Leaders Surrey are in a strong position to claim their fourth win of the season in the County Championship after dominating the second day against Worcestershire at the Kia Oval.
Dan Worrall wrapped up Worcestershire’s first innings by claiming the last three wickets in five balls to finish with 6-22 as Surrey took a lead of 85.
Skipper Rory Burns laid the foundations with 70 at the start of Surrey’s second innings and although Worcestershire fought back after lunch with four wickets in eight overs, Jamie Smith and Dan Lawrence reasserted Surrey’s control with a fifth-wicket stand of 115 in 29 overs.
Smith made 72 before Lawrence and Jordan Clark added further punishment with an unbroken sixth-wicket alliance of 108 as Surrey closed on 342-5 – a lead of 427.
Worrall now has 22 wickets in four games, and in his fourth over he tempted Joe Leach into an edge that Ben Foakes caught in front of first slip.
Ben Gibbon lost his off bail when the next ball nipped back and although Yadvinder Singh survived the hat-trick, he drove aerially at his second delivery and Foakes snaffled his 300th first class catch for Surrey.
All out for 128, Worcestershire were up against it, but their seamers bowled with good control with the new ball as Burns and Sibley took no risks and settled for patient accumulation.
The partnership was worth 79 from 29 overs when Sibley nicked a fine ball from Singh on a fourth-stump line that left him off the pitch.
In the next over, Ollie Pope was superbly caught by the diving Nathan Smith at leg slip to reward Gibbon’s wholehearted endeavours.
Having claimed his maiden first-class wicket, debutant Singh took his second in his fourth over when Burns nicked off and was well held low down at slip by Rob Jones.
Surrey slipped to 115-4 in the 38th over after Foakes missed a straight one from Matthew Waite, but the seamer was left shaking his head in frustration when Lawrence was put down on the mid-wicket boundary by Kashif Ali having made just three.
Jamie Smith lost his off stump to Gibbon via an inside edge before Lawrence reached his 50 – his second of the match – in the next over, while Clark went on the attack.
He raced to his half-century off 42 balls as the lead swelled beyond 400, with 160 runs added in the final session.
