Nottinghamshire moved to the brink of their first County Championship title since 2010 after a dramatic 20-run victory over Surrey at the Oval. Josh Tongue took five wickets as Notts defended a target of 315, handing Surrey their first defeat of the season and opening up a 14-point lead at the top of Division One with one match remaining.
Surrey appeared in control during their chase, with Ollie Pope making 41 before being caught off Lyndon James. Dan Lawrence and Tom Curran then attacked with flair, but a tactical masterstroke from captain Haseeb Hameed saw Liam Patterson-White bowl a single over, during which Curran was stumped for 33. Lawrence fell lbw to Dillon Pennington for 50, but Tom Lawes' clean hitting kept Surrey in the hunt.
Hameed switched Tongue to the pavilion end, and the pace bowler responded with venom. He had Gus Atkinson caught at slip, bowled Matt Fisher, and finally had Lawes caught on the boundary with 20 runs to spare. It was Nottinghamshire's first win at the Oval since 2008. 'I don't think I have ever played in a Championship match as good as that,' said Tongue, who finished with five wickets.
In Division Two, Glamorgan secured promotion after 20 years in the second tier following a rain-affected draw at Derby. They join Leicestershire, who were crowned Division Two champions with a match to spare. Somerset's hopes of promotion ended as they failed to bowl out Hampshire at Taunton, despite six wickets for Archie Vaughan. Yorkshire batted out a draw at Hove, setting up a relegation decider against Durham.
Surrey head coach Gareth Batty acknowledged the defeat: 'All credit to Nottinghamshire for coming here and beating us on our own patch. Josh Tongue was very, very good. We have some work to do now.' Surrey travel to Hampshire next week, while Nottinghamshire host Warwickshire at Trent Bridge.
