SURREY gained their fifth championship victory of the season with an ease that was embarrassing for the many West Countrymen present. Alistair Brown struck an unbeaten century, putting on 189 with Rikki Clarke in only 33 overs through a series of shots that were cracking in every sense. There can be scant doubt now that Surrey will be back in the first division next year.

Trying to restrain Brown and Clarke on a festival out-ground with shortish boundaries and too much responsibility resting on Andrew Caddick in the absence of a decent spinner, is a thankless task. The strokeplay became more audacious, the out-cricket more ragged, and a target of 353 that should have taxed even Surrey’s stellar batting order became eminently achievable.

When Mark Butcher was held at mid-wicket, falling for Charl Willoughby’s slower ball, and Mark Ramprakash went to an excellent catch by Carl Gazzard low to his right, Somerset seemingly had a chance. Surrey were then 129 for four still a long way off victory. There was bounce for the quicker bowlers and turn for the spinners, as Ian Salisbury had shown earlier in the day.

Dan Cullen, who has extracted all too little turn at Taunton since arriving from Australia, might just have made a difference here. As it was, White’s length and direction was not all it should have been and Arul Suppiah and Wes Durston were given all too little bowling. Not with Brown and Clarke in this form. Their first 150 runs came off 152 balls and Brown’s century included 19 fours.

Yet at the start of play, Somerset led by 224 runs, seven wickets intact. No one gave White any support once Matthew Wood had gone for 69. Keith Parsons, Peter Trego, White himself and the tailenders went for the addition of 44 runs. The stand-in captain struck 19 fours in his century and on another day, with a more potent attack on a pitch that was wearing, that should have been enough.