The Second XI Championship game between Surrey and Warwickshire moved quickly on the second day as Stuart van der Merwe’s tremendous, unbeaten century and Nathan Barnwell’s four-for placed the Three Feathers in a strong position.
Surrey claimed a first-innings lead of 101 runs in Birmingham and bowled out their hosts for 246 to set up a run chase of 146 runs in the final innings of the match. Closing on 15/1, Josh Blake’s side need 131 more runs to finish their season on a high.
Resuming day two on 170 for four, van der Merwe and Tommy Ealham began watchfully and added 36 runs to Surrey’s overnight tally, taking their partnership to 43, before Warwickshire fought back with the ball.
AA Rao triggered a mini-collapse, where Surrey lost four wickets for nine runs, by bowling Ealham for 20. The Bears skipper JB Lintott then pinned Kieran Coyne lbw without scoring before Yousef Majid was run out for two and Rao had Barnwell caught for nine.
Amidst the turmoil, left-hander van der Merwe stood like a rock and completed a gutsy century under pressure. With his unbeaten 109 not out, he took Surrey from 227 for eight to past 260, finding support from number ten James Taylor.
It was the left-arm wrist spin of Lintott (3/76) that broke Taylor’s 29-ball resistance for 16, and immediately after, BSM Blakemore rounded off the Three Feathers’ innings for 262, getting Matt Dunn caught without scoring from the other end.
Starting 101 runs behind Surrey, Warwickshire’s openers began steadily, seeing off the new ball without any loss.
In the sixth over of his opening spell, Taylor found a way through, beating the inside edge of ZA Malik (11) and crashing his stumps. That wicket opened the floodgates as Surrey went on a bit of a roll, collecting five more wickets for 35 runs, leaving the Bears six for 70.
Isaac Mohammed (28) was caught in the slip cordon off a brilliant Seb Stuart-Reckling delivery by Coyne before K Smith (10) played Barnwell on to his stumps. The wickets kept tumbling as Majid struck twice in an over – MG Booth (1) snicking behind and TO Wylie (0) clean bowled – after Barnwell had L Gekis (1), top-scorer in the first innings, caught by Blake.
Against the run of play, NV Gorantla and JB Lintott counterattacked to revert the mounting pressure on the hosts, scoring 83 runs off 95 balls for the seventh wicket.
The entertaining partnership was ended by Ealham when he beat Gorantla with his drift, castling the right-hander’s stumps for a well-made 53. That left Warwickshire 153 for seven, which soon became 165 for eight, as Ealham collected his second, having Blakemore (5) caught at midwicket.
The Bears skipper Lintott kept his spirits high, and found great support from number ten Rao, taking the attack to Surrey with an unbeaten 99, which included 15 fours.
The sharp pace of Barnwell (4/49) broke the frustrating 79-run stand as he bowled Rao for 25, and then wrapped up the visitors’ innings on 246 by going through C Mullapudi’s defence for nought, which left Lintott stranded one short of hundred.
Chasing 146 runs, opener Ollie Hunt (7) was run out early on, but nightwatch Ealham (1*) and Arjun Gill (6*) saw off the remaining overs to close on 15 for one.
