Mulder foxes Surrey batsmen on Day One

New overseas signing Wiaan Mulder took four wickets on debut as Surrey finished Day One on 420/9 at a flattening-out County Ground, Beckenham.

Buy Day Two tickets here >>>

Batting in seemingly ideal conditions in Metropolitan Kent – the hosts wanted first use as well had they won the toss – Surrey’s top-order made a mess of their early work.

Openers Mark Stoneman and Rory Burns reached 29 after six overs before Stoneman pressed the self-destruct button. Pushing to mid-wicket the left-hander set off wanting a single only to be sent back by Burns and lose the race to regain his ground to a diving underarm direct hit by Mulder.

Three overs later, Burns followed his partner back to the pavilion. Walking across his stumps to a good length leg-cutter from Harry Podmore, Burns edged to ‘keeper Ollie Robinson.

Matt Milnes struck with his second delivery of the game, running one up the slope and away from the prodding defensive push of South Africa left-hander Dean Elgar who was caught behind.

Mulder struck to remove Ben Foakes with a lifting delivery that held its own against the slope to take the outside edge and fly low to slip. Then, at the end of the same over, the Proteas Test cap had Sam Curran caught in the gully after the Surrey all-rounder drove with firm hands at a delivery on the line of ‘fourth stump’.

Surrey then began to counter with a flurry of fours. Borthwick raised his 50 off 83 balls and with eight fours, while Jacks reached the milestone from 91 balls and with 11 fours.

The pair created a sixth-wicket Surrey record for first-class matches against Kent when they moved past the 162 set by Miles Howell and Percy Fender at The Oval in 1922.

Shortly before tea and only five runs short of his century, Borthwick’s decision to sweep against the off-spin of Adam Riley proved terminal as umpire Graham Lloyd upheld the bowler’s leg before appeal.

After the resumption, Jacks, who hit three previous championship half-centuries from only four innings this season, moved to three figures from 164 balls and with 19 fours.

He mustered one more boundary before his four-hour innings came to an end. Having added 74 in tandem with Rikki Clarke, Jacks feathered an attempted off drive against Mulder to be caught at the wicket for 120 off 194 balls.

Morne Morkel, the former South Africa and Kent paceman, tried to follow Clarke’s lead only to miscue to mid-off and give Mulder his fourth wicket of the day.

Robinson pouched a fourth catch when Gareth Batty chased a Darren Stevens away-swinger late in the day.

Mulder, the pick of the Kent attack with four wickets, said: “We had them five down early on but we didn’t bowl as well in the last two sessions of the day.

“I bowled too many bad balls later in the day but that’s something I can learn from. But overall I felt it was a good cricket wicket.

“The ball nipped around to start off and then the older it got it started to swing, which was really interesting for me and something I’m really not used to back at home. That’s another thing for me to get used to.

“As I said, it’s a pretty decent pitch, so I’m hoping there are plenty of runs left in it for me and the rest of the Kent guys tomorrow.”

Credit: ECB Reporters’ Network

Somerset visit The Spitfire Ground, St. Lawrence in a repeat of the hard-fought County Championship season opener that went down to the final day

Purchase tickets in advance to save £5 off gate prices and guarantee your place >>>