Surrey’s relentless five-pronged pace attack, superbly supported by England Test wicketkeeper Ben Foakes, overwhelmed Middlesex as the county champions eased to a nine-wicket victory at the Kia Oval
Foakes took six catches, a record in a first-class innings for Surrey against their London rivals, two of them high-class efforts, while Jordan Clark’s 4 for 25 headed an irresistible collective performance with the ball that also included day four wickets for Sean Abbott, Kemar Roach and Gus Atkinson. Dan Worrall, who took 5 for 48 in Middlesex’s first innings 209, went wicketless second time around.
Only the combative Ryan Higgins, who hit 42 from 71 balls, and tailender Ethan Bamber, with a bright unbeaten 25, offered any fight with the bat as Middlesex slid from their overnight 128 for 3 to 240 all out.
That left Surrey needing a mere 70 for a third win in five LV= Insurance County Championship matches, the 22-point haul maintaining their position at top of Division One and reminding everyone – should any reminder be required – of their determination to defend last summer’s title triumph by taking the crown again.
Rory Burns, Surrey’s captain, could add only 14 to his first innings 88 before nicking Tim Murtagh to slip but Ryan Patel and Dom Sibley, not out on 37 and 21 respectively, put on an unbroken 56 to ease Surrey to their first championship win against Middlesex since 2012.
Clark claimed the final day scalps of Luke Hollman, Middlesex captain Toby Roland-Jones and all-rounder Higgins, while Abbott sent back John Simpson and last man Murtagh to earn himself 3 for 31. Atkinson added the wicket of Pieter Malan to finish with 2 for 37.
It took Surrey only 21 balls to make an initial breakthrough on day four, with Roach straightening one just enough from around the wicket to the left-handed Max Holden to brush the edge of his defensive bat on its way into the safe gloves of keeper Foakes.
Holden, who had battled hard to keep Surrey’s five-pronged pace attack at bay on the third evening, scored 43 after adding just a single to his overnight score.
Roach tormented Simpson, another left-hander, with his ability to curve the ball away from the line of off stump and beat him several times, but it was Abbott who claimed the scalp of Middlesex’s wicketkeeper in the morning’s 11th over.
And it was a brilliant diving legside catch by Foakes which ended Simpson’s resistance on 23 after he flicked at a rising ball angled across him by Australian paceman Abbott from around the wicket.
Higgins did his best to counter-attack, twice driving Roach for four between the bowler and mid off when the West Indies fast bowler slightly overpitched, but an injured Malan – having come in at No 7 with Mark Stoneman as his runner – lasted just ten balls for one before falling to an excellent tumbling catch at point by Patel off Atkinson.
That wicket came from Atkinson’s fourth ball, after he had replaced Abbott at the Vauxhall End, and it maintained the 25-year-old’s significant impact on the game following his first innings 3 for 18 and the dismissal of Stoneman on the third afternoon.
Hollman was the next to go, on four, giving a diving Foakes his sixth catch of the innings when the left-hander thick-edged a superb ball from Clark – again from an around the wicket angle.
Higgins, on 28, was dropped above his head by Sibley at first slip when he wafted at another sharp, lifting ball from the hostile Atkinson, but Clark then had Roland-Jones caught by Sibley for six.
Bamber unfurled some lovely offside strokes as he hung around gamely with Higgins but it took Surrey’s bowlers just 2.4 overs after the lunch interval to wrap up Middlesex’s innings.
Higgins top-edged a pull at Clark to Roach on the deep mid wicket ropes and Murtagh was bowled for a duck as he stepped away to swing optimistically at Abbott.
