Chapter Twenty-Seven Surrey v Nottinghamshire It was no longer the clash of titans but the Surrey-Nottinghamshire fixture still carried a certain resonance when county cricket was resumed in 1946. Neither club was particularly prominent in the early post-war seasons but this was not reflected in the crowds, who, starved of cricket for so long, hurried to The Oval and Trent Bridge. Given that the average daily gate at a first-class match was around 3,400, some of the attendances beggar belief. On the August Saturday of 1946, Tom Barling (233 not out) and Bob Gregory (164) shared a third wicket partnership of 267 in under three and a half hours. The gate of 13,000 rose to 17,000, among them Field Marshal Montgomery, on August Bank Holiday Monday, Surrey going on to win by seven wickets. The Whitsun crowds at Nottingham in 1947 saw too much of a good thing. The featherbed Trent Bridge pitches of those days were made for batsmen and they took full advantage. Nottinghamshire’s 401 was good enough to win most three-day matches but Surrey replied with a massive 706 for four declared, David Fletcher, Stan Squires, Jack Parker and Errol Holmes all getting hundreds. Inevitably the game was inconclusive but Nottinghamshire won a fine game at The Oval by 48 runs in August, Guy Willatt, the Cambridge captain, making 131. All the attendance figures paled before that of Whit Monday in 1948. Surrey made 419, Michael Barton getting a century, and Nottinghamshire declared immediately after passing this total, with hundreds from Keeton and Hardstaff. On the Monday the crowd of 35,000 established a new record for the ground and there was another good turnout on Tuesday, when after a Surrey declaration, Nottinghamshire successfully chased 266 in 160 minutes to win with half-an-hour to spare by four wickets. Surrey exacted due revenge at The Oval but in Nottingham captains sought results by setting a fourth innings target. Thus 1949 found Fishlock make two hundreds in the match only to be outshone by Simpson. He made a glorious 200 not out in 280 minutes with 27 fours, delighting a large Whit Monday crowd with some superlative stroke play. A personal memory of the day is boyhood confusion over the two Bedsers, the supposition being that Alec had switched to spin before the reality dawned that it was Eric. On the final day Nottinghamshire, set 206 in two hours, got 209 in 97 minutes. Simpson and Hardstaff giving them a flying start with 120 in 55 minutes and Bill Sime joining in the fun. It seemed remarkable at the time but in those days bowlers got through their overs at a much quicker rate per hour and Surrey actually delivered 36.3 so the rate was just under six an over. Although 10,000 saw August Bank Holiday Monday’s play at The Oval – the match was drawn – the signs were that Nottinghamshire were no longer the attraction of old. The Championship table in 1949 had something to do with this, with Middlesex and Yorkshire sharing the title, Surrey fifth and Nottinghamshire joint eleventh. Surrey threatened for a time and were the only side to defeat each of the joint champions, overcoming Middlesex twice and Yorkshire once. At The 144