Nail-biting one-wicket win eases Surrey relegation fears

Surrey's fears of relegation were eased considerably by their second championship victory of the season, the most agonising one-wicket win over Yorkshire, thanks to an unlikely hero in Josh Blake.

When a superb bowling performance reduced Surrey to 115 for seven chasing 185 on a green pitch described as a "roulette wheel" by Dan Worrall, their attack leader, the home side looked dead and buried.

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But a stout partnership of 55 between Matthew Fisher, who had taken six for 25 to bring Surrey back into the match when Yorkshire were bowled out for 82 on day two, and Blake took them to within touching distance of victory in front of an anxious Oval crowd. Fisher fell to the outstanding George Hill with 15 required, and Surrey were still two short when India's Auqib Nabi was caught at mid-on.

Fortunately for Surrey, Blake kept his cool – just about – alongside Worrall, who is such a bunny that he does not even carry his own kit, instead borrowing bats and pads from team-mates. Worrall hit the winning runs through point, while Blake finished 43 not out from 183 balls, a show of true grit in adversity. A game that looked destined for a quick finish had dragged on until after 5pm, with the light drawing in. These two storied counties have never tied a first-class match, but this was mighty close.

Surrey are not out of the woods yet. After their defeat to Warwickshire, Hampshire look destined for the drop, but there is still one spot up for grabs. Leicestershire are battling hard to avoid defeat at Trent Bridge, while Glamorgan could yet be sucked in by their defeat at Taunton. That sent Somerset top.

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Blake is one of the lesser lights of a star-studded squad. Blake is a 27-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman playing just his seventh first-class match. He is a home-grown player, was released from Surrey's academy at 15 but never gave up. He coached in the community game for the Surrey Cricket Foundation, and eventually received his first contract at 22.

In this match, because of a series of England call-ups and injuries, he was thrust in at No 3. But in the chase, he was relegated to No 4 upon the fall of the first wicket, Dom Sibley, as Surrey employed bizarre pinch-hitting tactics by promoting tail-ender Rahul Chahar. He was bowled by the relentless Jack White for a five-ball duck, during which he did not play a shot in anger. Surrey were 42 for two, and in bother.

That brought Blake to the crease, and until he was joined by Fisher, it was a muddled batting effort from Surrey in conditions tailor-made for Yorkshire's precise and nibbly attack: dank, low cloud throughout ensured swing, and a green surface that seamed. Jack White, Ben Coad and George Hill were tireless and accurate, although if Jonny Bairstow, the Yorkshire skipper, had a regret, it would surely be not bowling a single over of Kuldeep Yadav, the India spinner.

Rory Burns, the out-of-form Surrey captain, had battled hard, but edged Hill to slip, bringing Ollie Pope to the crease. He smeared his second ball for six, and added another soon after, but was rooted to his crease by Bairstow coming up to the stumps, and pinned in front by a nip-backer from Coad. Ben Foakes, Surrey's saviour at Essex last week, was bowled by Coad soon after, as Surrey subsided.

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They took lunch five down, and a superb spell by Hill, including a spectacular caught and bowled to dismiss Adam Thomas, put Yorkshire on the brink of victory. Blake, though, had other ideas. He played and missed plenty, and never looked especially fluent, but battled through.

If Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith or even Ryan Patel were available, he would not have been used. But Surrey were grateful for the boy who never gave up – both in his dreams of a cricket career, and in this match.

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