Ollie Pope and Ben Foakes return to boost Surrey's County Championship title hopes

Ben Foakes (PC: Twitter)

The experienced batters Ollie Pope and Ben Foakes are all set to feature in Surrey's remaining two games of the County Championship Division One 2022. 

Currently, Surrey sits at the pole position in the points table with seven wins in 12 league matches, with 225 points under their belt. Although the second-placed Hampshire has more wins, they are behind by eight points. 

In their latest outing, the Taunton-based side played out a draw against Northamptonshire. Surrey's next league match is against Yorkshire at the Oval, which will commence on 20 September. 

Pope and Foakes are now available after completing their international red-ball commitments against South Africa. Both the players played an integral role for England in the 2022 Summer, and are in sublime touch. 

Pope emerged as the top scorer in the South Africa series with 179 runs in five innings, with two fifties. On the other hand, Foakes contributed 133 runs in four innings, including a century. 

Key Absentees for Surrey

At an important juncture of the Championship, Surrey will miss the services of players like Will Jacks, Sam Curran and Reece Topley. All three of them are in the T20I squad to face Pakistan next week. 

Furthermore, team's lead bowler Jamie Overton will not be available against Yorkshire due to hand and foot injuries. 

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