Abbott, Jacks finish the job as Surrey maintain pace at the top

Surrey 433 (Smith 138, Burns 79, Clark 78, Helm 6-110) and 78 for two (Jacks 45*) beat Middlesex 238 (Simpson 60, Holden 55, Abbott 3-37, Overton 3-45, Lawes 3-57) and 272 (Stoneman 72, Bamber 46*, Abbott 4-60) by eight wickets

The LV= Insurance coverage County Championship front-runners wanted solely 11.1 overs to chase down a modest goal of 78, finishing their second derby success of the season and a primary red-ball win at Lord’s for 26 years. Middlesex, who stay second from backside in Division One, have now misplaced 4 of their final 5 Championship fixtures.

“We had been fairly medical, I feel, over three and a bit days,” Rory Burns, Surrey’s captain, mentioned. “There are just a few bits we might have tidied up on however, if you happen to’d provided us that earlier than the beginning of the sport, we might have taken it. Significantly after getting inserted on the primary morning, to place up 433 as a batting group after which again that up by making them comply with on – and the way in which we went about it – I feel it is a massive feather in our caps.

“I assumed Jamie [Smith] performed fantastically [in the first innings] and Jordan [Clark] was in fairly good nick as properly. The way in which he got here in and performed was wonderful, to get ourselves as much as that form of whole was good.

“It is a robust shift, any time you make somebody comply with on – I feel we had about 150 [overs] within the filth there, again to again. To take 20 wickets and preserve being fairly relentless over that interval is an enormous effort. Getting a wicket second ball [today] is all the time useful. The climate in all probability had a component to play in our chase as properly, we had been seeking to get it executed as rapidly as we might.”

Abbott took solely two deliveries to complete off Middlesex’s second innings when play resumed, banging it briefly to final man Tim Murtagh, who might solely fend it off into the slip space and Dom Sibley took the catch.

That left Ethan Bamber stranded on a career-best 46 not out and Surrey with 78 to attain – simply 5 greater than the goal they chased to finish a nine-wicket victory towards Middlesex on the Oval in Could.

First-innings centurion Smith was promoted to start the chase with Burns, however he lasted simply two balls on this event earlier than clipping Tom Helm tamely into the arms of midwicket. Helm picked up a second wicket, his eighth of the match, when Burns tried a paddle from exterior off stump that was neatly taken by Murtagh at lengthy leg, however Jacks maintained momentum by clouting Bamber over the duvet boundary.

Tom Latham additionally struck a most off Helm earlier than hitting the successful runs off Mark Stoneman to complete unbeaten on 21.