| Vitality County Championship Division One, The Kia Oval (day two) |
| Somerset 285: Lammonby 100; Steel 4-50 |
| Surrey: 358-6: Sibley 100, Burns 75 |
| Surrey (6 pts) lead Somerset (3 pts) by 73 runs |
Dom Sibley and Rory Burns led from the front as Surrey spent day two of their County Championship match against Somerset building a potentially match-winning lead at the Kia Oval.
Openers Sibley and Burns scored 100 and 75 respectively, putting on 167 for the first wicket, as Surrey advanced from their overnight 42 without loss to 358-6, giving them a 73-run advantage at the halfway point.
The 2022 and 2023 champions will be seeking more first-innings runs yet, even though they lost Ben Foakes lbw for 57 in the closing overs as he tried to flick a Lewis Gregory delivery behind square.
Cameron Steel, however, is still there on 35 not out alongside Jordan Clark, who was unbeaten on seven at stumps.
Jamie Smith also contributed an attractive 51 before falling to the second new ball when Craig Overton produced a beauty to uproot his off stump.
The only surprise of the day was that England Test regular Ollie Pope made only 11 before holing out to deep square leg, mis-pulling a short ball from Kasey Aldridge.
Sibley and Burns, on 29 and 13 overnight, added another 113 runs from 31 overs in the morning session, with the latter being badly dropped on the deep mid-wicket ropes by Tom Banton off seamer Migael Pretorius on 56.
Somerset would have felt deflated at that missed chance but, to their credit, they then took three wickets in the afternoon with England’s rookie off-spinner Shoaib Bashir making the first breakthrough when Burns edged a cut to wicketkeeper James Rew.
Pope came and went cheaply before left-arm spinner Lewis Goldsworthy, with his third ball, bowled Sibley soon after the England Test opener had completed his 20th first-class hundred.
Somerset continued to make breakthroughs with Smith, Dan Lawrence – the England batter scoring just six in his first innings for Surrey since his winter move from Essex – and Foakes all departing before the close, but Surrey still finished the day on top.
