Advantage Surrey as Durham target a lead

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SURREY are still strong favourites to defeat Durham in their Rothesay County Championship match but they had to scrap for every advantage as Emilio Gay led the home team’s recovery on the second day at the Banks Homes Riverside.

Rory Burns’ side were still very much in the ascendant after posting 322 at lunch, giving them a lead of 169, with Dan Lawrence and Jordan Clark making 80s and Ben Raine taking five for 72.

But Gay responded with 99 in Durham's second innings and the home side finished on 222 for five and they will go into the third morning with a lead of 53 and five wickets to fall. For their part, Surrey will be encouraged by the vital dismissal of Colin Ackermann, who was caught at short leg by Ryan Patel of Lawrence with only four overs left in the day’s play.

In the morning session Surrey extended their first-innings lead from 29 to a formidable 169 in only 28.1 overs for the loss of their last five wickets. Lawrence was the first to go in the eighth over of the day when he clipped Codi Yusuf to the precisely placed Ackermann at mid-wicket and departed for a fine 88.

But the loss of a major batter did not disrupt Surrey’s attacking strategy. Clark and Cameron Steel put on 70 for the seventh wicket before Steel was lbw to Raine for 27, becoming the first of four wickets to fall in the half hour before lunch.