Surrey complete second-highest run chase in County Championship history: Stats
Team Surrey scripted history on Wednesday (June 14) as they successfully chased down a mammoth 501 in the County Championship Division One match against Kent. This is the second-highest successful run chase in the history of County cricket. The likes of Dom Sibley, Jamie Smith, and Ben Foakes smothered centuries in the last innings. Here are further details.
How did the chase pan out?
Surrey were off to a terrible start as their skipper Rory Burns (4) was dismissed in the very first over. However, Sibley, the other opener, batted with precision and built crucial partnerships with Tom Latham (58), Smith (114), and Foakes (124). Will Jacks (19) and Jordan Clark (26*) also played crucial cameos toward the end as Surrey clinched the contest by five wickets.
Second-highest successful run-chase in County cricket
This was the second occasion of a team successfully chasing down a 500-plus total in County cricket. Back in 1925, Middlesex chased down 502 against Nottinghamshire, claiming a five-wicket win. As per ESPNcricinfo, this is the seventh-highest successful run-chase in First-Class cricket. Meanwhile, the highest successful chased target in FC cricket belongs to West Zone (536 versus South Zone in 2010).
Slowest hundred in County cricket
Notably, Sibley slammed the slowest century in the competition's history in terms of balls faced (368) and minutes batted (502). As per Wisden, he went past Joe Sayers, who took 38 balls fewer than Sibley to reach three figures for Yorkshire against Leicestershire in 2005. Sibley returned unbeaten, having scored 140 off 415 balls (17 fours).
Tons from Smith, Foakes
Smith, who holds the record for slamming the fastest ton for England Lions (71 balls), played another breathtaking knock. He scored a 77-ball 114, striking at a whopping 148.05. Meanwhile, wicketkeeper Foakes also batted with precision and made 124 off 211 balls. Interestingly, both batters were involved in double-century stands with Sibley. Meanwhile, India's Arshdeep Singh (2/90) was the pick of the Kent bowlers.
Surrey's dream comeback
It was indeed a heart-breaking defeat for Kent as they dominated a major part of the contest. After posting 301 while batting first, they bundled out Surrey for 145, earning a mammoth 156-run lead. Furthermore, they managed an even better total, 344, in their second innings and set a mammoth total for the Burns-led side. However, they could not cross the line.
