THE future of Surrey Cricket looks bright as a side containing seven Under 19 players triumphed in the Second XI Championship final at Old Trafford last week.

The side, coached by former Surrey and England leg-spinner Ian Salisbury, featured 10 players below the age of 25 including seven currently working within the Pemberton Greenish Surrey Academy. It also contained former Warlingham Cricket Club off-spinner Simon King – a graduate of the PG Academy who has successfully gone onto first team cricket – who took the final wicket that sparked the celebrations.

King, 22, who made his LV County Championship debut against Middlesex at Lord's earlier this season, is the leading Surrey wicket taker with 25 Second XI Championship wickets at a miserly average of 21.64.

Speaking to the Croydon Advertiser after the match he was full of praise for his rookie coach saying: "Everyone playing in this team has been an absolute pleasure to play for this season and I would like to congratulate our coach Ian Salisbury on his first season in charge.

"I think he has managed to get the balance between contracted cricketers and young players absolutely spot on whilst also maintaining a fantastic ethos throughout the season."

Surrey became champions by virtue of securing a winning draw in what both sides turned into a one-innings match, played over three days. Captained by the experienced Jonathan Batty, they won the toss and batted first, piling on 500 runs before declaring in the middle of day two.

Needing 501 to secure the title, Lancashire produced a number of good partnerships and went into the final session of the match needing just over 100 runs with five wickets left. However, a superb spell from spinner Tom Smith – on loan from Sussex – wrapped up the title for Surrey with just over an hour to spare, as he recorded great figures of 5-90 from 34 overs.

Smith also impressed with the bat, scoring 88 not out from number eight, but was superseded by all-rounder Chris Jordan who scored a superb 135 to move Surrey from potential trouble at 223-5 to 469-7 when he was out just before lunch on day two.

There were also fifties from potential stars of the future Seren Waters and Jason Roy, with the ever reliable skipper Batty also contributing a valuable 70 from No 3.

The challenge for Second XI 'Class of 2009' is now to replicate this form in first team cricket when their inevitable opportunities are presented to them in the coming years.