Surrey ‘disappointed’ that Narine is out of T20 Finals Day

LONDON, England (CMC):

Surrey officials were left fuming yesterday when former West Indies off-spinner Sunil Narine ruled himself out of Finals Day in the English Twenty20 Blast on Saturday.

Narine is in the United States, where he is representing the LA Knight Riders franchise in the Major League Cricket (MLC) T20 tournament in the city of Dallas, and he was expected to fly back to England ahead of season closer.

Surrey learnt late on Wednesday that Narine will not be travelling back for the matches to be played at Edgbaston in Birmingham.

“We were aware when we signed Sunil for the T20 Blast that he could be unavailable for Finals Day due to his pre-signed contract with the Knight Riders in the MLC,” Surrey director of cricket Alec Stewart said.

“However, all of the subsequent conversations with the various parties since he arrived for the group games and leading into this week were that we would have him back for Saturday, so it’s disappointing and frustrating to lose a player of Sunil’s quality at such late notice.

“Sunil’s absence now presents a great opportunity for another player to come into the team and make an impact at Edgbaston this weekend.”

Narine, 35, played in all of Surrey’s matches in the Blast, taking 20 wickets in 15 matches to help the south London club reach the semi-finals.

England & Wales Cricket Board regulations require players to be registered with a county in the group stages of a competition in order to be available for the knockout stages, so Surrey will not be permitted an overseas replacement for Narine.

Surrey coach Gareth Batty, the former England spinner, said it is a wonderful opportunity for the club to prove the depth of their talent.

“We’ve got a great squad,” he told ESPNCricinfo. “The worst part of my job is telling very fine players that they’re not playing. I hate it. It is the worst thing. It’s another opportunity to tell someone that they are playing.

“I truly believe that we have lots of people that can play at any point across any competition and be a real success. Obviously, Sunny is a wonderful player, but we’ll have a wonderful player coming in.”

Surrey are looking to win the T20 Blast for the first time since their triumph 20 years ago in the inaugural tournament, then known as the T20 Cup.

They face Somerset, who topped the South Group, in the second semi-final on Saturday after Essex take on Hampshire Hawks in the first semi-final.