Burns: The Title Was Five Years In Making

Jeremy Blackmore talks to Surreys triumphant captain about legacy, his youthful charges and selection for this winters England tour to Sri Lanka.

- Jeremy Blackmore

Surrey’s triumph in winning the County Championship after a 16- year wait has finally started to sink in for skipper Rory Burns.

Speaking exclusively to The Cricket Paper, Burns praised the exceptional efforts of his squad, but warned consistency is the key if they want to retain their title next year.

“It’s sunk in a little bit, though not fully, quite what we’ve achieved. I haven’t had time to reflect on it personally yet, but what we’ve achieved is exceptional. It’s what the club set out to achieve at the start of the year to get the Championship back to Surrey – I’m delighted at that.”

When I ask him about legacy, he says: “I don’t think you’re as good as you are when you’re good and I don’t think you’re as bad as you are when you’re bad. That’s probably a good place for us to start.

“We’ve got to stay level and consistent. We started off trying to win this title last November, running our socks off and in the gym, so we’ve got to strip it back.

“We’ve enjoyed it, we’ve celebrated this triumph, but at the same time there was a lot of hard work that went into it, guys coming in day-in, day-out, trying to get better every day. So, it’s about not getting too far ahead of yourself in terms of legacy, it’s about trying to stay consistent and, hopefully, we can try and replicate that next year.

“It’s obviously a lot harder to defend something than win it for the first time, so our focus should be on that.”

Burns praised former captain Gareth Batty for laying the foundations.