Will Jacks struck a swift unbeaten 45 as Surrey motored to a comfortable eight-wicket victory over neighbours Middlesex inside an hour on the final morning last weekend.
The LV= Insurance County Championship front-runners needed only 11.1 overs to chase down a modest target of 78, completing their second derby success of the season and a first red-ball win at Lord’s for 26 years.
With rain forecast for later in the day, Surrey were keen to secure the result as quickly as possible after bowling their hosts out for 272, with seamer Sean Abbott returning figures of four for 60.
Middlesex, who remain second from bottom in Division One, have now lost four of their last five Championship fixtures.
Abbott took only two deliveries to finish off Middlesex’s second innings when play resumed, banging it in short to last man Tim Murtagh, who could only fend it off into the slip area and Dom Sibley took the catch.
That left Ethan Bamber stranded on a career-best 46 not out and Surrey with 78 to score – just five more than the target they chased to complete a nine-wicket victory against their neighbours at The Oval in May.
First-innings centurion Jamie Smith was promoted to begin the chase with Rory Burns, but he lasted just two balls on this occasion before clipping Tom Helm tamely into the hands of midwicket.
Helm picked up a second wicket, his eighth of the match, when Burns attempted a paddle from outside off stump that was neatly taken by Murtagh at long leg, but Jacks maintained momentum by clouting Bamber over the cover boundary.
Tom Latham also struck a maximum off Helm before hitting the winning runs off Mark Stoneman to finish unbeaten on 21.
“We were pretty clinical, I think, over three and a bit days. There are a few bits we could have tidied up on but, if you’d offered us that before the start of the game, we’d have taken it,” Burns said.
“Particularly after getting inserted on the first morning, to put up 433 as a batting group and then back that up by making them follow – and the way we went about it – I think it’s a big feather in our caps.
“I thought Jamie played beautifully [in the first innings] and Jordan [Clark] was in pretty good nick as well. The way he came in and played was excellent, to get ourselves up to that sort of total was brilliant.
“It’s a tough shift, any time you make someone follow on – I think we had about 150 [overs] in the dirt there, back to back. To take 20 wickets and keep being quite relentless over that period is a massive effort.
“Getting a wicket second ball is always handy. The weather probably had a part to play in our chase as well, we were looking to get it done as quickly as we could.
“The games come around thick and fast and [next opponents] Somerset are in a pretty good spot at the minute, they’re on a high. So hopefully we can go down there and put in another good performance.”
Middlesex acting captain Stoneman added: “There was a bit of tackiness in that surface and we thought, given the make-up of our attack, the best opportunity of winning the game was to put them in and try to take early wickets.
“Given the fact the groundsman cut all the grass off on the morning of day one, which was pretty disappointing, that negated any chance of home advantage. It became a pretty neutral affair, so we were having to slug it out toe to toe with a very good side.
“If we get pitches and conditions a bit more conducive to the make-up of our attack, we make early inroads and challenge Surrey a little bit more.
“We missed an opportunity which would have had them 20 for two and could have made all the difference later in the day against the second new ball. Then they bowled pretty well with a couple of disappointing dismissals to knock us over and enforce the follow-on.
“It’s pretty clear we’re in an absolute scrap and every point is vital. With the quality in Division One, it’s an arm wrestle for three days and the team that cracks first ends up as the losing side.
“We’re showing a bit of fight, but coming up short more times than not and the results are going against us. Game awareness is probably where we’ve been a bit short, but we’ve got to keep fighting like hell.”
Surrey’s match at Somerset started Tuesday (July 25). Go to southlondon.co.uk for the report.
