Surrey head into the Vitality Blast with head coach Gareth Batty admitting that their innings defeat to Yorkshire at the weekend was “a shot across the bows to us”.

They entertain Lancashire at the Kia Oval on Friday evening (6.30pm) and then travel across London to play Middlesex at Lord’s on Sunday (12pm).

Since winning the inaugural T20 competition in 2003, Surrey have failed to do it again despite reaching finals day on several occasions. Last year they failed to do even that, suffering a shock defeat in a home quarter-final when Northamptonshire’s Ravi Bopara blasted a century around the rain-sodden ground.

They will be hoping T20 skipper Sam Curran has recovered from a groin strain – which put him out of the Indian Premier League – in time to lead his side in the new-look competition. Instead of two groups of nine – north and south – teams are divided into three regional divisions with the qualifying stage cut from 14 matches to 12.

That means two games from out of the group, the first being Lancashire on Friday. The sides have only met three times in the short history of the Blast, their last encounter in 2023 in a quarter-final at Old Trafford when the visitors triumphed by 13 runs.

It was their first meeting since 2005, when Lancashire won by 22 runs in a semi-final at The Oval, coming 12 months after they had been beaten by one run in the last four at Edgbaston.

Batty conceded that a change of format might be opportune for Surrey, who had won just once in their opening five Rothesay County Championship Division One matches but participated in four high-scoring draws before their disastrous trip to take on a Yorkshire side who started five places below them.

Skipper Rory Burns sent in the hosts on winning the toss and when they were 121 for four – with England’s leading batters Joe Root (44) and Harry Brook (seven) both falling to Matt Fisher – he could be reasonably pleased.

But an attack which has rarely functioned at full tilt this season could not prevent opener Adam Lyth (141) and captain Jonny Bairstow (120) putting on a massive 245 for the fifth wicket. Dom Bess contributed 42 later on and a hefty 49 extras underlined Surrey’s scruffy outcricket as they conceded 486.

Fisher, returning to his old county and celebrating being called up for England’s opening Test of the summer against New Zealand next month, finished with four for 92 from 25 overs.

Yorkshire’s attack outbowled their rivals, enjoying good overhead conditions which often make a large difference at Headingley, Surrey sinking to 93 for seven and only Sean Abbott’s 56 lifting them to 204 before they were bowled out on day three. George Hill claimed four for 34. Burns (24), Dominic Sibley (25), Dan Lawrence (21) and Josh Blake (22) all made starts for Surrey without going on.

Following on, opener Sibley (34) and Abbott (33 not out) were the only ones to survive long as Surrey were bowled out for 155 before lunch on the final day, crushed by an innings and 127 runs.

“It’s part of being a professional sportsperson that you have to look in the mirror and realise you’ve got things wrong and you make corrections,” conceded Batty.

By Richard Spiller