Roundup: Surrey need two points for title
Surrey are in kissing distance of the Championship trophy, after pocketing three bowling points at the Rose Bowl. The excellent Tom Lawes squirrelled through Hampshire with his third five-wicket haul of the season, Ben Brown’s boisterous 78 the only backbone to the innings. Surrey lost Rory Burns and Dom Sibley cheaply, but need just two more points to be sure the pennant flies above The Oval again.
A hoola-hooping century from Rob Keogh gave Northamptonshire fans something to smile about against second-placed Essex; while Somerset recovered from 37 for six against Warwickshire.
In the scrap to escape the drop to Division Two, Kent - who started the day one point above fellow laggers Middlesex - safely collected three bowling points. But their day wasn’t without frustration as Lancashire recovered from 18 for three to 327 all out – with a fourth first-class century of the season for Josh Bohannon and second consecutive fifty for young Matty Hurst. There will be international reinforcement for that fragile Kent batting card with Zak Crawley’s arrival as super sub. Middlesex had to wait until after lunch to get on the pitch against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge but finished respectably, 162 for three.
Durham filled their run sandwich yet again – mayonnaise, chips, extra relish – as they easily passed 400 and collected 50 batting points for the season – a new club record. There was a fifth century for David Bedingham, a third for Graham Clark, leaving a bereft Leicestershire welcoming the bad light.
Luis Reece (139) made Glamorgan suffer again as Worcestershire neared promotion certainty.
As the ground empties at Southampton, the digital scoreboard bright against the dusk, time for me to call it a day. Surrey need just two points tomorrow – which they’ll get when/if they reach 300 – to secure the Championship for the second time in a row. See you tomorrow for spangles and pennants – good night!
