To defeat Surrey 262 and 278 (Patel 107, Smith 70), Essex 180 (Walter 64, Clark 3-33, Worrall 3-40) and 21 for 2 require an additional 340 runs.
At the Kia Oval, a top-of-the-table match between Surrey and Essex was won by Surrey thanks to a superb 107 by Ryan Patel, who was initially required to be watchful but ended up being a buccaneering player after reaching a second innings score of 278.
They were 21 for two at stumps after Nick Browne got out for nine after Jordan Clark was edged to keeper Ben Foakes by a diving Smith at third slip. In Clark’s subsequent over, nightwatchman Eathan Bosch bowled for one. 11 not out for Dean Elgar.
In a 125-ball knock that included 15 fours, the 14th of which was a magnificent straight drive off Matt Critchley to complete the 26-year-old’s fourth first-class hundred, Patel hammered paceman Shane Snater for two legside sixes in an over and then promptly hit Simon Harmer’s off spin into the Bedser Stand.
For the second time in the game, Smith lit up a stop-start day by ensuring Division One leaders Surrey maintained control of a crucial encounter against second-place Essex.
Surrey extended their 126-run lead from the previous day to 360 when, in the first half of the day, five separate interruptions caused them to lose 35 overs due to bad light and rain. Firstly, Smith and then Patel and Clark’s 65-run partnership at the seventh wicket prevented Essex from getting back into the game.
Patel then amassed the most of the 85 runs Surrey managed to collect for their final two wickets thanks to his outstanding late hitting. Overall, Surrey put up a fantastic fight, starting the third day at 44 for three. The only bright spot for Essex was when seamer Jamie Porter claimed his 500th first-class wicket, getting Clark caught at third man after uppercutting him for thirty.
Surrey had a 12-point lead over Essex going into the game. If they win on day four, they would increase that lead to 29 points. Patel and 23-year-old Smith would be primarily responsible for Surrey’s sixth victory out of nine Vitality County Championship games this season.
With conditions so bowler-friendly and with the need to keep starting after every weather-related break, Smith’s opening-day hundred helped Surrey reach 262 in their first innings. When play resumed on 11, the player chosen over the weekend to be England’s new Test wicketkeeper-batsman later this month once again demonstrated his extraordinary strokemaking abilities.
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Following the opening thirty minutes of play, during which Surrey defeated the opposition to 63 for three when Foakes was dismissed on nine at first slip off Porter, there were three mini-sessions of 10 balls, one ball, and then another 10 balls, each side of an early lunch break.
There was more rain after a 27-ball session, which forced the players to leave again at 2.12 pm. However, following the fifth re-start of the day at 2.38 pm, there was finally a longer period of play, interrupted only by the tea break, until stumps.
By then, Smith had easily passed fifty, even though Foakes had fallen for thirteen after edging Snater and Harmer had held him above his head at the second slip.
Though Smith was the primary aggressor with a thunderous extra cover drive off Snater and a gorgeous on-drive off Porter that may have been the best of his eventual 11 fours, left-hander Sai Sudharsan, the India international, assisted Smith in adding 45 for the fifth wicket, pushing Surrey’s lead beyond 200.
And when Smith met left-arm seamer Paul Walter’s opening delivery in the 38th over by pushing it straight to deep square leg, he had already scored 70 of Surrey’s next 98 runs. Smith had come in at 25 for two.
Suddenly Surrey were 127 for six and Essex realised they had possibly their last opportunity to stay in the match when Sudharsan fell for 12 in the next over, thin-edging Bosch behind.
Though Patel and Clark batted with determination and not a little talent to withstand the Essex seamers for nearly 20 overs, Surrey’s lead had reached 274 before Tom Lawes was bowled by Bosch for a first-ball duck shortly after Porter dismissed Clark.
That gave Patel, who had already avoided a caught and bowled chance to Bosch on 40, the signal to step on the gas. James Taylor (3) was bowled sweeping at Harmer, but he found a reliable partner in last man Dan Worrall, and the two added 43 runs in the now-bright sunshine until Patel was bowled swinging at Critchley.
India
