Former Surrey skipper is back at the Oval, coaching and leaning on his experience of grief to help a club in mourning

By Melinda Farrell for Wisden Cricket Monthly

Adam Hollioake, mischief never far from the surface, offers a classic one-two combination to the question of why Surrey are so successful. “Because we’re the best. And the most humble.”

He breaks into his laconic, deep-throated chuckle. It’s good to hear him laugh in the midst of a summer marked by a tragedy which has cast a shadow over the English game, particularly at the Oval, where the late Graham Thorpe and Hollioake combined to help Surrey win seven trophies between 1996-2002.