In the Vitality County Championship match at Canterbury between Surrey and Kent, Surrey emerged as the winners after an innings and 37 runs.
In their second innings, the defending champions dismissed the hosts for 262, with Dan Worrall taking 4 for 31 and Cameron Steel, claiming 3 for 38. Steel currently leads the country in terms of wickets taken this season, with 20 after three matches.
Joey Evison made 53 and Matt Parkinson achieved his highest first-class score of 39. However, after a determined defensive effort that saw them through the morning session, Kent faltered midway through the afternoon.
Despite an overnight score of 120 for 5, the hosts were still 179 runs in arrears. This slim batting hope was dealt a near-fatal blow when Ben Compton was dismissed in the fifth over of the morning, having scored eight overnight. Compton, unbeaten, chased a Worrall delivery that veered away and was caught behind.
The home supporters were pleased to witness the resilience of Evison and Parkinson, who managed to survive the remainder of the morning. Parkinson's promotion to the number eight position was part of an initiative aimed at strengthening Kent's lower order. Although there were some concerns, Kent reached 203 for six by lunch and it became increasingly unlikely that they would fail to reach their target.
Evison, however, fell to Tom Lawes in the afternoon's third over. He achieved a half-century by cutting Lawes for four consecutive boundaries, but then edged him behind.
With Evison gone, Kent's performance declined. George Garrett was lbw to Steel for four runs and Jas Singh was dismissed without scoring when Jamie Smith took a brilliant catch at short leg off the same bowler.
Number 11 Arafat Bhuiyan demonstrated his ability to handle the new ball, successfully hitting three consecutive balls from Kemar Roach for a six and two fours on his way to his highest championship score of 22 not out. This achievement marks him as the fourth Kent tail-ender to reach that personal landmark in this match, following in the footsteps of Garrett and Singh, who hit their career-best scores in the first innings.
This merely delayed Surrey's celebrations, however, and an emphatic victory was sealed when Smith took another exceptional close catch to snare Parkinson off Kemar Roach. Surrey's total score is 24 points, while Kent's is 2.