JADE Dernbach has been awarded a testimonial for his long service to Surrey.

The 32-year-old fast bowler was among the side which swept to the Specsavers County Championship last season, their first four-day title since 2002.

Dernbach made his first-class debut as a 17-year-old in 2003 – Surrey’s youngest for 30 years – and since then has claimed 850 wickets in all competitions. Along the way he played 24 one-day internationals for England plus 34 T20s, establishing himself as one of the leading white-ball bowlers in the world at one stage.

“It’s a huge honour and privilege for both myself and my family,” said Dernbach, who will stage a series of events through 2019. He added: “To have spent my whole career at this fantastic club, and to have been awarded this, is something I will cherish forever.”

Born in Johannesburg to a South African father and Italian mother, Dernbach’s family moved to England when he was 14 and he was among the first graduates of Surrey’s highly-praised academy while gaining early opportunities to play senior club cricket at Guildford, where the Bicknell brothers and Rikki Clarke had already come before him.

Unafraid of controversy or shy of bowling in the powerplay overs of white-ball matches, where his command of well-disguised slower balls marked his rise to international level, Dernbach has never been one to protect his own bowling figures and let others take the flak.

If his tattoos and extrovert presence on the field are not to the taste of some, responsibility has mellowed him to the extent that he was made Surrey’s T20 captain last season and offered wise counsel to the likes of Tom and Sam Curran.

Meanwhile, Surrey have re-signed Dean Elgar in their bid to retain the County Championship.

The 31-year-old South African, currently ranked the eighth best batsman in the world, made 387 runs at 38 in seven games for the county last year.

In a summer where runs were at a premium throughout the country, Elgar’s solid contributions – which included a century and two fifties – were instrumental in building totals for Surrey’s formidable attack to defend, while he was one of several reliable slip catchers.

Unless Elgar makes an unexpected late run into the South African one-day side bidding for the World Cup, he will be available for 13 out of 14 Championship matches plus the second half of their 50-over campaign.

The left-hander, who has hit 3,369 runs in 54 Tests, led South Africa to victory against Pakistan in Johannesburg this week as acting captain.