Surrey victory sentences Gloucestershire to relegation

Surrey's Gareth Batty produced a fine all-round performance to send Gloucestershire into the Norwich Union League second division.

Batty top-scored with 54 in Surrey's 157-8 on a typically slow Bristol pitch and then returned 2-20 with his off spin as last season's champions were dismissed for 121.

Gloucestershire opener Kim Barnett was bowled by Phil Sampson in the eighth over, but it was a spell of 3-0 in six balls by Tim Murtagh that really rocked the home side.

Murtagh had Tim Hancock caught at mid-off, pinned Jeremy Snape lbw first ball and then had Dominic Hewson caught behind by Jonathan Batty.

Matt Windows, who took 17 deliveries to get off the mark, kept Gloucestershire interested with some fine offside shots in his 37.

But Gareth Batty had him caught at wide long-on by Alistair Brown and also bowled home skipper Mark Alleyne in his exemplary spell.

Visiting captain Adam Holllioake then took the last four wickets to fall as he finished with 4-19 in eight overs.

Surrey had earlier been indebted to Batty's 61-ball innings, which contained seven fours. The Yorkshire-born batsman needed one piece of luck when he survived a difficult chance to Hewson at mid-off from Alistair Bressington.

Michael Carberry helped Batty put on 54 for the third wicket before a misunderstanding resulted in Carberry being run out by the length of the pitch.

Ian Ward contributed 20, but no other Surrey batsman could get going against a tidy home attack.

Left-arm seamer Mike Smith was the pick of the bowlers in only his third appearance of the season after a groin problem. He bowled Scott Newman and had Brown caught one-handed by Bressington at mid-off in a spell of 2-19.