An unbeaten 102 from Graham Thorpe plus a useful half-century from Jonathan Batty followed by Surrey, not for the first time this summer, holding their nerve in the field, culminated in the uncontainable Oval outfit shaving yet another one-day victory. Their six-run win over Somerset at Taunton yesterday sends them into the quarter-finals of the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy where they will meet Derbyshire at the Racecourse Ground on either the 10 or 11 June.

When Thorpe came in, at 34 for two in the eleventh over, his side were in a spot of bother. Alistair Brown had gone early on to Nixon McLean and Mark Butcher, down the pitch and driving, had just been caught behind off Steffan Jones for 14. But the ice cool left-hander drove his third ball through the covers for four and ended Jones’s second over by hitting another slightly backward of square.

At the other end Mark Ramprakash took a liking to Michael Burns until, that is, he got a leading edge and was pouched at short extra cover for 32. With Clarke making little impression, it fell to Adam Hollioake to help Graham Thorpe turn things around for the visitors. The Surrey captain, who was dropped at backward point on 14 off the bowling of Steffan Jones, made 33 in 36 deliveries.

In just seven overs the fifth wicket pair had combined for fifty. But then, upon Richard Johnson’s recall to the attack, Hollioake and Azhar Mahmood fell to two lbw decisions in the space of four balls to leave Surrey stuttering at 169 for six.

In the thirteen overs that remained Thorpe, who was joined by Batty, shared in a crucial stand of 112. With 99 coming off the last ten, the former England left-hander drove the ball square of the wicket before going to his first hundred in trophy cricket since 1994. It took him 102 balls and included thirteen fours.

Jonathan Batty was a revelation, though, making 55 in 46 deliveries. In the final analysis his was a pivotal performance. Fresh from a championship century against Essex, the Surrey keeper began by cutting Johnson for three fours before sending the ball to all parts. A total of 281 for six may not have been as much as visitors would have liked, but it was competitive.

The cidermen were soon pegged back by Martin Bicknell and Jimmy Ormond, who accounted for Jamie Cox in the second over of the Somerset reply. Five overs later Bicknell, who bowled straight through his allocation to finish with figures of 10-2-23-1, had James Bryant playing away from his body.

Half an hour later, following something of a spat between the batsman and the bowler, Azhar had Marcus Trescothick skying an attempted pull to Adam Hollioake at mid-on. Somerset were soon back on track, however, thanks to a fourth wicket stand of 97 in nineteen overs between Burns and Keith Parsons.

Parsons was off the mark immediately with a clipped four through square leg off the bowling of Martin Bicknell. With Azhar Mahmood leaving the field after twenty overs due to an upset stomach Hollioake was forced into making changes. In the space two overs eighteen runs leaked from the bowling of Butcher and the recalled Ormond.

The fifty partnership came up in Mark Butcher’s second over, after which Keith Parsons reached his own half-century in just 55 deliveries. Michael Burns tucked into the bowling of Rikki Clarke, whom he drove imperiously over extra cover in the 29th over. Four overs later, however, Clarke had the Somerset skipper caught at the wicket for a 66-ball forty-seven.

In came Ian Blackwell who certainly made up for not being called upon to bowl earlier in the day. With the home side requiring 112 to win off the last fifteen overs, the stocky left-hander got the target down to 100 in two blows, slog sweeping the first two boundaries to come off Saqlain Mushtaq. The first landed in the car park, damaging one of the players’ sponsored vehicles.

Blackwell hit 39 in just thirty deliveries, but when he fell to a catch at long-off in the 41st over there was still much to do. Last year’s beaten finalists got close, but Surrey just held on. If Adam Hollioake not taken three wickets in eight balls and Azhar – who was eventually well enough to return – not bowled a maiden in the 48th over, the result could have been all together different. Likewise the man of the match nomination, for which Parsons, with 83 off 93 balls to follow his 10-0-49-1, must have been a strong candidate.

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