Surrey seamer Jade Dernbach has described opening the bowling with Andre Nel as "a dream."

The 23-year-old quick was born in South Africa and, although he wants to play for England, says he has great respect for the man they call Gunther.

He said: "He is a great bowler and I know that I can learn a lot from bowling with him.

"He knows how to get at a batsman and I think that sometimes they are playing him not the ball.

"It was a tremendous honour to be given the new ball with him as there are some very good fast bowlers here and we know not everyone can play at once."

Former England international Jimmy Ormond, Pedro Collins and Stuart Meeker all missed out on the starting line-up and Dernbach believes the club have the strength in depth to push for promotion.

He said: "There is competition for places and I think that brings out the best in people. It certainly brings out the best in me and I want to really push on this year and establish myself in the team."

Dernbach was considered one of the Brown Caps few bright spots in 2008 and has started this years campaign positively.

His bowling with the second new ball against Gloucestershire showed increased confidence and match figures of 4-79 were impressive.

"Last year went well for me from a personal point of view," added Dernbach. "There is plenty of cricket to be played this year but I'd like to think I can play a part in all forms of the game for Surrey and maybe be looking at international honours by the end of the season."