Tim Wigmore at Surrey 224-4 v Hamphire

At Surrey’s end-of-season dinner last year, Alec Stewart made a point of praising a player who, he said, was unfairly ignored by the England selectors but had the game and temperament to go straight into Test cricket, leapfrogging the England Lions. The reason that Rory Burns has not made a Lions appearance is his poor conversion rates - until today, he had made 5 half-centuries in 2017 without making a hundred, and only ten of his 42 first-class scores over 50 had been centuries. Yet another agonising agonising near-miss beckoned when Burns flashed to slip on 98 - the first chance he’s given - but Ervine, diving above his head, shelled the chance. The very next ball, Burns was given width from Edwards and lashed the ball through backward point.
But Burns still has plenty more work left undone: Surrey need 499 just to avoid the follow-on. While waiting for the second new ball, still 17 overs away, Hampshire are being creative in pursuit of wickets: Kyle Abbott has been bowling to Dom Sibley with four catchers from square leg to silly mid-on on the legside, a sort of Bodyline theory in front of the wicket.