Nottinghamshire head south this week to face Surrey at the Kia Oval, a ground where they’ve enjoyed mixed success over the years.

The highest first class score by a Nottinghamshire batsman was recorded on the ground but Walter Keeton’s unbeaten 312 in 1939 was against Middlesex, rather than Surrey, with Lord’s staging the annual Eton v Harrow match at the time.

Surrey have hosted Notts on 122 previous occasions, with 117 of the matches being at their county headquarters, with the other games being staged at Godalming, Guildford and Whitgift School.

"This season, rain wiped out all of the second and third days when the sides met at Trent Bridge in July and the contest ended as a draw, one of nine that Notts have now experienced from their fourteen matches."

Surrey lead the overall series 47-27 and were unbeaten in head-to-head clashes between 1947 and 1980, the year when Notts won by 38 runs, despite Sylvester Clarke taking a hat-trick for the home side (Paul Todd, Derek Randall and Clive Rice).

Since that 1980 success, Notts have only won on three more occasions. In 1992 they chased down 352 in their second innings, with Mark Crawley scoring 95, to win by 3-wickets.

The other victories came in 2005 and 2008, with the first of those clashes having serious repercussions for the home team.

Although the culprit was never identified, Surrey were docked eight points for ball-tampering, a decision which came back to haunt them at the end of the season as they were relegated, finishing just one point below Middlesex in the table.

That match saw Notts record their fourth-highest score of all-time – 692-7 dec, with Stephen Fleming making 238, Jason Gallian scored 141 and Darren Bicknell added 91.

Samit Patel and Mark Wagh both scored centuries in the 2008 match, the last time that the counties met at The Oval, in a fixture in which Surrey used four different wicketkeepers.

Jonathan Batty broke a finger and was initially replaced by Scott Newman, with substitutes Daniel Euston and Gary Wilson each taking over later in the match.

Way back in 1880 Surrey were dismissed for just 16, with Fred Morley taking 7-9 - Notts own lowest score at Kennington is the 40 they made in 1955, with Jim Laker’s off-spin collecting 6-5.

Three visiting bowlers have taken nine wickets in the matches, Martin McIntyre 9-33 in 1872, John Jackson 9-49 in 1860 and Thomas Wass 9-91 in 1902.

Apart from Fleming’s 238 mentioned earlier, both William Gunn (236no) and Arthur Shrewsbury (207) have scored double-hundreds at The Oval.

A number of players have appeared for both Notts and Surrey, including Usman Afzaal, Darren Bicknell, Scott Newman, Ali Brown, Dirk Nannes and Kevin Pietersen.

Pietersen, who may feature this week, left Trent Bridge at the end of the 2004 season having scored 4,719 runs in 58 matches for them, at an average of over 55. Since his departure he has only played in a further 14 championship matches.

This season, rain wiped out all of the second and third days when the sides met at Trent Bridge in July and the contest ended as a draw, one of nine that Notts have now experienced from their fourteen matches.

They begin this fixture in third place, six points behind second-placed Sussex and 28 adrift of leaders, Warwickshire.

Surrey, meanwhile, lie seventh, 17 points clear of the drop-zone.

Michael Lumb and Alex Hales have been given permission by the ECB to play in the first two days of the match before joining up with the England t20 squad. This should enable Lumb to have a further chance of reaching 1,000 first class runs for the season – with the left-hander just 29 runs short.

His team-mate, James Taylor, should have fond memories of batting at The Oval, having scored an undefeated 207 for Leicestershire in 2009, becoming the youngest, at 19 years, to score a double-ton for his former county in the process.

For those supporters travelling to the Kia Oval – or tuning in for internet commentary on BBC Radio Nottingham – a reminder that September playing hours now apply, with a 10.30am start each day and a scheduled close at 5.30pm.

Dave Bracegirdle provides ball-by-ball commentary on all of Nottinghamshire's LV= County Championship matches on behalf of BBC Radio Nottingham.