SURREY FACING FIRST DEFEAT AWAY FROM HOME FOR TWO YEARS by Marcus Hook
Derbyshire 274 & 145-2 v Surrey 131 & 360.

Contributions with both the bat and the ball from Garry Park left the Brown Caps facing their first defeat of the 2009 season and their first championship loss on the road for almost two years. The former Durham man followed up a career-best bowling performance with a half-century to give Derbyshire the upper hand going into the final day at Derby.

With the hosts needing 218 to win, Park got off the mark with a five, thanks to a further example of Surrey's lack of focus in the field. But with a cover driven boundary off Jade Dernbach in the ninth over and a pulled four off Pedro Collins five overs later, Park had twenty to his name when tea was taken with the total on 33-0.

Five overs after the break, Chris Jordan was the unfortunate bowler when Park, on 32, was put down by Michael Brown at second slip. In the next over, the 27th, Steve Stubbings brought up the fifty partnership when he steered Andre Nel over gully for four.

Nel, bowling off a shortened run following the hamstring injury he picked up in the first innings, kept things tight with an opening spell of 10-6-15-0, but when he was replaced by James Benning, Park took the opportunity to drive the 25-year-old on the up through cover for four to post a 90-ball half-century.

At the other end Stubbings had made a pedestrian 19 in 97 deliveries, but in the 34th over the tall left-hander collected two off-side fours off Collins. The West Indian left-armer made the first breakthrough, though, when he trapped the becalmed Park on the crease in the 36th over. Collins would have turned 89-1 into 99-2 had Jonathan Batty held on to a sharp chance off Stuart Law two overs later.

Law, who was taking his injured hand away with increasing regularity, was caught low down at first slip by Chris Schofield off Nel in the 43rd over. But an unbeaten partnership of 29 runs in ten overs between Stubbings and the impressive Dan Redfern left Derbyshire handily placed with just 73 more required at the close.

In the fourth over of the day, Surrey's nightwatchman, Dernbach, was caught at mid-off trying to hit Ian Hunter on the up. Usman Afzaal, who resumed on 28, then pulled the 29-year-old seamer on his way to a 99-ball 59. Batty cover drove Park to take the visitors' second innings total past the 250-mark, but shortly after reaching his fifty Afzaal was caught and bowled off a leading edge; deceived by a slower ball from Jonathan Clare.

David Pipe, diving to his left, then accounted for Batty off an inside edge off Hunter and when Jordan shouldered arms to Graham Wagg, losing his off stump in the process, the Brown Caps were only 133 ahead with three wickets intact.

Benning extra cover drove Wagg for four then clipped Hunter through cover point for another boundary as he and Schofield combined for what appeared to be a spirited rearguard. But when Benning mis-timed a pull off Park he chose not to hang around for the inevitable. Even before the ball had started its descent, he was already heading back toward the dressing room.

Nel, who drove the ball with some success, then played all round a delivery from Park and lost his middle stump. 342-9 became 360 all out when Collins was undone by a leg stump yorker to give Park career best bowling figures of 3-25, which left Schofield unbeaten on 31.

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