SURREY SLUMP TO THIRD CHAMPIONSHIP DEFEAT by Marcus Hook
Surrey 220 & 323 v Durham 410 & 134-0. Durham win by 10 wickets.

Guildford continues to be a less than happy hunting ground for Surrey in the championship. Surrey have not won a four-day match at Woodbridge Road since their six-wicket victory over Yorkshire in 2002. This year's contest with Durham ebbed and flowed, but in the final analysis injury hit Surrey struggled to live with the likes of Will Smith and Stephen Harmison, who claimed 4-102 to add to the 2-31 he took on day one. Durham's ten-wicket victory puts them top of Division One, but Surrey have now suffered defeats in three out of their last four in the LV County Championship.

With the home side resuming on 185-3, the day began with Jonathan Batty and Usman Afzaal extending their valuable fourth wicket stand to 135 in 37 overs. With Callum Thorp sidelined with back spasms, Durham opened up with the Harmison brothers at both ends, but neither could fashion a breakthrough.

The hundred partnership came up in the sixteenth over of the day just before Afzaal went to fifty in 74 deliveries with a four straight down the ground off Liam Plunkett followed by an on driven two to deep-mid wicket in the 61st over.

Afzaal then slog swept Paul Wiseman's off-spin for six before taking two further boundaries off Plunkett. In the 68th over, the former Notts and Northants man was caught behind at the second attempt off Wiseman. But two overs before lunch Batty inched to a responsible half-century, which came off 140 balls and included six fours.

266-4 at the break soon became 266-6 when Batty attempted to steal a risky single to wide-mid-on, from where Stephen Harmison threw down the stumps at the bowler's end, and, moments later, Chris Schofield was caught behind off Plunkett.

Matthew Spriegel cut Wiseman and cover drove Plunkett for fours and off the first delivery with the second new ball despatched Plunkett through the off-side with a one-handed cover drive. But Surrey's last four wickets went in the space of just nine overs.

Spriegel lost his middle and off stumps to Plunkett in the 83rd over. Stephen Harmison then accounted for James Ormond and Murtaza Hussain with successive deliveries from the Railway End before having Jade Dernbach caught at first slip.

With the visitors needing to make 134 off a possible 45 overs, Mark Stoneman took two off-side fours off the first over. In the fourth over Michael Di Venuto cut three boundaries off Dernbach to take the total to 27-0.

At tea Durham were 40 without loss off seven overs. After the break, however, the visitors were more circumspect, particularly against Murtaza's off-spin, but when Stoneman brought up his fifty off 82 balls in the 22nd over, the target had been cut to 39. Eleven overs later Di Venuto posted his half-century, in 81 balls, and at 5.35pm Durham duly registered their first away win over Surrey in the championship.

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