CHRIS ADAMS believes Surrey need to move on after a "tragic year" during which Oval talent Tom Maynard died – but insists the club will learn from the young cricketer's death.
The promising 23-year-old batsman was found at Wimbledon Park station shortly after 5am on June 18 last year, after he fled from his car, having previously been stopped by police after he was seen driving his black Mercedes erratically.
An inquest into his death heard the Surrey player died from multiple injuries after being electrocuted on a railway line before being struck by a train.
A post-mortem examination showed that he was nearly four times over the legal alcohol limit to drive, and he had cocaine and ecstasy in the form of MDMA in his system.
But with a new season now underway, manager Adams believes Surrey have learnt lessons from 2012.
"Last year was tragic and I think it is very important as a club and as a county we move forward and focus on what we are here to do, which is to play cricket," Adams said. "The season is upon us and rest assured we have gone to great lengths to make sure we all fully prepared and educated for the future and have learnt our lessons from last year.
"That said, there comes a time when you have to move forward and move on. And we have done that; pre-season has come and gone and it has been very successful. We have had nine days out in South Africa where we were able to train in terrific surroundings and connect with the new captain.
"I speak for everyone when I say we will never forget Tom Maynard but it is now time to put our focus on cricket."
And Surrey chief executive Richard Gould has said the club will implement drugs testing at the club.
Gould said: "Those reports that came out of the inquest, the coroner made some very interesting comments with regards to drug testing and making sure we have systems in place that allow us to know when our players need help. So, we will be follicle testing and I think all those things are being taken forward by the ECB and the PCA and we welcome that."
