Scott Newman announced his arrival in first-class cricket with an innings of 99 for Surrey against Hampshire in 2002. He only managed three matches that season, but took such limited opportunities with both hands by scoring 183 against Leicestershire while sharing a new Surrey opening partnership record against that county (227 with Ian Ward). His five first-class innings that season produced over 300 runs, but he still only made one appearance in first-class cricket in 2003. However, his potential alone was enough for him to be included in the ECB National Academy squad for the 2003/04 winter. For a time he was talked about as someone to watch, but his star has slightly waned and there is a feeling his time may have passed. In 2005 he scored 117 and 219 against Glamorgan, the first Surrey batsman to make a double and single hundred in the same Championship match.

In October 2009 it was confirmed that Newman's long-standing association with Surrey would be coming to an end. He had spent the latter stages of that season on loan to Nottinghamshire and was then snapped up on a three-year contract by Middlesex as they looked to bolster an inexperienced batting line-up. The county had struggled in 2009 as their two senior batsmen - Andrew Strauss and Owais Shah - were busy with international commitments for much of the season, and Newman soon settled into the role as one of the senior batsmen in the top order.
Cricinfo staff May 2011