Surrey have a day to forget

Surrey 126Worcestershire 129-1Worcs win by nine wickets

With their eighth win in nine one-day matches this season Worcestershire became joint leaders of the Sunday League and put the first dent in Surrey's Sunday record. It was all too easy.

Rivals now accept that Tim Curtis's team are superbly equipped for limited overs. Almost all the batsmen bowl and and all the bowlers bat, one-day tactics have been refined to a degree. In Richard Illingworth they have England's best defensive spinner, and two of the game's most forceful batsmen in Graeme Hick and Tom Moody and visiting batsmen know they will probably have to bat on a seaming pitch at New Road.

Surrey suffered from the moment Alec Stewart chose to bat. Gavin Haynes, who first won a place as a batsman, moved the ball accurately to remove their first four batsmen for 21 runs in his full unbroken spell from the Diglis End and this despite having his first ball lofted over mid-off for six by Ally Brown.

Mark Butcher and Adam Hollioake kept the contest alive with a stand of 44 for the sixth wicket before Parvaz Mirza also registered a career-best in this competition with 3 for 24 to have Surrey all out on a cold grey afternoon by 4.27.

Curtis, going back, was trapped by the first ball he received from Carl Rackemann but after that Hick and Moody jollied along pretty well as the mood took them. Hick continued in the lucid form of Friday's 120, adding timing to his renowned power. If he can remain in this vein West Indies will suffer later this week.

Illingworth bowled smoothly and confidently, too, and it seemed curious that he should be recalled by England without his accomplice in so many dismissals, Steve Rhodes.

Surrey's bowlers, Rackemann apart, will prefer to forget Tony Pigott's 38th birthday. Hick and Moody added 128 in 43 overs, 80 runs off the last 10 overs and Worcestershire won with six overs to spare.

Long-term judgements should not be based on one-day results but Surrey need to do something about their bowling before that expensive roof falls in at The Oval.