Surrey may have appeared to be rushing towards an inevitable first Championship win in 16 years all summer, but the seeds for a title they hope will spark a new era of success were actually sown four years ago.
That was when chairman Richard Thompson had talks with the then coach Graham Ford, changing the direction of a county rich in tradition and achievement — but who had somehow lost their way.
'I remember a conversation with Fordy vividly, we were languishing in Division Two and we weren't in a great place,' said Thompson after Surrey had wrapped up the most emphatic of title successes at Worcester on Thursday.
Surrey players celebrate after clinching the County Championship title on Thursday
Morne Morkel (left) and Rikki Clarke were in the middle as Surrey secured a three-wicket win
'I didn't want him to feel the pressure of coming straight back up. I wanted him to feel the pressure of improving players who we felt were either going backwards or standing still and giving others a chance.
'When we came back to Division One we wanted to do it with momentum. We didn't want to sign anybody for the sake of it. We wanted to focus on improving what was in front of him.'
It was a new philosophy for a county that had somehow forgotten their heritage by becoming reliant on short-term fixes like Kolpak players and had gone 13 long years from 2003 without producing a single England cricketer.
The focus for a county who have been beset by three tragedies, with the deaths of Graham Kersey, Ben Hollioake and Tom Maynard in a 13-year period, returned firmly to their roots and the production of their own cricketers.
'We've worked really hard towards this moment of truth,' said Thompson, one of the most forward-thinking figures in the domestic game.
'And now we really think we're building something in the longer term. I can't emphasise the word authenticity enough.
Chairman Richard Thompson reveals the seeds for Surrey's success were sown four years ago
'We want something here that is truly Surrey, where the spine and core of our success is built on academy players who have come through the club system and have got their chance.'
The result has been a team full of Surrey products who have earned England recognition, like Ollie Pope, Sam and Tom Curran and Jason Roy, others set to be called up like captain Rory Burns, and English players produced elsewhere like Ben Foakes and Mark Stoneman, who have fulfilled their potential at The Oval.
The team that clinched the title included seven Surrey academy graduates.
They have been joined by top-quality overseas players, prepared to invest fully in what Surrey are trying to achieve.
Players like Kumar Sangakkara, Ricky Ponting and, spectacularly this season, Morne Morkel, have played huge parts.
The team that clinched the title at Worcester included seven Surrey academy graduates
'We felt this was going to happen four years ago because you could see what the likes of the Currans, Pope, Amar Virdi and Ryan Patel were beginning to do — but you never quite know when it will happen,' said Thompson.
'But it has. You could say 16 years is a long time for a club like Surrey to wait for this. We might have been able to do it sooner, but I don't believe we would have done it the right way. That is the key.
'I've seen too many sides get relegated because one overseas player has got all the wickets or runs and when they're not there any more they can't sustain that success.
'I certainly don't want that to happen to us. We want to build on this now and develop it.'
To that end Surrey have looked to the example of the most glamorous football club in the world for the right way to build from within.
'Barcelona have got that brilliant philosophy of putting their best coaches in their age groups,' said Thompson. 'We are trying to do that.
'It starts with having a club legend in Alec Stewart as director of cricket and excellent first-team coaches in Michael Di Venuto and Vikram Solanki.
Surrey have built from within, with club legend Alec Stewart as director of cricket
Surrey products have earned England recognition, with captain Rory Burns next in line
'Rory Burns has made such a difference as captain too.
'Then we have guys in our system who make a difference, like academy director Gareth Townsend, and add people like Martin Bicknell in the winter.
'Geoff Arnold at 72 is still the best bowling coach in the country while Alec's brother Neil looks after the 15-year-olds. We want that Surrey way imbued in everything we do.'
And Surrey, both on and off the field, are doing an awful lot right. The Stars won the women's Super League this year, while The Oval was a model venue for the thrilling fifth Test against India and Alastair Cook's golden farewell.
With their wealth and resources, the critics say, they should be able to get things right, but Surrey's status as the richest county in England has not always led to success.
Thompson says they have now got their priorities right.
Tom Curran and brother Sam have both been called up to the Test squad in the last 12 months
'The Surrey name got swallowed up,' he admitted. 'The Kia Oval is really important to us, but this is Surrey and everything is about Surrey.
'If you go round the ground the "Surreyfication" thing is very important to us and I want people to come here and be under no illusions that this is Surrey County Cricket Club.
'Financially this is the strongest we have ever been but, on the playing side, the 50s cast a long shadow and Adam Hollioake's era in the 1990s and early 2000s cast a long shadow.
'I hope now this is the start of another era of success. Could this be Surrey's third coming? That's what we've all got to work very hard towards. There's no complacency. This is the real deal.'
There could be a lot more titles to add to this one in the coming years.
Link articlehttps://hienalouca.com/2018/09/14/surrey-chairman-reveals-we-have-shown-you-can-win-it-with-kids/
Main photo article Surrey may have appeared to be rushing towards an inevitable first Championship win in 16 years all summer, but the seeds for a title they hope will spark a new era of success were actually sown four years ago.
That was when chairman Richard Thompson had talks with the then coach Graham Ford,...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves Sport HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1/2018/09/13/19/4281506-6165341-image-a-17_1536864077314.jpg
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