Ben Foakes brought up his 18th first-class century against Warwickshire, rescuing Surrey from 65-6 at Birmingham on day one of the 2026 County Championship today (April 3).
Ben Foakes stars with the bat for Surrey
Warwickshire won the toss and sent Surrey in to bat, a decision that paid off instantly. Former England opener Rory Burns was the first to get dismissed, for four, and Jamie Smith soon followed as they were reduced to 17-2. Ollie Pope (20) and Dom Sibley (25) tried to steady the ship before the former departed in the 24th over.
Surrey were unable to control the loss of wickets thereafter: They lost four wickets for 10 runs, falling from 55-2 to 65-6, looking in all sorts of trouble against Ethan Bamber and Chris Woakes.
Match 9, Warwickshire vs Surrey
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Foakes, who walked out at No.6, however, rescued the team, eventually bringing up his ton off 176 balls, with a four against Woakes. The wicketkeeper was batting on 31 off 60 at one stage, and got to his fifty off 93 balls with a boundary against Bamber.
His next fifty runs came at a slightly faster clip, in 83 balls, as he brought up his 18th ton in 186 matches. He was well supported by Tom Lawes (83), with Surrey finishing on 328 all out, staging a remarkable comeback, with Foakes the last player to be dismissed for 128.
Foakes represented England briefly, between 2018 and 2024, playing 25 Tests and making 1,139 runs at 29.20. However, his strike rate of 47.24 in the era of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, who demanded a more aggressive batting approach, meant Jonny Bairstow was often the preferred choice for keeper.
Despite not playing for England in the last two years, Foakes continues to pile on the runs in domestic cricket, ending the County Championship last year with 683 runs in 11 games at 42.68, along with one hundred.
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