For the second year running the home dressing room at Guildford must have been a sombre place. Between 1995 and 2002, Surrey won eight successive championship fixtures at Woodbridge Road, but yesterday, as they did last season, the home side conceded to the team that ended the festival atop the Division One table. The only thing that Surrey can be thankful for was that only a handful of spectators witnessed their capitulation. However, when the rest of the Oval faithful pick up their newspapers this morning, they might well spit out their Cornflakes in disgust.

Despite facing slightly more overs than in their first dig, the hosts made over a hundred runs less second time round. That left Kent with something to aim at - 231 in 35 overs was the equation - and the hop county proceeded to demonstrate just how fast scoring a venue Guildford is capable of being. Nevertheless, Surrey did themselves no favours by coming up with some unimaginative field placings. Instead of looking to bowl their opponents out, Mark Ramprakash sought to defend the indefensible - the short boundaries on either side of the ground. Regularly, it seemed, the ball either bisected fielders patrolling the rope or it simply sailed over their heads.

David Fulton and Robert Key put on 83 before the Kent skipper was caught at deep square leg off Ian Salisbury. Key struck eight fours on his way to a 42-ball 47 before Ramprakash turned to Mohammad Akram for the first time in the 15th over, after giving spin a try at both ends. The man who now looks a step closer to an England recall thanks to Graham Thorpe’s announcement on Friday was soon leg before to Akram, who also accounted for the leading light in Kent’s first innings, Matt Walker, who was lbw playing across the line.

When Darren Stevens holed out to the deep mid-wicket and Martin van Jaarsveld opted to reverse sweep Nayan Doshi, their team’s pursuit appeared to be running out of impetus. Kent needed ninety runs off the last ten overs, but Justin Kemp and Niall O’Brien simply made mincemeat of the Surrey attack. The penultimate over, bowled by Jimmy Ormond, proved to be pivotal. It included two fours, as well as a huge six over wide long-on by the tall South African. O’Brien hit the winning runs with five balls to spare by carving Azhar Mahmood to the rope at extra cover and one could scarcely believe how easily the hosts had surrendered.

Earlier, Surrey had meandered their way to 240 to two before being bowled out for 350. Thorpe and Ramprakash kept one another company for well over two hours in posting a third-wicket partnership that was worth 98 in 37 overs. Thorpe eventually went, caught at first slip, off the part-time spin of van Jaarsveld. After lunch Ramprakash edged Simon Cook behind and Alistair Brown was bowled by Walker after contributing an entertaining 34.

But it was Min Patel who transformed a game that appeared to be heading for stalemate into a thriller, when, in mid-afternoon, he claimed four wickets in quick succession. Having failed to conjure up a breakthrough in his first 41 overs, the 35-year-old spinner dismissed Clarke, Salisbury, Azhar and Akram in the space of 33 balls to clean up the hosts’ lower order and set up the unlikely scenario.

To make matters worse, Surrey were docked half a point for a slow over-rate and it was later revealed that Jimmy Ormond, who had gone for 68 runs off nine overs, had picked up a serious hand injury that could keep him out of action for some time.

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