players but would

18:45you want to play against like the test players before test series and sort of you want to play against the best right hundred percent yeah yeah I'd love to play against Yorkshire and they bring down Brooke Root and let the boys really go at it and have a game of cricket that you know guys it was you know we've had some great attendances here in recent times I think the Yorkshire game last year would probably have all sorts of records for our home attendants and that sort of thing so yeah that would only swell with you know Brooke Root and some decent weather um I think that'd be great fun yeah and we end the show by hearing from Burns's opening partner Dom Sibli 1200 runs in the county championship last year could he make a stake for an England recall last play test cricket in 2021 five seasons ago but after a strong season last season and potential changes to the England setup after a difficult winter could Sibli find himself back in the side I posed that question to him and so much more when I spoke to the Surrey opener Dom thanks for joining us let's start off by looking back at last season you've had six months to think about it where do

19:49you think the title went away last season oh sorry is it put up here yes I definitely think that obviously you know it sort of came down to one off-game against knots didn't it really and I think it was great for the county game you know the fact that it was on you know on sky and it was a great fixture but obviously we came off on the wrong side but um obviously disappointing for us but certainly driving us forward with our beaches and training and our hunger to go on better this year and I think we you know in hindsight you look at it and you know I think we've been pretty tough to beat here at the Oval so the fact that knots came here and beat us you have to say well done to them and yeah definitely providing some good hunger for the season coming out as the mindset sort of changed from being the team that's being hunted to now the team hunting down knots to try and win the title of that even if it is sub-consciously yeah it's an interesting question I haven't actively sort of felt like that I still feel I still feel that we're a top team and um you know I know they want it last year but you know they'll they'll probably feel the same and that they'll feel like they're you know going to be there or there about some we feel the same

20:52so it's just the case of you know trying to start well take each game as it comes and each day as it comes and then you know see where we are come start September and then then it's then it's crunch time yeah the good season with the bat last season what can you do to take that into this season to maybe even do better than the last season yeah I think um yeah when when well last year and um yeah I did a few things few things well I think it's like trying to take as much you know take as much from last year as possible but also nothing's granted especially isn't it me batter early in April you know you could have three or four balls or your name on it at the start so um trying to not get too up or too down um and although I got a few big hundreds last year I still felt like I left a few out there so um I think you know as you know you know as well like when you're an opener you when you get in you want to make the most of it so yeah definitely definitely getting very hungry but do anything technically you change from maybe the start of last season that you you hit that retrain when a film yeah not a huge amount just trying to sit you know over the last few years been trying to sort of simplify my game from when I was you know five years ago and I was you know my technique was probably in a really bad shape as

21:56I came out of the Indian environment so I feel like time off in the winter has actually done my techniques and some good and it sort of simplified it and um yeah I feel like my game is in a really good order. What do you feel about the pathway back to England because normally when an open store is 1200 runs there'll be a few murmurs about or possibly recall but there is a perception that England's quite close shop so how how do you motivate yourself year in year out if you don't have that ambition probably all that reality to get back in the universe. Well I definitely do have ambition from from my side and from from a personal point of view I think I think I've said it publicly that like as I came out of the environment in the last couple of years I haven't craved it but I certainly feel as a crypto you know technically and physically and mentally I feel in my prime and at the best I've ever felt so you know I definitely feel like I you know want to play Freeman again and and and feel ready to go in and do well also um how that looks for me I don't

22:57I don't know I don't know all I can do is try and help sorry when games are cricket um school big runs um so yeah that's all I'm trying to focus on really and um yeah I don't I don't know exactly how it looks but do you feel your better player now than when you came out of the England set up three or four years ago would it? Yeah 100 percent um you know across across the board whether it's you know the mental side and um you know dealing with the ups and downs of being in open air and and technically by a mile so yeah I definitely feel like um you know a far better player than when I was when I was younger um and I feel way more ready equipped now to to succeed at that level for a longer period of time but you know whether that opportunity comes or not um it's nice to be in that place as a as a cricket you know personally so yeah I can only take that into the season and see how we go it seems to be a perception that whether the column stays as England head coach there seems to be a different approach the season there's there's a realization that things need to change whether that's their approach or the mindset does that give you an extra lift going into the season knowing that there could be a potential to get

24:01back into the England squad now? I try not to think too much about it I mean I think the focus purely for me is to try and score runs and help sorry when games are cricket um and you know like I said I just keep improving like myself as a cricketer um mentally and technically and physically and um you know like I just said I do feel like I'm in a great position personally to to go in and do okay and I feel confident in that and whether or not that happens or not is is just the case of wherever I score big runs so we'll see let's let's talk about your winter because normally players go off and play franchise cricket you were doing a sort of work experience at that pitch international you were saying your fair it's your third year there just tell us a bit about that experience and what sort of stuff you get up to there um yeah so it's my I've done three winters now with pitch and um yeah certainly feel part of the part of the furniture there now which is great everyone makes me feel very welcome um just doing stuff with like TV rights and being involved with like the like the accounts they run and the board they look

