Yorkshire were unable to stave off a defeat at the Micky Stewart Oval as Surrey wrapped up the LV= Insurance County Championship title courtesy of a three-day success by 10 wickets.
This home victory, coupled with Hampshire’s defeat against Kent at the Ageas Bowl, has secured their 21st Championship title and leaves Yorkshire contemplating a final week relegation battle. They will go into next week’s final round with a 15-point cushion over second-bottom in Division One.
Yorkshire, who claimed three points from this fixture, face Gloucestershire at Headingley on Monday 15 clear of second-bottom Warwickshire, who face Hampshire next week.
Yorkshire will either be sixth or seventh in Division One depending upon the result of Somerset’s ongoing clash with Northamptonshire, which will finish tomorrow.
Yorkshire started day three on 89-2 in the second innings, trailing by 65 runs, and were bowled out for 208 midway through the afternoon, leaving Surrey needing 55 to win.
Surrey’s chase started with 57 overs remaining in the day, and they needed only six of them to achieve their target to consign Yorkshire to a fifth defeat of the season in 13 games.
Yorkshire lost four wickets in the morning session and four in the afternoon, with Australian new ball seamer Dan Worrall finishing with 4-61 from 15.3 overs. Adam Lyth and Dom Bess made 46 and 43 apiece.
Tom Kohler-Cadmore was bowled off the sixth ball of the day, from Cameron Steel’s leg-spin, as the score fell to 94-3 – a deficit of 60.
From there, Will Fraine was bowled by Jordan Clark’s seam and Lyth, for 46, edged West Indian overseas quick Kemar Roach to third slip. Those two fell in the space of three balls in the 38th and 39th over, leaving the visitors at 116-5.
Further damage was done almost 12 overs later when captain Jonny Tattersall edged Jamie Overton behind down leg for 21. By this time, the deficit was into single figures (150-6).
Bess and Jordan Thompson saw Yorkshire into the lead and through to lunch with the addition of another 21 runs before the latter was trapped lbw by Worrall shortly after lunch.
Thompson had just been struck a blow on the helmet by Overton moments before departing for eight as the score became 182-7 in the 58th over, a lead of 28.
That lead had been stretched to 52 by the time Ben Mike fell as the second wicket in as many overs, leaving Yorkshire 206-9 in the 64th.
Mike had pulled his second ball for six over long-leg off Australian Worrall before being bowled by the same man not long afterwards.
The over before, Bess, unfortunately, became the second leg-side strangle of the day as Roach ended his determined 43. Worrall then wrapped things up when he bowled Steve Patterson, the third of his four wickets in that fashion.
Surrey raced away in their chase. Rory Burns took four boundaries off Ben Coad’s opening over, before Bess shared the new ball in a successful bid to rectify a minus two over-rate.
Kohler-Cadmore kept wicket to open up the prospect of Tattersall bowling some leg-spin, but he only sent down two overs of them as Burns finished 30 not out and hit the winning runs and Ryan Patel finished 19 not out.
