Two shattering defeats by Somerset have left Surrey in danger of ending their campaign empty-handed.

First, they lost by 111 runs in the Vitality County Championship first division clash at Taunton, allowing their nearest challengers to shrink the gap from 24 points to just eight.

Then, two days later in the Vitality Blast finals day at Edgbaston, Surrey went down by six wickets against the defending champions, a painful repeat of their reverse at the same stage last season.

Director of cricket Alec Stewart, due to step down this year, had highlighted the T20 competition as a target for the summer, his county having won it in the inaugural season of 2003 but suffered several frustrating trips to finals day since.

But it is seeing the Championship – where Surrey have led for much of the season and are aiming to complete the first hat-trick for almost half a century – slip from their grasp which would be the most galling.

Somerset, who have never won the title in their history, completed victory with just four minutes remaining of a fascinating match and put Surrey under severe pressure for this week’s final home match, entertaining Durham at the Kia Oval from Tuesday (September 17).

That is followed by a tricky final outing against Essex at Chelmsford, a notoriously difficult place for visiting sides.

Surrey had known their trip to the west country would not be easy, given they were not only missing England Test quartet Ollie Pope, Jamie Smith, Dan Lawrence and Gus Atkinson but had Will Jacks, Sam Curran, Jamie Overton and Reece Topley in the white ball squad preparing to take on Australia.

In a bid to redress the balance, they signed Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan on a one-off basis, knowing the pitch was almost certainly going to be responsive to spin.

The left-arm spinner made an immediate impact on day one, claiming four for 97 as Somerset’s 317 – having won an important toss – was built around Tom Banton’s 132.

Despite early runs from Ryan Patel (70) and Ben Geddes (50), the visitors looked likely to concede a sizeable deficit until Tom Curran, in his first Championship match for two years, cracked 86 to afford a lead of four.

Young off-spinner Archie Vaughan – son of former England captain Michael – claimed six for 102 in only his second first-class outing.

Banton had injured himself playing football before the start of the third day, which saw Somerset reduced to 122 for eight in their second innings, but he limped to the wicket to make 46 and put on a vital 71 for the final wicket with Craig Overton (49).

Shakib’s five for 96 gave him nine wickets in the match but underlined his adopted side’s paucity of spin options.

Regarding the target of 221 as impossible they aimed to play out a draw and time was beginning to run out while Dominic Sibley (56) and Ben Foakes (20) were absorbing 29 overs for the fourth wicket.

England left-arm spinner Jack Leach (five for 37) suddenly transformed the match by having both caught at slip in successive overs.

Vaughan (five for 38) got into the action with five more victims, and Surrey collapsed from 95 for four to 109 all out with just four minutes remaining.

The prospects of revenge looked good for Surrey two days later at Edgbaston, Sibley’s 48 having guided Surrey to 153 for nine from their 20 overs in the Blast semi-final.

Prospects for a larger total had been dimmed by Lewis Gregory bowling the returning Pope and Smith in successive deliveries.

When Dan Worrall struck twice in reducing Somerset to seven for three, a place in the final appeared to be beckoning for the South Group winners but James Rew (62 not out) and Sean Dickson (78) transformed the situation, their partnership of 144 – a record for all wickets on finals day – sending Surrey to defeat by six wickets with eight balls to spare.

Gloucestershire beat Somerset in the final.

By Richard Spiller

Guildford City won 1-0 at home to Horley Town in the Combined Counties Premier Division South last Wednesday evening (September 11).

The deadlock was broken two minutes before the interval. A penalty was awarded after Benji Gambrah was brought down in the box, and Jake Brown stepped up to convert with aplomb.

Guildford then slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Jersey Bulls in the Combined Counties Premier Division South on Saturday. Karl Hinds headed home the only goal on 56 minutes.

By Barry Underwood