Will Jacks hails Curran brothers after record stand as Surrey thrash Middlesex in T20 Blast opener

Will Jacks hailed the chemistry of the Curran brothers after their record stand got Surrey off to the perfect start in the Vitality Blast.

Surrey, looking to claim a first title since the inaugural competition in 2003, are among the favourites for glory this year and produced a statement performance to hammer Middlesex by 73 runs at Lord’s on Thursday night.

Sam Curran, captaining the side having returned from the IPL earlier this week, and older brother Tom, who played as a specialist bat in his first game since recovering from a stress fracture, shared the highest third-wicket partnership in Surrey’s T20 history, putting on 118 in the visitors’ 199-for-six.

“They both played really well,” Jacks said. “Batting together they’ve obviously got better chemistry than anyone else in the team. They know how each other play, how they think.

"They both love playing for Surrey and it’s great to have them in our team. When Tom comes back to bowling we’ll be right in and around the final stages of this tournament.”

Jacks got the innings off to a flier as he blasted 43 off 22 deliveries, making light of the absence of regular opening partner Jason Roy, and then took three-for-17 with the ball as Middlesex lost their final seven wickets for just 33 runs.

Surrey said Roy’s absence was due to a calf issue picked up in the warm-up, the opener having been expected to feature on the day the ECB announced that he had relinquished his England contract in order to play in this summer’s inaugural edition of Major League Cricket in the USA.

"I like playing against Middlesex,” Jacks added. “I like the derbies and for some reason I like the bowling attack, I’ve done well against them and I have the confidence coming here that I know I can score runs against this attack.

“I haven’t done loads of bowling this year so it was nice to bowl like that. I like getting in the fight when I bowl, I like having a bit of something with the batsman, it kind of gets me going and involved in the battle.”