Surrey captain backs his side to overcome ‘what if’ moment after crossbow incident that shook the Oval

If the crossbow bolt fired into The Kia Oval had hit anyone, the possible consequences do not bear thinking about. At the very least, serious injury would have been caused.

I am sure that next time we play at The Oval, against Yorkshire in the Championship from September 12, one or two players may feel a little uncertain. A few of the boys had family in the ground for the Middlesex game, and it is natural to think “what if, what if?”

But that will pass. If anything, I feel reassured after watching our security staff and the police at work. They were absolutely exceptional, first class. Even as we walked off the field and back into the dressing rooms, the Surrey security team informed us that they had called the police.

We were told not to leave the dressing room and balcony area and when the police arrived, they asked players what they had seen. Had they been aware of it in flight, or did they know where it had come from? We were allowed to leave the ground a little more than an hour later. I did not see it. I was fielding at mid-off and was chasing a ball that had been hit for four, but a few of the players heard and saw it land, and were understandably shocked. If you are looking from the Pavilion End, it landed where short leg would be standing, two wickets along from the surface we were using. What would have happened if we’d had a man fielding on the drive at short, straight midwicket? My take on it, though, is that it was an act of stupidity rather than anything else. Yes, it was extremely dangerous behaviour but I believe it was a freak that is highly unlikely ever to happen again. I certainly won’t feel any less safe playing at The Oval than I did 24 hours ago.

Of course you could worry about what might happen, but then you would never leave your house. And when you were in your house, you would probably never use any of the plug sockets for fear of what could go wrong. At a certain point, you just have to carry on.

I am so proud of the club and the way they handled it. I don’t believe there is any more that could have been done from that point of view, and we should all feel encouraged and reassured by how quickly they, and the police, dealt with the situation.