I'm at the Brit Oval today, reporting on Surrey's first match in the Friends Provident Trophy against Middlesex, a chance to see how 50-over cricket will be received in this shorter age of limited overs. Plenty of intrigue in the Middlesex side given that Ed Joyce, Andrew Strauss and Owais Shah will all be wanting to press their case for England selection this summer, but the player that most interests me is the familiar figure fielding at mid on right now for Surrey.
Tall, thin, black, athletic-looking yet also giving off an air of complete casualness. Yes, it is the return to county cricket after an eight-year break of Chris Lewis - and his first game for Surrey since 1997. The former England all-rounder is now 40 and the last of his international appearances was ten years ago but Surrey have tempted him out of a retirement spent playing village cricket and coaching. He was meant to be here only for the Twenty20 Cup (a cheaper way of drawing attention than signing Andrew Symonds or MS Dhoni) but it appears that Surrey want to get more out of him.
It's good to see him back, not least for the comedy potential. This is after all the man dubbed "the prat without a hat" after getting sunstroke while playing unprotected for England and the fellow who got punished after showing up late for a county practice because of a burst tyre. He was also a more than useful bowling all-rounder, who really should have done better at the top level. I'll report later on how he looks when he has bat and ball in his hand.
UPDATE: Not the greatest of comebacks with the ball. After three overs, Lewis had conceded 32 runs, which makes his eventual figures of 0-51 off six look quite respectable. The main beneficiary was Andrew Strauss, who tucked into Lewis's short-pitched bowling to make 163 off 130 balls, the highest ever one-day score by a Middlesex batsman. It helped his team to 315-6 as well, which should be a winning total even though Surrey are 101-2 with more than 30 overs to go. Can Lewis rescue his comeback with the bat?
UPDAT 2: Better news with the bat. In a rain-affected second innings, Lewis made 33 off 30 balls but Surrey were well beaten.
