A bit of local knowledge will come in useful as Surrey plot survival route

There is also a feeling that The Oval is recognised far more as an international ground than the home of Surrey and many believe an injection of local talent would give the county a greater sense of identity.

Jon Lewis has already been released and Zander de Bruyn, is expected to follow at the end of the summer, while Gary Keedy, another at the age of 38, who was signed from Lancashire last summer, is also likely to move on. Graham Ford, Kevin Pietersen’s mentor who is working with Sri Lanka, is thought to be the preferred choice to take over as coach and there could be an announcement before the end of the season.

Richard Gould, the county’s chief executive, is keen to stress that the young players are highly regarded but that placing unconditional faith in youth always carries a substantial risk.

“We need to make sure that when the youngsters do come through they’re ready to shine,” he said. “I’m excited by the players we have and they will be the first to admit they’ve learned a huge amount from the senior players here.

“Watching Smith and Amla bat with our younger players has been outstanding and they take a lot from that. Our ambition would always be to do our job with a Surrey-developed squad but you have to be pragmatic and make sure you have experienced players as well.

“We want to be producing players for Surrey and England and we want to be dominating English cricket. To do that, we have to be able to develop, attract and retain the best players in England.We expected to deliver more than we have, especially in the Championship.

“There is disappointment that we haven’t matched those expectations and we understand we have fallen short.”

There have been some bright spots for Surrey this summer, notably the Twenty20 campaign, in which they reached the final and played in front of full houses at The Oval, generating more than £1million in ticket sales.

The talent of Rory Burns and Zafar Ansari is flowering. But four-day cricket is the yardstick and a rebuilding phase is imminent. The trauma of the death of Tom Maynard, who died on a railway track in south-east London in June 2012, still lingers. The results of February’s inquest, during which it was revealed that Maynard used cocaine and ecstasy, were another severe source of pain.

With Smith back and a new coach in place, will Surrey start to move in the right direction again next year? Whisper it, but some members even believe relegation to Division Two might have certain benefits.