The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word SCOREBOARD
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
S
C
O
R
E
B
O
A
R
D
More clues leading to the result SCOREBOARD
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Opening for Surrey, vital to get on this?" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case opening for surrey, vital to get on this? = scoreboard.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does SCOREBOARD mean?
SCOREBOARD noun- A large board that displays the score in a game or contest.
- A similar board that also displays each batsman's score, and many statistics and pieces of information.
- (by extension) A listing of various similar entities along with their properties, such as status or rank.