Ben Foakes century drives Surrey in crunch Championship contest

A fine 112 not out from Ben Foakes, and half-centuries by Dom Sibley, Jamie Smith and Cameron Steel propelled title favourites Surrey to 339 for 4 after day one of their important LV= Insurance County Championship match against Warwickshire at the Kia Oval.

Division One leaders and 2022 winners Surrey are aiming for back-to-back championship triumphs, and lead Essex and Hampshire by 17 and 48 points respectively with three rounds to go for the top three. Warwickshire, with an extra game in hand in fourth place, trailed Surrey by 56 points at the start of a match they must win to maintain any interest in the title race.

But the champions proved more than a match for the Warwickshire attack with Foakes and Steel combining to add an unbroken 152 in 42 overs for the fifth wicket after Smith had waltzed to 60 from 72 balls in a stand worth 99 with Sibley, who put together a more prosaic 65 in almost four hours of dedicated crease occupation.

Steel also played well for his unbeaten 69, from 115 balls and including 10 fours, and importantly repelling with Foakes the second new ball in the final hour to underline Surrey's opening day dominance. Foakes has so far faced 181 balls, hitting 18 fours.

Put in on a well-grassed surface, Surrey lost Rory Burns and Ryan Patel in the first 12 overs as they stumbled initially to 31 for two. Burns, on 11, edged Chris Rushworth's ever-steady fast-medium low to third slip and Patel managed only a couple of pleasing drives before falling for 9 when Barnard angled one through his defences from around the wicket.

Smith, though, immediately began to take on the Warwickshire seamers, skipping a couple of short steps down the pitch to unfurl one magnificent straight driven four off Barnard and, two balls later, hitting the same bowler to the extra cover ropes with a real flourish.

On 25, Smith was fortunate to get an inside edge that saved him from being stumped when he advanced at Danny Briggs' left arm spin and aimed an ugly hack, but otherwise he continued to bat with power and class.

Henry Brookes' first three overs cost 25 as Smith and Sibley both cashed in on some wayward deliveries as the fast bowler struggled for rhythm, and lunch was reached with Surrey having recovered in some style to 111 for two.

Smith completed a 52-ball fifty in the first over after the interval, punching Olly Hannon-Dalby through the covers off the back foot for three, but Warwickshire sensed they were back in the fight when Barnard beat Smith with a ball angled in and beating an attempted whip past mid on to pluck out off stump after deflecting off his pads.

Sibley was then joined by Foakes in an untroubled alliance of 57 in 16 overs before, wastefully, he drove Briggs straight to mid on, called his partner for a sharp single and was, correctly, sent back. Foakes, who had actually done well to avoid the ball, did not move as Hannon-Dalby picked up and threw to the keeper's end with Sibley run out by yards.

By tea Steel had helped Foakes steer Surrey to 224 for four and, in the day's last session, the pair kept the scoreboard ticking steadily. Steel hit one memorable extra cover four off Will Rhodes' medium pace and Foakes, who had completed his half-century on the stroke of tea, punched Rhodes between mid on and the bowlers' stumps for one of the 16 boundaries in his third championship hundred of the season.