On a pulsating final afternoon at Trent Bridge, Surrey appeared to be staring defeat in the face when Nottinghamshire, chasing 203 in forty overs, reached 161-5 in the thirty-third over. At that point, however, David Alleyne pushed unnecessarily at a wide, turning delivery from Nayan Doshi and was snapped up by Azhar Mahmood at slip, much to the visitors' relief. Graeme Swann then prodded the next delivery into the leg-side and called for a sharp single that Mark Ealham failed to complete as Alistair Brown produced a great pick-up and direct-hit throw on the turn at the striker's end. Two wickets in two balls then became three in five as Azhar's amazing break-back shattered the stumps of the hapless Swann to present the visitors with a chance of completing an amazing late comeback. Unfortunately, Jon Batty was unable to cling on to a chance offered by Ryan Sidebottom off Doshi in the very next over, allowing the former Yorkshire seamer and Greg Smith to successfully block out the final five overs.

It was only due to the measured 71-run stand by Alleyne and Ealham that Nottinghamshire had got so close to their goal, since their chase had got off to a poor start after Surrey had made a bold and challenging declaration at 292-6. On a pitch that still offered something to the seamers, Martin Bicknell had beaten Jason Gallian's loose drive in the third over before limping off with an Achilles injury in what turned out to be the final over before tea. By this time, the home side had also lost Darren Bicknell, forcing loosely to gully, and Younis Khan, flashing wildly to first slip, to Azhar in knocking off thirty-three of their 203-run target. When Russell Warren snicked to first slip in the second full over after the resumption bowled by Mohammad Akram, Surrey's tails were up, but David Hussey's bright thirty from 28 balls pulled Nottinghamshire round until Akram slipped a ball through the Australian's gate to peg back the off stump at the end of a very good spell from the Radcliffe Road End. From an unpromising position of 90-5, Alleyne and Ealham then gradually took charge and gave their side a realistic chance of moving clear at the top of the table before the aberrations of Alleyne and Swann fatally undermined their charge.

Earlier in the day, Rikki Clarke had been Surrey's batting star, completing a superb century from 159 balls in the third over after lunch to help set up the declaration at 3.00pm. Although he enjoyed a few moments of good fortune - not least in the first over of the day when he almost chipped a catch to mid-on and then came within an inch of playing on - his knock was full of outstanding strokes and ensured that his side didn't get into any real difficulty after starting the day effectively 3-3. Apart from a testing opening spell from Ealham and a couple of fine bursts from Smith, the hosts' bowling failed to hit the heights of the opening day, with Sidebottom unable to produce the same degree of control and A.J.Harris looking very ordinary in conditions that offered little in terms of swing. Although Batty forced a delivery from Smith to gully as the day moved into its second hour, and Brown was very well caught by Alleyne diving in front of first slip off Ealham shortly before lunch, Surrey were never in serious danger of being bowled out. There were, admittedly, a few worried looks on the faces of the visiting supporters when Azhar lost his off stump to Smith in the third over of the afternoon with Surrey's lead standing at 133 and sixty-two overs remaining for play, but Clarke - who finished with an unbeaten 127 off 210 deliveries - and Bicknell calmly battened down the hatches and weathered the storm. Their seventh-wicket stand had added 69 in twenty overs when Mark Ramprakash made his bold decision to declare in the hope of gaining a precious victory.

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