While the Surrey team taking to the field in the opening fixture against Hants (above) look generally together, there were not that many signs of the season that was to come. In early summer form there is of course little or none for anyone and the Oval wicket in particular had its reputation for doing draws.

The fourth game and  Sam Curran taking a 10-for against Yorkshire gave their season momentum, an innings win to be followed by those against Hants, Somerset and, in July, Notts. From the spectating end of things the Championship was by then on hold rather, but June did mark a visit from teams of Aboriginal cricketers a 150 years after the 1858 tour,  and at the end of July there was an entertaining KSL match between the Surrey Stars and Lancashire Thunder;  t20 cricket at the Oval with a Championship-type ambience and a competition that deserves a more settled future than it currently seems to have.

The first tied match in the history of the Championship was the Surrey v Lancashire fixture of 1894. This year might easily have been another one, a really well contested match (Surrey 211 and 306, Lancashire 247 and 264),  and, at the end, with six the difference, Matt Parkinson fended at a delivery from Morne Morkel and was instinctively, brilliantly, caught at short-leg by Will Jacks.

It was a gripping final afternoon and a crucial, if not decisive, moment in the season: what turned out to be the penultimate ball from the other end was a swing from Tom Bailey that did not connect with a very short leg-side boundary; and had the result gone the other way it might have unsettled Surrey’s campaign, de-railed it even. By the end of the Notts game the following week (below) the body language of the players suggested another story, and Somerset then did tie their fixture with Lancashire; the 24th in the competition’s history.

Early September brought the final Test with India, much attention with and appreciation for the career of Alistair Cook. There was also an interesting final day when for a time the Indians  were on course to emulate their 1979 predecessors; the year of Sunil Gavaskar’s  double century, when they drew a match at the ground scoring 400+ in the 4th innings. At the end of this one there were markers of Sam Curran’s progress as he set up Jimmy for the final delivery of the series.

Surrey were no question very  worthy county champions in 2018 and there was an excellent finale with the champions of 2017; the heightened senses of don’t miss a ball cricket on the final afternoon for a second time, nearly but not quite a record comeback, nearly the 25th tie.

To be sure they have  a financial advantage over other counties, part of which is returned to those who come to watch: £142 for the Championship and List A season, 12 guest tickets included, £5 for a KSL match and in the way cricket does bargains £20 for the 5th day of the Test. Reasonable sums in any year, although the cricket in 2018 exceeded reasonable expectations by a distance. It also funds high-end signings, Morne Morkel this year; with a career of more than 80 Tests behind him it was very evident just much he cared about playing county cricket this summer, which for those spectating was a very good thing to see and a message to others.