Surrey win by innings but must wait for championship

Another fine bowling performance, once again led by Ian Salisbury, who finished with match figures of 11 for 154 - his second best of the season - brought Surrey victory by an innings and 68 runs. But this marvellous win over Durham does not give last year's County Champions a second successive championship just yet.

That should, however, be a formality for the London side after their next game against Lancashire at Old Trafford next week. All they need from that match is one point to take the title and realising the ease of their task, Surrey's players are, quite understandably, already celebrating.

To win the championship for two consecutive years would be a superb achievement. Before winning it last summer they had to wait for 28 years to top the table and prior to that, it may be remembered, were the glory years of the fifties when under the captaincy of Stuart Surridge for five years and then Peter May, they won the title for seven successive years from 1952 to 1958. That record of consecutive wins is likely to stand for a long while yet.

There were some great names in the team then, including Laker, Lock, Loader, the Bedser twins, Barrington and so on. The one player in the present side with personal connection with that legendary team is Alec Stewart whose father, Mickey, had come into the side near the start of his career.

Surrey did not take long to wrap up the game today, they needed to take ten Durham wickets and they did so in just over a session and a half. They went about their business straightaway in the first full over of the day when Alex Tudor took two wickets from successive balls. He had Jon Lewis, who is the temporary captain of the already relegated team, trapped leg before wicket and then took the most important one of their premier batsman, Simon Katich who had scored 77 in the first innings.

Durham were two down for 16 and 14 runs later Paul Collingwood was unfortunate to be run-out when Salisbury, the bowler, deflected the ball on to the stumps with the non-striker backing-up. The visitors then lost two more wickets on the same score, Michael Gough was caught at short extra-cover giving Tudor his third wicket and Jimmy Daley was bowled by a Salisbury googly. Half the Durham side were dismissed for 43.

Some resistence from Martin Speight, the top scorer with 48 and Andy Pratt, 31, took their side to 120 before Pratt was caught at fourth slip off Martin Bicknell and soon after that Salisbury had Speight caught at second slip. Saqlain Mushtaq's only victim was Nicholas Phillips who was caught behind off that typical Saqlain-ball that drifts away from the right-hander.

Salisbury ended the proceedings bowling Stephen Harmison around his legs and then claimed his 51st. championship wicket of the season having Neil Killeen caught behind with the total on 144. It was Salisbury's second ten-wicket haul of the season, he had 12 for 91 on this grouind against Somerset in June.

The cheering Surrey supporters gathered in front of the pavilion after the overwhelming victory had already sensed that the championship title is coming to the Oval again.