When the end came, it was swift. After Surrey had battled through to 190, leaving Essex needing just 74 for their second championship victory in as many games, the winning runs were knocked off in less than thirteen overs. In effect, the result puts Surrey out of the race for promotion - though given the lack of ambition the Brown Caps have shown, by not signing up an overseas player for the second half of the campaign, it should come as no surprise to the powers that be at the Brit Oval; who have shown, once again, that their forte is staging Ashes Test matches.

The final day began with fielders grouped around the bat to Danish Kaneria. Such was the degree of turn being found by the Pakistan leg-spinner, the visitors looked as though they would be fortunate to still be batting at tea. So it proved, although Mark Ramprakash offered unflinching resistance; until 2.20pm, that is, when he was bizarrely adjudged to have been caught behind for 62 by umpire Martin Bodenham to make it 135-7 in the 48th over.

Kaneria had the former Middlesex man lunging forward. After whipping off the bails, James Foster clearly indicated to the square leg umpire, Michael Gough, that he was appealing for the stumping. But when Gough failed to lift the finger, Bodenham decided to lift his. Ramprakash stood his ground, but eventually trudged off having seemingly not received the clarification he was seeking. The Press Association's scorecard had him down as caught behind.

At that stage Ramprakash was only the second Surrey batsmen to reach double figures. But a spirited, if ultimately doomed stand of 52 in fifteen overs between the heroes of the Brown Caps' first innings with the bat - Chris Schofield and Stuart Meaker - added a modicum of respectability to proceedings.

Earlier, Michael Brown, in partnership with Ramprakash, repelled the Essex spinners for 27 overs. Tim Phillips came on in the sixteenth over and Ramprakash swept him for two successive boundaries. Eleven overs later Brown despatched a rare loose ball from Kaneria to long-off boundary. But in the 32nd over, Chris Wright got a delivery to rear and Brown was caught at gully off the glove.

Two overs later, Stewart Walters brought the hundred up for Surrey with a cover driven four off Wright, but the next over saw the Brown Caps' skipper present an easy catch to Kaneria at mid-on off the bowling of Phillips.

Ramprakash moved to a determined half-century in 96 deliveries. In the last over before lunch Usman Afzaal was dropped, on one, at fine leg by Phillips off Wright. But to the second ball Afzaal faced after the break, Phillips got one to turn out of the rough outside left-hander's off stump to have Afzaal caught at leg-slip.

Matthew Spriegel, playing half forward, was caught behind off an inside edge. After Ramprakash departed, Schofield, on the front foot, was also deceived by Kaneria, Jade Dernbach edged a low catch to Ravi Bopara and Stuart Meaker was caught at short leg off Kaneria, who finished with figures of 6-50 - his best of the campaign to date.

Essex made light work of the victory target. John Maunders cover drove Dernbach for four in the first over and came down the pitch to Schofield in the next, despatching him straight down the ground for another boundary. In the fifth over, Maunders departed to a routine catch at second slip, but Dernbach made the mistake of feeding Tom Westley's penchant for playing the pull stroke.

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