Walter steers Essex into lead at Surrey

Rothesay County Championship Division One, Kia Oval (day two)

Essex 217 & 195-2: Walter 118, Elgar 60*; Smith 2-52

Surrey 279: S Curran 70, Clark 54, Patterson 51; Rajitha 5-87

Essex (3 pts) lead Surrey (4 pts) by 133 runs

Match scorecard

A superb opening stand of 188 between Paul Walter and Dean Elgar stunned champions Surrey at the Kia Oval after they had looked to be in control of their County Championship fixture.

Walter was the main aggressor, hitting 19 fours in his 118, and former South Africa opener Elgar, though never comfortable at the crease, simply used all his experience to scrap his way his 60 not out from 159 balls.

By stumps, Essex were 195-2 in their second innings – 133 runs in front – with Nathan Smith removing Walter and nightwatchman Simon Harmer, for a duck, in the closing overs.

Surrey had themselves been rallied earlier on an absorbing second day by Sam Curran's classy 70 and Jordan Clark's 54 in an eighth wicket stand of 82 in 14 overs.

That partnership not only rescued Surrey from the depths of 144-7, in reply to Essex's first innings 217, but was also instrumental in earning them an eventual half-way lead of 62.

Walter and Elgar's subsequent heroics, however, leaves the match intriguingly poised with two days left.

Walter, 31 next week, looked surprised when he was given out caught behind slashing at a widish ball from Smith but his fourth first-class hundred was a wonderful effort.

Elgar, by contrast, remained unbeaten despite several close calls.

On 33, just after tea, he edged Smith between first and second slips for four to bring up Essex's 100. Neither fielder moved, while in the final session he survived two imioned appeals for caught behind and also edged Curran just short of second slip.

Kasun Rajitha, the Sri Lankan Test seamer, was another Essex second day hero, taking 5-87, his best figures of the season so far, but it was the batting of Walter and Elgar that has perhaps tilted this game back towards the visitors.

Using all six of their frontline pace bowlers, Surrey tried everything to break the Walter-Elgar partnership – and Dan Worrall in particular bowled without luck in an excellent eight-over spell immediately after tea – but the two left-handers stood firm until Smith broke through in the 50th over of the innings.

The day began with Surrey, on 94-3 overnight, but Curran and Clark had to pull the innings around with a stand of increasing authority.

And, when Curran pulled once too often at Rajitha – the legside field featuring both an inner and outer ring, placed there specifically to punish any miscued stroke – Smith arrived to help Clark make sure of a batting bonus point.

Brought on for only his third over, strangely late in the innings at 250-8, off spinner Simon Harmer soon dismissed Clark for 54 when Elgar at slip did brilliantly to knock up an edged cut and complete a fine reflex catch from the rebound.

And, having seen last man Worrall drive his first ball high into the pavilion for six, Harmer was also swiped over extra cover for four by the Surrey fast bowler before snaring him for 13 courtesy of a more straightforward catch at slip by Elgar.

Between them, the batting efforts of Curran, Clark, Smith and Worrall had turned a precarious Surrey position into a mid-match advantage.

That was soon negated by Walter and Elgar, and this game could still go either way.

ECB Reporters' Network ed by Rothesay