Yorkshire edged out by Surrey in one-wicket thriller

Runs were precious, wickets were priceless. The balance seemed to swing one way, then the other.

At the end of it, Surrey were winners by one wicket, a result that eased their relegation worries.

Yorkshire gave everything and bowled magnificently but were not quite able to get over the line.

Chasing 185, Surrey were indebted to Josh Blake, who resisted for four-and-a-half hours to make an unbeaten 43, and to last man Dan Worrall, who struck the winning boundary off Ben Coad after coming to the crease with two runs needed.

Coad, who took three wickets, was excellent throughout, as were George Hill, who took four, and Jack White, who took two.

It was Yorkshire’s eighth defeat by a one-wicket margin in first-class cricket, and a magnificent advert for the county game.

This was anyone’s match when play got under way, a shower having delayed the start by 45 minutes.

Overcast, humid conditions continued to favour the bowlers after 23 wickets fell on day two, when all four innings of the contest were either started or finished.

Surrey resumed on 27-0 in pursuit of their target.

They advanced to 42 before losing a wicket to the first and last balls of the 14th over, White trapping Dom Sibley lbw before uprooting pinch-hitter Rahul Chahar’s middle stump. White was a constant threat, going at around one run per over for the most part.

He was ably supported by Coad and Hill, the trio maintaining a vice-like grip on a day when conditions persuaded Yorkshire to favour an all-seam attack rather than call on their spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Dom Bess.

Hill made it 52-3 with the first delivery of his third over.

The ball nipped away from Surrey captain Rory Burns, who edged it to Bess at first slip, moving to his left.

Throughout the match there always seemed to be a ball with a batsman’s name on it, rendering the 40s made by James Wharton, Matty Revis and Bess so impressive in the Yorkshire first innings.

Ollie Pope decided that rather than wait around for a ball with his name on it he would try to take the attack to the bowlers.

To his second delivery from Hill, he walked down the pitch and nonchalantly lofted the ball over the square-leg boundary, a remarkable shot under the circumstances.

Blake, a 27-year-old left-hander playing just his seventh first-class match, cover-drove Hill to the boundary before Pope struck another six, a pull off Coad.

Four balls later, Coad trapped Pope lbw, the ball nipping back to strike him on the crease.

When Coad followed up by bowling Ben Foakes on the stroke of lunch, a jaffa that took out the off stump, Surrey were 81-5 and it felt like Yorkshire were in the box seat.

When the total had reached 95-5 there was a moment of sheer brilliance from Hill. Adam Thomas tried to turn him to the leg-side but got a leading edge back to the bowler, who thrust out his left hand low in his follow-through to claim a sensational catch.

Tom Lawes played one or two positive shots before he was seventh out at 115, flashing Hill to third slip, where Will Luxton took a good head-high catch.

Neither side continued to give an inch.

Hill hit Matthew Fisher on the helmet, greeting his old colleague with a brute of a delivery.

Fisher recovered to deftly steer Coad behind square to the off-side boundary and then whipped Hill with a flourish away through mid-wicket.

At the other end, Blake jabbed a pull to the boundary off Hill and then cover-drove him for another in rare interruptions to an innings of mostly obdurate defence.

Blake and Fisher held firm in the hour before tea, which Surrey took at 152-7. Thirty-three to win, three wickets to take.

As spectators watched engrossed, every run was cheered by the home support and every play-and-miss was greeted with a gasp from the visiting fans.

Fisher drove White to the cover boundary to raise the 50 stand inside 21 overs.

But when the partnership had reached 55, he pushed at a delivery from Hill and was caught at third slip by Luxton to depart for 33 from 59 balls. Fisher could not hide his disappointment but he had a terrific match, scoring 45 runs all told and taking eight wickets, including a career-best 6-25 in the Yorkshire second innings.

Fifteen to win, two wickets to take.

When Auqib Nabi, on his Surrey debut, pulled Coad for six, the hosts were just two runs short of their target. Then came yet another twist in this crazy game.

To his next ball, Nabi had an inexplicable rush of blood and spooned Coad straight up in the air to James Wharton at mid-on. 183-9. Hill several times went past Blake’s outside edge before Worrall slapped Coad to the offside boundary to complete the win.

Agony for Yorkshire, ecstasy for Surrey, the hosts prevailing by what a certain New Zealander would have called the barest of margins.