Afzaal to captain Surrey as Elliott makes debut

25 April 2009

Usman Afzaal will take charge of Surrey for their first competitive One Day game of the season, a Friends Provident clash with Gloucestershire at Bristol tomorrow.

Afzaal, who is stepping into the space created by the injury enforced absence of Club captain Mark Butcher, captained Surrey a number of times during their pre-season programme and has started the LV County Championship season in solid form, posting two fifties from four innings so far.

He will captain a squad including New Zealand all-rounder Grant Elliott, who is making his debut for Surrey after arriving in the country on Friday. Elliott will remain with the squad at least for the next two months, focusing his attentions on limited overs competitions such as the Friends Provident Trophy and Twenty20 Cup.

Speaking to the official Surrey website, Elliott said: “My goals are to leave a stamp on every game I play and try be a match winner. There is a good bunch of lads here with a good vibe and we’re building towards something special, which I want to be a part of.

“It’s a beautiful part of England and I am really stoked to be playing for Surrey. It’s been a whirlwind eight months for me. I was playing for Weybridge in the Surrey Championship and then got called up for New Zealand, did pretty well against England and have been with the squad since then.

“The first One Day of the season will be an important game. Momentum is crucial in all competitions so hopefully we can win tomorrow and then go on and on and on and before you know it we’ll have racked up four wins.”

For the first time this season, the squad features star batsman Mark Ramprakash, who has now completed his two match suspension from LV County Championship cricket and will be available for selection in all competitions.

The full Surrey squad to play Gloucestershire at Bristol in the Friends Provident Trophy on Sunday April 26th is: #

The game starts in Bristol at 10.45am and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports. In association with BBC London 94.9 full ball by ball commentary will also be available from www.surreycricket.com. You can also follow score updates from the Surrey Cricket Twitter service at www.twitter.com/surreycricket