Surrey's summer ahead: the fixtures facing the men's teams

They take on Warwickshire at Edgbaston on Good Friday, April 3, launching a campaign which takes them through to the final week of September. Having gone into last season bidding for a fourth successive title, Rory Burns’s side lost out narrowly to Nottinghamshire, who prevailed by 20 runs in a tense penultimate round meeting at the Kia Oval in September.

Promoted Leicestershire are the first visitors to The Oval, on April 10, followed by Essex a fortnight later, Sussex following within a week. Surrey’s first opportunity to have a crack at the new champions comes on May 8 when they head to Trent Bridge, then they travel north for a first visit to Headingley in nine years for a clash with Yorkshire.

The Championship then takes a break until mid-June, Hampshire arriving at The Oval on June 17 before a trip to play the other promoted side, Glamorgan, at Cardiff. There is another long break before the final six rounds of the competition, starting with the return match against Nottinghamshire on August 20.