Surrey made to work for win

Surrey 556 beat Hampshire 221 and 298 (Pothas 92, Harbhajan 4-71)
Scorecard

Surrey were made to work hard, but eventually wrapped up a vital innings-and-37-run win over Hampshire midway through the final session. Nic Pothas thwarted them for 256 balls, as No. 10 David Griffiths survived for more than two hours, but Matthew Nicholson and Chris Schofield finally broke the resistance.

Everything went serenely for Surrey early on, Nicholson removed James Adams without addition to the overnight score and Hampshire sank to 198 for 8 when Daren Powell became Schofield's seventh wicket of the match.

However, with the news that Shane Warne might soon be fit to boost their title hunt, Hampshire weren't about to fold. Pothas produced a gutsy rearguard while Griffiths helped him add 99 for the ninth wicket, although runs were of secondary importance to the time.

But Nicholson trapped Pothas lbw for 92 and one run later Schofield ended the match when he had James Bruce caught by Mark Butcher. The result lifts Surrey to sixth and pulls Hampshire down to fifth, although they are still just 23 points behind leaders Yorkshire with a game in hand.

The next round of matches, beginning on Wednesday, pits the top four teams against each other as Yorkshire face Sussex at Hove and Lancashire take on Durham at Blackpool. Meanwhile, there is a relegation fight for Surrey who play Warwickshire.

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	Draw	Aban	Pts
Yorkshire	14	4	3	0	7	0	167
Durham	13	5	4	0	4	0	155.5
Sussex	13	5	2	0	5	1	153
Lancashire	13	3	1	0	8	1	149
Hampshire	13	4	2	0	7	0	144
Surrey	14	3	4	0	6	1	135
Warwickshire	14	2	3	0	9	0	131
Kent	14	2	4	0	7	1	127
Worcestershire	14	1	6	0	5	2	86