With Andrew Strauss hitting the highest one-day score by a Middlesex batsman and the Crusaders racking up their highest total in the competition - beating the 304-7 they made against Surrey at the Oval in 1995 - the honours in yesterday's all-London affair were claimed by the visitors. The Brown Caps got off to a good start with Scott Newman and James Benning putting on 89 in fifteen overs, but, with dark clouds massing over SE11, the hosts lost their way badly after Newman departed leg before to Shaun Udal in the 25th over.

Middlesex were put in by Surrey and it was not long before Strauss occupied centre stage. England's number three began to make his intentions known, in the twelfth over, when Chris Lewis was given his first bowl in competitive cricket in nearly eight years. The 40-year-old's first two overs cost 24 and his second spell was little better.

Strauss came in when Ed Smith lost his off stump to Jade Dernbach in the fourth over. His half-century came at precisely a run-a-ball with the first of three boundaries off Chris Jordan in the 19th over. Nine overs later Strauss posted the visitors' 150 with successive fours off Lewis, then brought up his sixth one-day hundred, off 90 deliveries.

The 31-year-old helped himself to three sixes in Usman Afzaal's one and only over, all of which disappeared over long-on, and raced to his 150, which took him just 117 balls. But then the Crusaders lost four wickets in the space of six overs, starting with that of Strauss, who was bowled attempting to pull Jordan off his stumps. His 163 in 130 deliveries, which included 23 fours and four sixes, bettered the 158 Graham Barlow struck for Middlesex against Lancashire the NatWest Trophy quarter-finals of 1984.

Owais Shah made an unbeaten 55 off 56 balls, but only found the boundary on four occasions. His only six, which came in the last over of the Crusaders' innings was the only boundary Dernbach conceded in his final four-over spell. Overall, Surrey would probably have felt relieved at the halfway stage to have limited the visitors to 315 on such a good pitch.

In the sixth over of the reply Benning hit Steven Finn for three leg-side fours. Newman then deposited Udal over long-off for six. But just as Benning was eyeing up a half-century the 24-year-old lost his off stump to Danny Evans. With Mark Ramprakash falling to a catch at deep backward square leg two balls later, Newman was joined at the crease by his captain.

The left-handed opener continued the excellent one-day form he showed at the end of last season - when he averaged 54 in eight NatWest Pro40 League appearances - to help keep his side just ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis par score.

Newman reached his half-century off 57 balls in the 22nd over and two overs later celebrated it by hitting Gareth Berg over the long-on boundary. A superbly timed four through extra cover brought the 150 for Surrey with it. But the 28-year-old, having just been dropped by Udal, chose fatally to play back to the former Hampshire stalwart's next delivery.

The Brown Caps then collapsed from 173-3 to 187-7 in the space off six overs. Afzaal fell to an excellent piece of work behind the stumps by Ben Scott, Butcher was caught on the mid-wicket fence for a 62-ball 46, Chris Schofield departed first ball and Jordan was caught down the leg-side off Evans. The tall 20-year-old, making his limited-overs debut finished with a creditable 3-36.

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