NAIK HASTENS SURREY TO INNINGS DEFEAT by Marcus Hook
Surrey 236 & 183 v Leicestershire 479. Leicestershire win by an innings and 60 runs.

With Leicestershire's Jigar Naik taking a career best 7-96, Surrey sank to their fourth defeat season in the County Championship, their first by an innings, to remain bottom of Division Two going into the break for the Twenty20. Aside from Younis Khan and Jade Dernbach's 46-run alliance in eight overs for the last wicket, their performance on what proved to be the final day looked as limp as did the Surrey flag on top of the Pavilion at the Brit Oval, which stirred only occasionally in the muggy conditions.

Surrey started their second innings four overs before lunch. But, as was the case in their first dig, Mark Ramprakash was taking his guard in the second over, this time after Steven Davies, pushing half forward to Nathan Buck, went early to a questionable LBW decision. But Ramprakash got off the mark with a drive through extra cover off Harry Gurney for four.

After the food break, Arun Harinath edged Gurney through the vacant third slip area down to the rope at third man before flicking the 23-year-old left-armer to the fine leg boundary. Harinath and Ramprakash then crept along at little more than a run an over until the latter swept Henderson for four in the 24th.

The next over saw the introduction of Jigar Naik, at the Pavilion End. The former Loughborough University student dismissed another Loughborough old boy, Harinath, with his fifth delivery, which Will Jefferson caught at slip after the ball had taken a deflection off Tom New's left glove.

In the 26th over, Ramprakash cut Claude Hernderson past slip to the rope at third man. In the next, Younis Khan drove Naik straight down the ground for four. But with Ramprakash playing on to Naik in the 29th over and Usman Afzaal being defeated by one that skidded on to him two overs later, Surrey were 59-4, needing another 184 to prevent an innings drubbing.

Rory Hamilton was next to go, falling to the fifth ball after tea, when he was bowled by Henderson, looking to whip a well flighted delivery through mid-wicket. Eleven overs later, Gareth Batty was pinned on the crease by Naik. In the next over, the 52nd, Schofield was caught low down at silly point off Henderson.

Five overs later, Meaker went in similar fashion to Schofield to give Naik his first ever five-wicket haul. In the 61st over, Chris Tremlett, looking for the big drive, was beaten by the turn, though not before Younis had lifted the first of his three sixes over long-on off the bowling of Naik.

The former Pakistan captain brought up his fifty, which came from 94 deliveries, with the second. Jade Dernbach got in on the act in the 65th over, before going, attempting to mow Naik again, four overs later.

Earlier, with Surrey, resuming on 160-6 and needing another 170 runs to avoid the follow-on, Afzaal cut Gurney for four in the second over of the day. Eight overs later, Schofield hit three boundaries in the space of four deliveries from Buck, starting with a cut drive through extra cover, then a pull and finally a cover drive.

In the 61st over, however, Schofield departed, shouldering arms to Henderson. Six overs later, Afzaal, having donned his Surrey first eleven cap, brought his fifty up with his ninth boundary, which was despatched through extra cover. It was only the second time this season the 32-year-old had posted a championship half-century and it came from 91 deliveries.

Afzaal repeated the stroke two balls later, but in the 69th over, driving, he was caught behind off a thick edge to make it 219-8. Tremlett, on 0, was dropped at silly point off the bowling of Henderson a couple of overs later. In the 74th over, the former Hampshire man clubbed Naik back over his head, straight up the ground for four.

Three overs later, Stuart Meaker slog swept Henderson to the fence at deep square leg. However, after hitting the next ball straight to du Toit at extra cover, Meaker was run out when he called through Tremlett, whose advice was, eventually, to retreat. With Dernbach going caught behind for a golden duck, to give Henderson figures of 6-84, Surrey were stuck in again by Matthew Hoggard.

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