Gareth Batty: Surrey 'longevity' plan pleases captain

Surrey have only lost one Championship game this season

Surrey captain Gareth Batty expects the club to continue progressing after winning promotion back to Division One.

The Oval side will be back in the top flight of the County Championship next season for the first time since 2013.

"We've got some planning to be done for next year as Division One is very tough," he told BBC London 94.9.

"We are developing something which has longevity here. That is credit to the management and the way the club have got a group of players together."

Spinner Batty helped to clinch promotion by wrapping up victory over Derbyshire with a hat-trick.

The 37-year-old dismissed Tony Palladino, Mark Footitt and Ben Cotton to secure victory by an innings and 98 runs.

"The hat-trick is irrelevant because it was a must-win game for us and we got the points," he said.

"I thought we played some magnificent cricket to get ourselves into a position to win.

"There are certain positions in the team where we needed people to fulfil roles. It is all about people being able to adapt to the roles we require them to play.

"There are some young fellas who are in really good places and the ECB should be watching it."

Batty was keen to stress that Surrey's success this year, which has seen them lose just one four-day game, was based on the collective strength of their squad,

"It is very much a team and management group success," he said.

"The way the game is moving forward, it is becoming increasingly more squad-based. The better teams who are more successful have better squads to perform the different skills required for the games that are presented.

"We are moving in a very good direction."