Surrey were presented with the County Championship trophy after their loss
| LV= County Championship Division One, Emirates Old Trafford (Day Three) |
| Lancashire 512: Jennings 199, Balderson 97; Moriarty 5-163 |
| Surrey 209 & 173: burns 61; Hartley 5-52, Parkinson 3-57 |
| Lancashire (24 points) beat Surrey (3 points) by one innings and 130 carries |
| match scorecard |
Lancashire pulled off an impressive win over county champions Surrey in three days as they finished the season with a win by one inning and 130 runs.
Left-arm slow bowler Tom Hartley did the damage with the ball, with the 23-year-old ending nine cricket sessions utterly dominated by the hosts, who sacked the visitors with 173, 5-52 and match totals of 8 -80 scored in their second innings.
Will Williams and Tom Bailey resumed the first innings under bright autumn sunshine, starting with the ball against Cameron Steel and Jordan Clark, and it was Williams who broke early as Clark played to his stumps and attempted five balls from 47 to reach.
Matt Parkinson went on to take 3-57, with Jamie Overton somehow heading straight for Dane Vilas at Midwicket to leave for nine as the slow bowlers took over.
Cameron Steel, who had shown rare patience among Surrey batters when he put together 47 balls from 163, was next trapped by Hartley before Tom Lawes was knocked around his legs by the same bowler for 21.
A nice cameo from Kemar Roach rounded it all off as the West Indian sailor hit an entertaining 26, including a superb straight six ahead of Parkinson’s before running one on Williams.
With Surrey still 303 runs behind, Lancashire inevitably forced a follow-up and a three-day finish seemed in sight.
Credit then to Rory Burns and Ryan Patel, who went into the second innings with a lot more determination than they had previously shown.
Burns took the game to Parkinson and Hartley, dancing down the wicket regularly and displaying the kind of composure and dominance the ex-England opener had such a fruitful season with.
The first-wicket pair had amassed 89 runs when Burns made his first error, which proved fatal when he went past a Hartley delivery and was bowled for 61.
Patel suffered a similar lack of concentration four overs later when he was able to cleave Parkinson against a diving George Balderson at center for 36 to leave Surrey 107-2 and Lancashire began to dream of a day off.
When Hashim Amla came in the circle, the hosts still had a sizeable object to remove, but Hartley pulled the trick off with a sharp turn given lbw despite pitching outside leg.
With Amla gone for 15, every fight seemed to fade from a Surrey side that had little motivation left for the blocker role and Steel was certainly fumbling with his lines as he hesitated mid-game and was executed by Vilas for five became.
It was a nightmare for Surrey as they lost six wickets for 24 runs in 15 overs, with Tom Curran playing his fourth ball against Steven Croft for a duck before Jamie Smith was caught on the short leg by Parkinson at 23.
Overton was then rolled around his legs by Hartley for one, with Lawes unwisely deciding to attempt the same shot from the same bowler minutes later to give Hartley his first five for in first-class cricket.
Suddenly, when end-of-term sentiment was the order of the day, Bailey came back to bowl some off-spin, immediately falling to his old teammate when Clark was trapped for nine.
Last-wicket pair Daniel Moriarty and Roach stayed until 15:45 BST when everyone was ready for a title presentation and referee Martin Saggers duly obliged as he raised his figure to dismiss Roach lbw from Parkinson’s.
Lancashire head coach Glen Chapple:
“We wanted to make sure we ended the season well and make sure we tried as hard in this game as we did in any other. The guys’ performance was great to see because they could easily have taken their foot off the gas.
“We can’t take anything negative from the season. The guys did really well. There are a lot of positive things and as we sit back and look back on the season there is a lot to be proud of.
“There were a few pockets here and there where we didn’t quite make it to the finish line and potentially that’s an area where we can see points slipping. But the commitment the team has shown in all three competitions has been brilliant.
“Overall, it’s one of the best seasons we’ve ever had. We want to lift silver, of course, and we’ll keep pushing for that, but seasons like this only serve to fuel your motivation to get stronger and better. “
Surrey head coach Gareth Batty:
“Most of our emotions were drained last week and this week has been difficult – it’s like popping a balloon I suppose. But that’s no excuse. Lancashire were great and they deserve a hell of a lot of credit for their season.
“The unity of the group has emerged. The fact that Olly Pope and Ben Foakes came back after winning a series with England and were keen to play to get us over the line speaks volumes for everything and all the work everyone is doing.
“It’s a tight group and I think it’s a special dressing room. We also have to respect the fact that Vikram Solanki started all of this. He won the IPL and it’s fair and fitting that we won the county championship.
“We were very dominant and strong at home and pushed teams into the background. There were times when Hashim Amla, who achieved pretty much everything in the game, walked off the pitch and said it felt like a session of Test match cricket. That’s the greatest compliment you can give a boy.”
Report provided by the ECB Reporters Network.
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