Surrey County Cricket Club in 2005

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Surrey County Cricket Club 2005 season

Surrey played in the First Division of the County Championship and the Second Division of the totesport League in 2005. Mark Butcher started as captain, but an injured left wrist kept him out for most of the year, so Mark Ramprakash acted as interim captain – one of the few men to lead both Surrey and their arch-rivals.

The season was tough. Surrey battled injuries to key bowlers Martin Bicknell, Ian Salisbury and Rikki Clarke, which weakened their attack in several matches. They began with a damp draw against Sussex and then struggled in the one-day league, with many poor results and a fight to stay out of the relegation zone.

In the Championship, Surrey had a mix of results. They produced some notable performances, such as a win away to Glamorgan helped by Jimmy Ormond’s career-best 7 for 63 and Ramprakash’s century, which also marked his 25,000th first-class run. They also beat Hampshire by an innings and 55 runs, a high point in a season that included several disappointing days. A few heavy losses, including a big innings defeat to Nottinghamshire, peppered the campaign.

The C&G Trophy (one-day competition) offered moments of progress. Surrey beat Staffordshire and Gloucestershire to reach the quarter-finals, but were beaten by Hampshire to exit the competition.

Surrey’s Twenty20 Cup campaign provided some brightness. They topped the South Division with several wins and even reached the semi-finals at The Oval. In the quarter-finals they beat Warwickshire in a bowl-off after the match was tied by rain, but they were then edged out by Lancashire Lightning in the semi-final.

A notable blip came in May when Surrey were docked eight Championship points for ball-tampering in a match against Nottinghamshire, a setback in a season where they were already fighting to avoid relegation.

By the end of the season, Surrey were relegated from the County Championship’s Division One to Division Two for 2006, finishing well adrift of the leaders in the four-day competition. They had some positive moments and a few good wins in limited-overs cricket, but the overall year ended on a subdued note as they prepared for life in a lower division.