Match Reports

Surrey v Gloucestershire

Day 3

Zafar Ansari and Tom Curran underlined their potential as two of the best young bowlers in English cricket by both completing career-best bowling figures to send Gloucestershire plunging to an innings and 180-run defeat against Surrey at a sun-baked Kia Oval.

Ansari, 23, took six for 30 from 21.1 second innings overs with his left-arm spin after 20-year-old seamer Curran had earlier picked up an equally eye-catching seven for 20 as Gloucestershire were skittled for 113 and then 155 in the LV= County Championship Division Two game in reply to Surrey’s 448.

Only Will Tavare, with 58, resisted for long as Surrey completed a 22-point victory inside three days, their fifth of the season, to strengthen their promotion ambitions and close on second division leaders Lancashire. It was, however, Gloucestershire’s fifth defeat this summer and they take just a solitary bonus point from a heavy beating.

Gloucestershire were already in trouble on 102 for seven at the start of day three, and Curran quickly added two more scalps to his five of Sunday’s second day to ensure that the follow-on would be applied with the minimum of fuss. Indeed, Gloucestershire’s first innings lasted just 10.3 more overs despite Hamish Marshall’s defiant 34 not out.

Curran sent back both Craig Miles and Liam Norwell for ducks, caught at the wicket and bowled respectively, before Matt Dunn ended Gloucestershire’s first innings by bowling James Fuller for 3 and striking an early blow when they batted again by having Chris Dent leg-before for 8 in the third over of the visitors’ second innings.

Michael Klinger followed before lunch, caught low at short leg off Ansari for 12, and from 52 for two at the interval the Gloucestershire decline continued apace with Marshall this time falling for only 11 when he edged behind off Curran.

It was Curran’s eighth wicket of the match, but soon it was Surrey’s two spinners, Ansari and Gareth Batty, doing most of the bowling in the warm sunshine. Ansari, in particular, was proving a difficult proposition on a pitch offering some turn, although it was his quicker arm ball that did a lot of the damage.

First he had Ian Cockbain lbw for 17, after a spirited stand of 42 with Tavare, and then he pinned Benny Howell leg-before for 3, with both batsmen paying the penalty for going back to cut and being completely flummoxed by Ansari’s change of pace and variation.

In between, Tavare’s excellent innings was also ended by Ansari, who turned a more flighted delivery to induce a snick to Jason Roy at slip. Tavare had faced 131 balls, hitting seven fours.

At tea Gloucestershire were on the ropes at 122 for six and the final session began with Jack Taylor bounced out for 1 by James Burke, who saw a fiery short ball fended off into the hands of short leg.

Curran then returned to end Geraint Jones’s resistance on 24, with Gloucestershire’s captain lobbing up a simple caught and bowled chance as he mis-hit an attempted pull.

The end came soon afterwards with Ansari picking up the last two wickets as he had Miles caught for 10 and last man Fuller leg-before for nought aiming a flamboyant sweep.

Curran finished with two for 37 in Gloucestershire’s second innings, for match figures of nine for 57, and he now has 43 championship wickets this summer at an average of 25.93, while Ansari’s fast-improving left-arm spin has brought him 28 wickets at 33.25 and confirmation that he should now be regarded as a genuine all-rounder at first-class level.

Gloucestershire batsman Hamish Marshall said: “That was a very disappointing batting performance indeed, in both our innings. It wasn’t good enough. We were found wanting with the bat, and we also had far too many batsmen being bowled in this match.

“The pitch had a little bit in it for the seamers and spinners, and so it wasn’t the easiest of surfaces but it wasn’t the toughest you will find either to bat on. Zafar Ansari bowled very well, and there was a bit of turn for him, but it was still very disappointing from our perspective.”

Day 2

Ben Foakes and Tom Curran shared the honours as Surrey stepped up their LV= County Championship promotion challenge by taking control of their game against Gloucestershire at the Kia Oval.

Foakes, the 22-year-old England Lions wicketkeeper-batsman, scored 118 to lead his side to an intimidating first-innings total of 448.

Then fast-medium bowler Curran, 20, then took 5-17 off 10 overs to help reduce Gloucestershire to 102 for seven by the close of day two.

