Batty played for Surrey between 1999 and 2001

Surrey off-spinner Gareth Batty says the backroom staff at The Oval played a big part in his decision to return.

The 31-year-old, who made his Surrey debut 10 years ago, rejoined the club from Worcestershire on a three-year deal earlier in the summer.

He told BBC London 94.9: "The opportunity to work with Ian Salisbury on a daily basis was a massive factor.

"Graham Thorpe is brilliant and I've kept in touch with Alec Stewart forever. The list is endless."

Batty signed for Worcestershire in 2001 to increase his first team opportunities but he now feels he is rejoining Surrey at an exciting time.

He said: "The possibilities are endless. That's the key for me.

"The club is very ambitious, I'm still very ambitious and, hopefully, as a team and a bunch of players, we've got real ambition there and we're going to roll our sleeves up and get some real hard work done with the excellence of the coaching staff just to guide us in the direction required.

"Hopefully, there's some really exciting times ahead. The vision that the coach Chris Adams has is very exciting for a seasoned pro like myself.

"To get really excited within one conversation is pretty impressive. From a personal and club point of view last year was a bit of an average season and those are both things we want to turn around now.

"I start back in November. A bit of relaxing now in preparation for what will be the hardest winter of my career.

"I've got a real burning ambition. I've got the excitement back for the hard work and for the game which is partly due to talking to Chris and everything about the place and the coaching staff.

"I appreciate they can't do it for me but they've got incredible knowledge and I've got a little bit stashed away. So if we can marry everything together then I really feel I can take my game forward."

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