On an extraordinary final day that saw 18 wickets fall, Middlesex failed by just two runs to register their first championship victory at the Oval since 1994, when they chased down an improbable target of 389 to win by two wickets. Yesterday's objective of 186 in a minimum of 25 overs looked far less demanding due to the presence of Philip Hughes, who struck what appeared to be a decisive 57 off 46 balls in his last four-day innings for the North Londoners. His championship record for 2009 will therefore read 118, 65 not out, 139, 195 and 57.

But requiring just 23 off the last four overs with seven wickets in hand the boundaries dried up for the visitors until Shaun Udal launched Murtaza Hussain straight down the ground for six to make it three needed with four deliveries left to come. All credit to the Surrey spinners, Murtaza and Chris Schofield - and to Michael Brown, the hosts' stand-in skipper, for showing enormous faith in them - who took four wickets apiece to repel their opponents' threat. When Alan Richardson was run out attempting to scramble a second run off the final ball, which, had he got in, would have drawn the game with scores level, the significance of Surrey's tenth wicket partnership of 33 in thirteen overs between Murtaza and Stuart Meaker was underlined. It ultimately spared the Brown Caps conceding an embarrassing fourth championship loss in six matches at the Oval.

Udal's best figures since September 2005 opened up the contest, but Surrey can also count themselves lucky that the Middlesex captain was forced to play practically a lone hand with the ball after being denied the services of Richardson and Tim Murtagh - who injured his right leg attempting to prevent a boundary off Udal in the 31st over - for all but sixteen overs of the hosts' second dig.

Despite losing Mark Ramprakash in seventh over of the day and Usman Afzaal four overs later, the Brown Caps appeared to be on course to securing the draw thanks to a 54-run fourth wicket partnership between Brown and Jonathan Batty. But, following a quick consultation between the two umpires, Batty was adjudged to have been caught at silly point off the last delivery of the 36th over.

Brown went to lunch with an unbeaten 73, but, to the first ball he faced after the break the Surrey captain, driving, was caught at slip. At that stage his side lead by just 102 with five wickets in hand and 63 overs still to come. In front of a Saturday crowd in excess of 1,500, Grant Elliott and Schofield dug in, but when they departed within three overs of each other it all came down to the Brown Caps' tail.

With Andre Nel seeing the ball spin back on to his stumps off Udal and Jade Dernbach going to a good catch at first slip off Steve Finn, Middlesex began to scent victory. Not even the obstinacy shown by Surrey's tenth wicket pair could suggest any other outcome than a win for the visitors, who raced to fifty in six overs.

After conceding 45 in four overs, Nel withdrew with a suspected hamstring strain to be replaced in the attack by Schofield. The former England spinner's first over went for nineteen as Hughes despatched him through extra cover for four and then lifted him for a straight six to bring up a 38-ball half-century. After ten overs, with ninety on the board, Middlesex required just 96 runs in fifteen overs with all their wickets intact.

But then Nick Compton was bowled attempting to mow Murtaza and Hughes was caught behind trying to launch Schofield back over his head. Two overs later Dawid Malan, reverse sweeping, played on to Schofield to make it 107-3 in the 14th over.

The game then swung back in Middlesex's favour thanks to Eoin Morgan and Neil Dexter's fourth wicket stand of 62 in nine overs, but with Morgan departing in the 24th over, Dexter and Billy Godleman doing likewise in the 25th, the penultimate over, and three wickets falling in the dramatic final over Surrey somehow managed to get themselves out of jail.

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