A magnificent third-wicket stand of 144 in 22 overs between Warwickshire’s Jonathan Trott and Jim Troughton put the game well beyond Surrey’s reach even before the technicians got round to turning the floodlights on at Edgbaston last night. When one bank of lights suddenly went out mid-way through the Lions’ reply, resulting in a fifteen-minute delay in proceedings, one wondered whether a Low Battery reading was the reason why they had not been pressed into action prior to the sun setting over Birmingham.

If, at that stage, it had been necessary to decide the game on the basis of Duckworth-Lewis, the Bears would have been awarded a 41-run victory. That they cruised home by 68 in the end was testament to the young Lions’ battling qualities, which were best demonstrated by Chris Murtagh and Jade Dernbach’s partnership for the visitors’ last wicket. But, fittingly, it was Trott who applied the coup de grace when he had Dernbach caught at the wicket for 21 in the 41st over. That gave the 24-year-old batsman figures of three for 46 to add to the 101 in 111 deliveries he struck in the early evening sunshine.

Following the departure of Neil Carter for a whirlwind 51 off 30 balls, Trott found a more than useful ally in Troughton, who blitzed an utterly breathtaking 82 in 67 deliveries, including five sixes. Nayan Doshi was taken for three, Dernbach for one and, immediately before the left-hander was caught at short fine-leg, Dernbach, at long-off, obliged by pushing the fifth over the bar off the bowling of Tim Murtagh.

Thereafter that the hosts’ effort faltered slightly with just 25 runs coming in five overs, before Michael Powell gave the innings a last minute surge. The lull was the result of Rikki Clarke’s four wickets in eight balls after initially electing to send down five overs of spin. But following a switch of ends and a return to his customary seam-up the 23-year-old all-rounder had Trevor Penney caught behind to give Jonathan Batty 150 career dismissals in List A cricket, Warwickshire’s centurion bagged at long-on, Alex Loudon leg before aiming to sweep and Tony Frost backing away to leave his castle unguarded.

Faced with the mammoth task of needing to make nearly three-hundred under lights the Lions soon fell behind the asking rate, though they were hardly helped by a slowing outfield.

James Benning went in the seventh over, when the ball ricocheted off his right thigh and on to the off-bail. He was soon followed by Batty, who was caught at slip after toe-ending a drive. Mark Butcher and Mark Ramprakash then combined for 34 in eight overs before the latter was caught behind trying to slap James Anyon through point off the back foot. The visitors were reduced to 90 for four in the 19th over when Troughton pulled off a superb catch to dismiss Alistair Brown, who had top-edged a pull off Naqaash Tahir.

Surrey’s faint hopes were extinguished when Butcher drilled Anyon to short extra cover in the 24th over and Azhar Mahmood, swinging across the line, was caught behind four overs later. However, Clarke did his prospects of a call-up to the England one-day side in the near future no harm at all by hitting 42 off 39 balls, including five fours.

Off the field, the Lions’ assistant coach Alan Butcher did a stint of summarising on Sky Sports. When asked whether he had applied to become Steve Rixon’s successor in the top job at The Oval, Butcher said: “I have made it known that I am interested.”

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