FOR the second time in three days, Northamptonshire failed to take the opportunity to climb to the top of the totesport League. They lost to Essex, then second from bottom, on Sunday and suffered again at the hands of supposedly lower brethren yesterday, when Surrey confirmed reports of a revival of their own.

Northamptonshire were looking good on 110 for two in the seventeenth over, with Graeme Swann and David Sales well set. At that point, however, Swann chopped on, attempting to cut Phil Sampson, and the innings subsided. Sales followed three overs later, so that Northamptonshire were forced to rebuild when they wanted to accelerate.

On a pitch with enough life to keep bowlers interested throughout, Surrey followed their total of 315 against Warwickshire two days earlier by recording their best score in this competition against Northamptonshire, 265 for six. Almost 60 per cent of the runs came in a vigorous stand of 151 in 18 overs between Jon Batty and Adam Hollioake.

Sales was left to reflect on a costly decision to remove Swann from the attack after he had bowled Rikki Clarke behind his legs. The Northamptonshire captain knew that he could bank on Swann later in the innings and wanted to fiddle a few overs from the slow left arm of Usman Afzaal instead of relying on his pace attack.

Yet any pressure had been removed and Hollioake stood anything but becalmed as 70 runs came from the next six overs from the Pavilion End, bowled by Afzaal and Ben Phillips. When Swann did return, the momentum had swung against his county.

Hollioake bludgeoned three sixes in his unbeaten 80 from 66 balls, almost double his previous best in the competition this season, while Batty was only marginally quieter in hitting 66 from 60 balls. Earlier, James Benning had struck a half-century from 57 balls, having been hit on the hand by the impressive Johann Louw on three.

Surrey fielded without Mark Ramprakash in completing a third successive win. A club spokesman said that he was suffering from a “wry neck”, but there was some comfort on the injury front as Alex Tudor continued his rehabilitation with five lively overs. Only with Tudor out of the attack did Louw and Phillips launch a belated counter-offensive.

SCOREBOARD FROM THE OVAL

S A Newman lbw b Greenidge 0
J G E Benning c Brophy b Swann 50
M R Ramprakash b Greenidge 4
R Clarke b Swann 45
*J N Batty c Louw b Phillips 66
A J Hollioake not out 80
Azhar Mahmood c White b Phillips 0
A J Tudor not out 0
Extras (lb 6, w 6, nb 8)20
Total (6 wkts, 45 overs) 265

J Ormond, N D Doshi and P J Sampson did not bat.

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-3, 2-18, 3-91, 4-112, 5-263, 6-263.

BOWLING: Louw 9-1-25-0; Greenidge 8-1-64-2; Phillips 8-0-69-2; Swann 9-0-35-2; Brown 9-0-34-0; Afzaal 2-0-32-0.

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE

T W Roberts c and b Azhar Mahmood 12
M L Love c Batty b Sampson 23
G P Swann b Sampson 38
*D J G Sales c Batty b Ormond 23
U Afzaal c Hollioake b Doshi 9
R A White c Batty b Tudor 11
G L Brophy lbw b Tudor 9
J Louw c Tudor b Ormond 36
B J Phillips b Ormond 42
C G Greenidge c and b Ormond 11
J F Brown not out 1
Extras (b 1, lb 5, w 3, nb 2) 11
Total (41.3 overs) 226

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-32, 2-53, 3-100, 4-112, 5-112, 6-128, 7-137, 8-189, 9-225.

BOWLING: Azhar Mahmood 7-0-36-1; Clarke 6-0-35-0; Sampson 7-0-55-2; Ormond 7.3-0-48-4; Doshi 9-0-33-1; Tudor 5-1-13-2.

Umpires: J H Hampshire and T E Jesty.