First impressions are not everything. So it proved when Surrey raced to 43 without loss in four overs. That they managed a semi-respectable 190 was due entirely to Mark Ramprakash; who passed fifty for the sixth time in seven one-day innings by making a steady 78 in 112 deliveries. But, with the Lions also letting themselves down in the field, Steve Selwood and Jason Kerr stepped up to carry Derbyshire to victory with more than six overs to spare.

With the County Championship trophy heading for the AMP Oval for a third time in four seasons, Surrey had been expected to crank up their assault on Division Two of the Norwich Union League by dispatching the out of form Scorpions.

After winning the toss and electing to bat Ian Ward and Alistair Brown gave their side a platform to do so. Both were particularly severe on left-armer Kevin Dean, whose opening two overs went for 34. Brown clubbed the 26-year-old for three successive boundaries before Ward went two better. But after Alistair Brown was trapped leg before in the fifth over by Dominic Cork the home side managed just 37 runs in the next fifteen.

Ian Ward also fell to Cork, caught down the leg side, before Scott Newman was put out of his misery by Tom Lungley. Dean then returned to bowl a tidy seven-over spell. With Karl Krikken standing-up, Kevin Dean had Alec Stewart - who has failed to pass twenty all but once in limited-overs cricket for Surrey this season - stumped for just eleven.

With Nadeem Shahid also going cheaply, it was left to Mark Ramprakash and Adam Hollioake to give their bowlers something to defend. The sixth wicket pair added 41 in nine overs before the Lions captain was defeated by the medium pace of Matthew Dowman, which also accounted for Ian Salisbury.

Ramprakash pulled Dowman back over his head for six and in the next over overtook Alistair Brown as the leading one-day run-scorer in the country this season. The former Middlesex man then took his run-tally to 850 by lifting the first ball of the 45th over, bowled by Lungley, over extra cover for six.

Mark Ramprakash was attempting another big hit when he was last out to a good catch by Stubbings on the deep point boundary.

Martin Bicknell and Ed Giddins reduced Derbyshire to 38 for two in the eighth over of their reply, but then Steve Stubbings and Dominic Cork got the visitors back on course with a valuable 41-run alliance. Stubbings, who was dropped by Stewart and Ramprakash in consecutive overs off the new-ball pair, was eventually taken at the wicket in Tim Murtagh’s second over before the youngster had conceded a run.

That brought Steve Selwood to the crease and despite the departure of Cork, for 32, to a catch at mid-wicket and Dowman to a stumping, the 22-year-old made the most of some poor fielding to lead the Scorpions’ victory charge.

Selwood reached his third half-century in limited-overs cricket this term in 59 deliveries with a single off a free hit. With the help of Jason Kerr, who was almost caught at slip off the bowling of Salisbury for two, the 63 runs needed when the pair came together at five wickets down were knocked off with relative ease. Steve Selwood perished in sight of the finishing line, which left Kerr, who added an unbeaten 34 off 39 balls to the three wickets he took earlier, to hit the winning runs over mid-on.

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