Surrey CCC is in mourning following the death of Lynn Stewart, the wife of club legend and former England captain Alec, following a long battle with cancer.
On the final morning of their first home match of the season, against Hampshire, Surrey announced that Lynn Stewart had passed away. As a result, all Surrey’s players, as well as the umpires, took to the field wearing black armbands, and the three flags on the roof of the Oval’s historic Pavilion flew at half-mast. The Pavilion is named in honour of Stewart’s father Micky, recognising the family’s contribution to the club.
Stewart’s current role at Surrey is “high-performance cricket adviser”, a part-time job after he stepped away following 13 seasons as director of cricket last year. That change was to devote more time to caring for Lynn, who had been fighting breast cancer since 2013. In early 2023 he had taken a sabbatical from the club for a few months to care for her, too.
The Surrey chairman, Oli Slipper, said: “The sincere condolences of everyone at Surrey County Cricket Club are with Alec and the whole Stewart family.
“Our very best wishes are with the family and we will continue to offer any support to them that we are able to. In the meantime, we ask that people respect their privacy at this difficult time.”
Tributes came from the likes of Surrey player Sam Curran, and Jack Russell, Stewart’s former England team-mate.
Stewart, 62, is one of the great figures of Surrey’s history, and has a gate named after him at the Vauxhall End of the ground. As well as playing 133 Tests for England, he had a long career with his home county, and was part of the team that won three Championship titles at the turn of the century. As director of cricket, he has guided Surrey to four more titles, including a hat-trick over thhe last three seasons.
Stewart is steeped in the club, with Micky, who is now 92, also enjoying an 18-year playing career with the club.
Gubbins and Albert help Hampshire deny Surrey victory
On a rather flat day at the Oval, Surrey were unable polish off their first win of the season against Hampshire, who lost just two wickets on the final day, with Nick Gubbins making a superb century to ensure safety. Surrey’s attack toiled hard, but could not prise out wickets on a good batting surface. They were, though, left to rue Kemar Roach overstepping when having Toby Albert, who went on to make 78 not out, caught behind early in his innings.
Elsewhere, there were magnificent first wins of the season for Sussex, over Somerset, and Warwickshire at Durham.
Sussex’s first Division One win in almost a decade was achieved despite the loss of Sean Hunt on the final day, after he had taken nine wickets in the match. Somerset defended stoically, making 334 in almost 100 overs, but were ultimately well beaten by 260 runs.
Warwickshire’s win was achieved by a single wicket in the final hour of the game with No 10 Ethan Bamber and last man Vishwa Fernando sharing a dramatic stand of 20 to complete a chase of 339. Their heroes were Ed Barnard, who made 101, and Michael Booth, who made 98 runs and took seven wickets in a staggering match. Durham are bottom of Division One, having lost two dramatic games.
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