The bookies had chalked the Brown Caps up as favourites, virtually every preview of Finals Day had James Benning and Nayan Doshi down as ones to watch, but the Twenty20 kings failed to live up to their billing. The margin of Surrey's Twenty20 Cup semi-final defeat was only 37 runs, but it felt as if they had been thoroughly beaten at their own game by Nottinghamshire, who went on to narrowly lose the final to Leicestershire, who have now claimed the title twice. No longer, therefore, can Mark Butcher's men consider themselves the kings of the instant game.

That said, when Benning fractured the middle finger on his right hand in the field, early on in yesterday's second semi-final, one got the impression that it might not be his side's day. The Brown Caps played aggressively throughout, but this form of cricket is unforgiving on teams that surrender early wickets. At one stage, Surrey were 16 for four, but on a pitch that generally favoured the bowlers, perhaps their biggest failing was allowing Nottinghamshire to lay a foundation to their innings.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, both Graeme Swann and Stephen Fleming flicked Tim Murtagh off their legs with ease and with the 25-year-old seamer being taken for 23 off his first two overs the hosts had 62 on the board by the time their captain departed in the eighth, playing inside a delivery from Anil Kumble.

Two overs later David Hussey pushed Nayan Doshi to cover where Azhar Mahmood swooped to run out Swann. But the pressure was not maintained at the other end due to Ian Salisbury's first two overs going for 21 runs, including a huge six straight down the ground from Hussey.

Doshi had Samit Patel stumped, but with Hussey hitting three sixes in four balls, starting with successive maximums off Kumble of people, Surrey looked mightily relieved when the Australian chopped the ball on to his stumps via his right foot.

That made it 140 for four in the seventeenth over, but thanks to some lusty blows from Chris Read and Mark Ealham, who hit Azhar for two sixes in the final over of the Outlaws' dig, the Brown Caps were left facing the prospect of having to make their highest score batting second to win a Twenty20 Cup clash.

The visitors lost Brown and Benning in the second over of their reply, then faced an even greater uphill battle when Mark Butcher was run out by Will Smith - who proved to be a vital asset in the field - and Rikki Clarke was bowled playing across the line to one from Charlie Shreck that appeared to keep a bit low.

Mark Ramprakash launched Shreck over long-on for six, but after becoming increasingly and uncharacteristically frustrated, the former Middlesex man was run out by Mark Ealham. When Azhar was then brilliantly caught at deep square leg off the bowling of Swann, the Brown Caps appeared to be in danger of subsiding to their lowest ever total in 20-over cricket.

That they avoided such ignominy was due almost entirely to an unbeaten 58 off 42 balls by Jonathan Batty, who was a tad fortunate to survive a stumping chance early on in his innings. Instead, his opposite number lost one of his front teeth.

Murtagh was caught at long-on, Salisbury was yorked first ball, Kumble, backing away, was bowled and Doshi was caught on the straight boundary to bring the curtain down on a display that Surrey will not care to relive when yesterday's highlights are repeated this morning.

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