SURREY SUCCUMB TO GOUGH AND HOGGARD by Marcus Hook
Surrey 344 & 170 v Yorkshire 594-9d & 266-7d. Yorkshire win by 346 runs.

In recent seasons Surrey have made a habit of being slow out of the blocks in the County Championship, but not since 1990 have they lost their opening game of the campaign. On this occasion, however, no rearguard materialised and they were dismissed for their lowest total since July 2005. The margin of defeat was also the Brown Caps' heaviest, in terms of runs, since losing to Middlesex by 353 runs at Lord's in 1911 and it was Yorkshire's first championship success at the Oval for nearly thirty years.

Scott Newman, with an attractive 89 off 118 balls to add to the 124 he scored in the first innings, made batting looking a great deal easier than his distinguished colleagues; among them, of course, the incomparable Mark Ramprakash. But after the former Middlesex man was trapped leg before to a full length ball in the fifth over of the day by Darren Gough, for his first single figure score in first-class cricket since August 2005, the home side's self-belied drained away completely.

Resuming the day on 29, Newman re-opened his account by hooking Gough for four and progressed to his half-century in 65 deliveries. Later in the same over, however, Rikki Clarke, shouldering arms, had the top of his off stump clipped by the Yorkshire skipper. Four overs later, in the 26th over of the hosts' second dig, Newman cover drove Matthew Hoggard's first ball of the final day for four. But in the England seamer's next Alistair Brown was palpably leg before to one that jagged back into him off a length.

After offering a sharp chance to Craig White at short extra cover off Tim Bresnan, on 71, Newman clipped two fours through the bizarrely vacant third and fourth slip area off Hoggard. But from 124 for four Surrey crashed to 170 all out in fourteen and a half overs either side of lunch.

James Benning, who did little to make a case for a regular run in Surrey's championship side, got his positioning all wrong and was caught low down at short mid-wicket off a leading edge. In the same over, Azhar Mahmood obliging edged Hoggard to Jacques Rudolph at first slip and it was Hoggard who was in on the action again when Newman finally perished as the interval approached.

After the break, Jimmy Ormond was caught behind off inside edge. The next over saw Adil Rashid, who had been expected to clean up on day four, bowl Chris Schofield, who was looking to whip the 19-year-old leg-spinner through mid-wicket. At 2.09pm Yorkshire's rout of Surrey was completed when Nayan Doshi edged a turning delivery from Rashid to second slip.

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