THE Kent tail wagged briefly yesterday but Surrey, needing 174 off a minimum of 47 overs, knocked them off with 12.3 overs left to record their first championship victory of the season. It was a pity the match ended in farce, with Kent bowling Michael Carberry and Matthew Walker. The two non-bowlers came on after tea, when Surrey still needed 120, in order to make up Kent’s terrible over-rate in the first innings that threatened to cost them 2½ points.

It was fitting, though, that Jonathan Batty hit the winning boundary and that Mark Ramprakash added an unbeaten 91 to his 157 in the first innings. Ladbrokes immediately slashed the odds against Surrey winning the title from 16-1 to 5-1, but they are still 4-1 to be relegated.

Martin Bicknell took the 41st five-wicket haul of his career, including his 1,000th first-class wicket, in his nineteenth season for Surrey to steal the limelight from Robert Key’s 199. It came in his fourth over of the morning when Matthew Dennington, making his championship debut, pushed forward and nicked one behind.

Kent lost only one more wicket before lunch and, with Key at the crease and being 114 ahead, looked like saving the game. During an over smashing Rikki Clarke around, Key went past his previous best — an unbeaten 174 for England (also following on) against Australia A in Hobart in 2002. He was tiring, though, and, after driving Bicknell uppishly for two consecutive fours, he lunged at an away-swinger and edged to first slip. He had fielded for nine hours and been at the crease for 12 hours and seven minutes over his two innings, having time only for a shower and a cigarette when he was out in the first innings before following on. He is the leading runscorer in first-class cricket this season with 906.

Amjad Khan and Mohammad Sami added 49 in 41 balls for the last wicket, but that served only to suggest how easy Surrey’s chase would be.