Albert snookers Nottinghamshire with 96 in maiden Surrey knock

Ralphie Albert, the England Under-19 allrounder who is grandson to snooker star Jimmy White, fell just four runs short of a rampant century in his first innings at any level for Surrey as the visitors posted 289 for 8 against Notts Outlaws in their Group A Metro Bank One-Day Cup match at Trent Bridge.

It was his side's highest ever individual score for a maiden List A innings and helped bring victory by ten runs. This still looked unlikely, however, when, in reply, the Zimbabwean Dane Schadendorf and locally-raised Sam King both made their first fifties in any Notts cricket in an 85-run third-wicket partnership.

But Albert, bowling left-arm spin, struck twice in 13 balls as Schadendorf fell for 51, caught behind sweeping, and Ben Martindale, returning with a runner after retiring hurt in the sixth over, soon drove him to mid-off. Seven balls later Albert took the catch that left Notts six down, needing 104 from 86 balls.

Wicket-taker Ollie Sykes added two more successes in his next nine balls, King out for 67, and Notts now seemed certain of defeat. But No.9, Bob Lord, hammered a late bravura unbeaten 72, batting with a runner, almost to suggest a miracle, until 23 from the last over proved just too much.

Earlier, with an onslaught of 146 at seven per over, Surrey's List A record for the sixth wicket, Albert and wicket-keeper Josh Blake, who made 72, belatedly roused their own innings after stagnation had threatened on 102 for 5 from 26 overs.

If Albert couldn't quite clear the table in the family tradition he enhanced with the bat the promise shown as a spinner during England's youth Tests against India U-19s last month.

In their reply the Outlaws soon faced trouble when two of their bare trio of first-team regulars, Ben Slater, driving loosely, and Haseeb Hameed, caught behind glancing, went in South African Ari Karvelas's first four new-ball overs. In between, Ben Martindale, who'd suffered cramp when bowling, retired hurt.

The last of the regulars, Jack Haynes, left for 38, neatly stumped by Blake as Yousef Majid, another left-armer, spun one past the bat. Soon after, exactly 200 were required from the last 31 overs but it had become only 127 from 19.4 before Albert's second intervetion, this time with the ball.

When Surrey batted first it proved a dream start on Notts first-XI debut for Tom Giles as the 19-year old fast bowler claimed two England Test batters in his opening 18 balls. Raised in Brumby on the outskirts of Scunthorpe, where he plays his club cricket, Giles induced a bottom-edge from Rory Burns, bowled for 25 cutting, and found a beauty for Ben Foakes who lost off stump for 20.

Cricket had already proved fickle for Adam Thomas after he followed 162 at Derby on Friday, a List A score only ever bettered by five Surrey batters, with just eight and when Surrey skipper Sykes followed the two Test men for ten, his side were 69 for 4 in the 17th.

With Nik Gorantla driving to cover for 21, it was not until 33 overs had gone that Surrey suddenly picked up the tempo with vengeance. Blake's fifty arrived in 56 balls, Albert's in 53 and in all 187 were plundered from final 17 overs, Giles not escaping the brutality in his second spell. Dropped on 77, Albert selflessly fell in the deep with 11 balls to come after Blake was leg-before.