It’s ten thousand for Rory!

Rory Burns surpassed ten thousand first class runs today in serene style as Surrey put on an emphatic display on Day two of their County Championship match against Middlesex.

The Surrey captain, 32, hit a free-flowing 88 before sub coming to the bowling of Ryan Higgins after being caught behind by wicketkeeper John Simpson. Young Jamie Smith, 22, also impressed by looking extremely comfortable at the creese, putting on 55 not out in convincing fashion.

The day began in a rather miserable manner, with the darkened sky, light drizzle of rain, and lack of visibility culminating in the stoppage of play and the covers coming on after just one over and five balls.

Play resumed almost two and a half hours later, and the introduction of the right arm fast of Ethan Bamber made an immediate impact, injecting more pace and variety into the Middlesex attack. Bamber’s discipline was rewarded when Surrey opener Dom Sibley attempted to play a ball heading for outside off stump, towards the leg side. Closing the face of his bat too early, he nicked it to Eskinazi in third slip for just thirteen runs.

Shortly after, Surrey sustained yet another wicket in quick succession as Ryan Patel fell to Ryan Higgins for only five runs. Middlesex were beginning to show signs of piling the pressure on their London rivals, with the game at 62-2 after 15 overs, before Jamie Smith took to the crease to proceed Patel.

A magnificent partnership of 75 between Burns and Smith stabilised Surrey and would inspire them to take control of the day. Despite the wicket of Rory Burns in the 30^th over, Smith was not deterred and embraced the challenge without his captain.

Middlesex will be left rueing the fact that they failed to capitalise on a string of golden opportunities to claim the wicket of Smith after Eskinazi dropped him twice. The young batsman dazzled the crowd with a series of punchy drives that went for boundaries, including a wonderful six.

Unfortunately, the bad light returned and ended play, with Surrey closing the day on 190/3 from 47 overs. Consequently, a minimum of 104 overs will be bowled on day three after Ben Foakes and Jamie Smith came out to resume the hosts innings.

As Brendon McCullum braces himself for England’s next test against Ireland in June, attention could turn to the potential inclusion of Rory Burns or, perhaps more likely, Jamie Smith.

Since Ben Stokes became England’s test captain in April 2022, the national side has adopted the style commonly known as “Bazball”. However, many have questioned whether Burns is capable of playing in such an attacking fashion.

Burns last appeared for England in January last year before the inception of “Bazball”. Since then, Johnny Bairstow and Zak Crawley have opened the batting for England. While Bairstow has been thriving, the inconsistency of Crawley has left question marks surrounding his position within the team. Interestingly enough, Burns has an average of 30.2 for England, which is higher than Crawley’s 27.60 and could see him as a contender for that opening spot.

Meanwhile, Jamie Smith’s average of 40.08 makes him an incredibly exciting prospect for McCullum and suggests that he would thrive playing “Bazball”.

Could one of Smith or Burns force their way into the England set up?