It was slow going at first as Foakes, 57 overnight, and Gary Wilson, the Ireland gloveman who is keeping in this match, took their sixth-wicket partnership to 83 before Wilson was well caught by Will Tavare at third slip off Liam Norwell for 37.

At that stage, Foakes had gone 12 overs without scoring a run but he got going again in a seventh-wicket stand of 46 with James Burke, who had made 18 when he was leg before to James Fuller, back in the Gloucestershire attack with a heavily bandaged left hand after cutting it when he made a diving stop the day before.

Foakes went on to complete his hundred off his 188th ball when he tried to cut Norwell and edged over a leaping Michael Klinger at first slip for his 12th four.

Surrey then starting adding heavily to their current score. Gareth Batty plundered 50 off 43 balls, including eight fours, as 80 runs came from 16 overs for the eighth wicket before the deserving Norwell had both Batty and Foakes caught at mid-on to finish with a creditable 5-112 from 34.5 overs.

Then Curran, son of the late Zimbabwe and Gloucestershire all-rounder Kevin, showed why he is already on England's radar.

He had Chris Dent caught behind in his first over and then, just as Tavare and Klinger were threatening to give Gloucestershire some kind of foundation, he bowled them both in successive overs.

In his next over, Curran had Ian Cockbain caught at mid-on to leave the youngster with 4-4 in his first six overs.

And there was no respite when he gave way to Burke, who promptly stuck up his left hand to take a return catch from Benny Howell.

Gloucestershire were reeling at 50 for five and although Hamish Marshall and Geraint Jones put on a brave face in a sixth-wicket stand of 47, Burke broke it by bowling Jones for 30 and Curran returned to bowl Jack Taylor with the last ball of the day, leaving Marshall unbeaten on 30.

Day 1

South Africa opening batsman Dean Elgar scored 98 on his home debut for Surrey as Gloucestershire made them work hard to reach 279 for five on the first day of their LV=County Championship match at the Kia Oval.

Elgar stepped up the pace in a third wicket partnership of 131 in 52 overs with Zafar Ansari, who had batted almost four hours for 64 when he was lbw to Jack Taylor in the last over before tea.

Taylor, giving his off spin plenty of air, also accounted for Elgar, who was trying to hit him over the top for a third six to go with his 10 fours when he sliced horribly to backward point where Michael Klinger swooped to take the catch. Elgar had faced 203 balls.

Ansari had earlier shared an opening stand of 42 with Rory Burns, playing his first game since he was knocked unconscious in a horrific collision with his Australian team-mate Moises Henriques in a T20 game at Hove a fortnight ago. Burns needed stitches in cuts near his left eye while Henriques broke his jaw in three places.

Burns, who cannot remember anything about the collision, began by clipping the first ball of the match confidently for three and was looking good on 21 when Gloucestershire broke through with two wickets in six balls. Burns was caught behind driving at Liam Norwell for 21 and Arun Harinath edged Craig Miles to first slip.

Ansari, stood firm, however, and Elgar, who has replaced Kumar Sangakkara as Surrey’s overseas player while he is away playing for Sri Lanka, soon looked at ease in his new surroundings.

He gave Ansari 21 runs and 16 overs start but was first to his fifty off 105 balls with six fours and a six. Ansari, dropped at third slip off Norwell on 22, needed 187 balls to reach fifty with only four fours but was just becoming more expansive with two more boundaries when he fell to Taylor.

It was a long day in the field for Gloucestershire, who, like Surrey, had been in NatWest T20 Blast action the night before. They lost James Fuller who cut his hand on the matting covering one of the pitches on the square and spent the afternoon in hospital waiting for stitches but they never lost their discipline and were further rewarded when Norwell bowled Jason Roy, presumably held back for a late assault on tiring bowlers, for 14.

It was not until the 93^rd over that Ben Foakes secured Surrey’s first batting point on his way to an unbeaten 57.

Richard Dawson, Gloucestershire coach: "Obviously losing James Fuller made it a tough job but I thought the way the lads stuck to it was brilliant. It was an outstanding effort, especially coming off the back of last night T20 and not having too much kip."