Batty: Winning is now a must (From Croydon Guardian)

Batty: Winning is now a must

10:36am Wednesday 20th June 2007

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Surrey wicketkeeper Jon Batty has acknowledged critics who have labelled some of the side's recent performances among the worst in the county's history.

The club is yet to register a win in the London Victoria County Championship this season, which sees them in the bottom two after their opening seven Division One fixtures.

Defeat to Hampshire in the Friends Provident Trophy last week ended their interest in that competition before the knock-out stages, having looked set to qualify comfortably two games ago.

A Geraint Jones century helped Kent to a comfortable victory at Whitgift School last month and only Mark Butcher's battling 29 from 142 balls saved the side's blushes against Worcestershire.

One national newspaper was particularly scathing about the club in the wake of the Whitgift debacle and 33-year-old Batty has urged his teammates to turn the form book on its head when they entertain Middlesex in the Twenty20 Cup next week.

"It hurts when people say things like that but we have to be realistic and understand that if people are saying that there must be some truth in it," said Batty.

"We were unlucky not to get wins against Sussex and Warwickshire, but we really do have big strides to make in the four day game now. We cannot afford to let this drift along.

"We've been saying for a few games that it is now or never.

"But it is not just a case of winning one and we'll be alright - we have got to start winning a lot of games, otherwise this could be a disastrous season."

Surrey reached this stage two seasons ago with two victories, four draws and one defeat from the same number of fixtures and they would go on to be relegated from the top flight.

But Batty is confident of an upsurge in the club's four-day fortunes after the Twenty20 Cup - a period which is traditionally successful for Surrey.

"I'm amazed we are as positive as we are at this stage," he said. "But in many ways, we are in a similar position to 2004, when we were bottom of the table and won seven of our last nine games to finish third."

"The catalyst for that was reaching the finals day of the Twenty20 cup. Hopefully, it will help us get rid of the losing momentum and we can come back to the championship in some good form."

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