25:03after for example um so yeah it's been great and everyone's really helpful there and it's um it's been a great experience and I've actually loved like the you know stepping away from cricket it's been really I think it's been really beneficial for my game and driven driven a bit of hunger when I've come back to the oval in February to to get started again so um yeah I know it's slightly different to what you know most people are doing but I've been lucky as well that you know sorry I've been really accommodating with it and steering bats have said going get stuck in as long as as long as I don't get uh out of shape with the fitness and it's all good so um yeah it's been good fun has that changed your sort of perception when it comes to your cricket that there is a life outside this game because a lot of people in there put so much effort into trying to get to England and then when they retire they don't really have that life but you're sort of looking towards what's next even at 30 yeah 100% I think um when I was dropped from the from the England stuff you know my dad sort of was not not you know he's quite realistic with me he's like look if that's not going to happen for you for the next couple of years or or or again then going get stuck in something else in the winter and um I think it's given me a great perspective on

26:05what cricket is and and you know maybe when I was younger you you live in it too much and you you sort of consumes you and you you put yourself under too much pressure so I definitely feel a different perspective and a different sort of love for the game now and I do when I was younger and I definitely think it's more healthy now than ever has been so um yeah it's been uh it's definitely been a great experience and I think it's you know helped my cricket and and away from cricket just finally your good mates with Oli Pope how how is Oli not as a cricketer but as a person after what he went through in Australia have you managed to sort of get out rounds a goal you know you mentioned a little bit of paddle earlier just to fit his arm around him how how is Oli yeah he's good he's um we just played paddle yesterday and uh him and Will Jack's got the better being down Lawrence so that was uh that was a tough one to take Will Jack has been practicing a lot in India I think but um now Oli seems in great form um you know seems really really hungry and ready to go for the season um I know he's like honestly you know you know hasn't been any different to normal I think that's the whole the nice thing about we live locally to each other and just being good

27:05mates you know even without cricket so um you know I don't feel ever like if I see him that I need to sort of talk to him about cricket we can talk about anything and um you know I know that he he knows that I'm there for him and vice versa so um yeah he seems in great form I think he's excited and very hungry to do well in the season and just one more about the culture that sorry have because I think what sorry do really well is that a lot of the players come back from England and they want to play for sorry still for sure yeah you see a lot of like other England players may not play they play one game for you or should before a test series for example but how is the culture that bats has created so that they do come back in and want to play for sorry yeah I think well I think obviously a lot of the lads are from you know through through the sorry pathway and obviously you know as a kid when you come up here and train the other way you know it still is a special you know it's amazing grand and you know I think it helps being part of a real good team as well and like obviously with the success that we've had lads want to come in and be involved with with trophy winning teams but um I think the in terms of the culture and the and what bats has managed

28:07to do is you know just create an incredibly like sort of driven but also relax at times you know environment and I think it's a nice balance you know when we come to the overall we're training like the intensity is really high um and you know we train really hard and then away from the ground we have you know we have good good times together and um everyone gets on really well and there's a lot of little type friendships which I think so it's really important so that's it for the following on podcast as we followed sorry's preparation ahead of the new season don't forget the weekly show with Neil Manfall and Steve Palmerston we'll be back next week the guys will be joined by the new Sri Lanka head coach Gary Kirsten he'll discuss why he took on the role his experience with Pakistan as their white ball head coach last year and so much more so keep an eye out on the following on feed for that and also subscribe to the talk sport cricket YouTube channel so make sure you don't miss a video there we're nearing 100,000 subscribers so we will welcome your company over there as I say following on we'll be back next week but for now thanks for listening

29:07okay seven stops to write this best man's speech hi I'm Liam and I've got nothing stop funny when he's good I beat her he'd never forgive me what about friendship is a journey oh great come on that's it in year five Dan had the bright idea cracking the best best man's speech on the train you can big news boost mobile is now sending experts nationwide to deliver and set up customers new phones at home or work wait we're going on tour not a tour we're delivering and setting up customers phones so it's easier to upgrade let's get in the turf us and hit the road no not a tour bus it's a regular car we use to deliver and set up customers phones at home or work are you a group beyond this tour we deliver and set up phones it's not a tour oh you're

30:07definitely a group introducing store to door switch and get a new device with expert setup and delivery wherever you're at delivery available for select devices purchase at boostmobile.com