Having been set a mammoth 330 to win, the only point at which Yorkshire appeared capable of beating Surrey yesterday was when Rana Naved-ul-Hasan despatched the first two balls of the final over, bowled by Andre Nel, over long-off for six and then through backward point for four. That left the Tykes needing eight off the last four deliveries, which they acquired in two thanks to Naved pulling Nel for four before finding the cover boundary.

As Naved and his partner, Adil Rashid, celebrated their side's unlikely four wicket victory, which owed much to their unbroken partnership of 74 in less than seven overs, the Brown Caps' players, to a man, looked on in stunned disbelief. Perhaps it was because Surrey have now been involved in three close finishes in this season's Friends Provident Trophy and have lost on each occasion.

Earlier, it seemed that Scott Newman and Stewart Walters had laid the foundations for the Brown Caps' second win in as many days, by putting on a commanding 211 in thirty overs for the second wicket - a record one-day stand for the county against Yorkshire and Surrey's fifth highest for any wicket in limited-overs cricket.

Notwithstanding a late collapse that saw five wickets fall for one run in the space of seven balls, the home side posted their largest total in this season's Friends Provident Trophy.

Newman and Walters came together in the fifteenth over of their side's innings, by which time Newman, in alliance with Michael Brown, had already given the Brown Caps a head start. The first wicket realised 73, Brown unfurling two particularly well-timed straight drives for four before Newman struck four boundaries in the space of two overs.

Rich Pyrah came back well, though, flattening Brown's off stump. Five overs later, Newman brought up his half-century, off 64 deliveries, by slog sweeping Rashid for six. Walters announced himself by lifting the same bowler over long-on for a maximum. Rashid was on the receiving end again when Newman picked him up for six in the 24th over.

The closest Yorkshire came to ending the partnership sooner was when Michael Vaughan got his fingertips to a well stuck drive by Walters, on 39, off his own bowling in the 32nd over. Two overs later Newman pulled the former England captain for four to go to three figures in 109 deliveries, with 11 fours and two sixes also to his name.

Another pull by Newman off Vaughan, this time in the 36th over, took Surrey past the 200-mark. In the following over Walters went past fifty for the first time this season, in 63 deliveries. Newman then bettered his one-day career best by picking Pyrah up over square leg for six.

In the next over, the 41st, Newman and Walters overhauled Surrey's previous highest second wicket partnership in one-day cricket against Yorkshire - Alistair Brown and Graham Thorpe's 160 at Scarborough back in 1994.

Walters pulled the first ball of Surrey's batting powerplay for four. In the same over Newman became only the fifth Surrey batsman to make 150 in limited-overs cricket, bringing up the landmark, off 140 balls, with a punched four to the rope at extra cover off Naved.

Walters was eventually caught by Anthony McGrath running back at extra cover, but after Grant Elliott had been caught at cover without scoring, Gary Wilson ensured the home side made full use of the third powerplay. When Newman finally perished in the 50th over he had made a one-day career best 177 off 156 balls.

In reply, Yorkshire lost Joe Sayers early on, the only victim of a superb opening spell from Nel that read 6-1-14-1. But with Michael Vaughan making 74 off 69 balls and Adam Lyth hitting a one-day career best 83 in 72 deliveries the visitors simply refused to accept what most of us would have considered to be inevitable.

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