It took just 24 minutes for Surrey to polish off Hampshire’s two remaining wickets yesterday, after which their captain, Adam Hollioake, all but said the Oval outfit’s name was on the County Championship trophy.

Hollioake told reporters: “If we go up to Edgbaston and win, I think you can write our name on the trophy. There have been times in the past when we have gone into the last three games not playing too well, thinking that the wheels could come off, but that is not the case this time. It would have to be a monumental falling apart for us not to win the championship.”

Indeed with a 47.75-point advantage over second-placed Warwickshire going into the last four weeks of the season, all Surrey basically have to do is avoiding losing and the title will be theirs for the third time in four summers. The last team to achieve that feat was the Yorkshire side of the 1960s, who claimed a total of seven championship titles in ten seasons between 1959 and 1968.

One could say the day’s play was over before it was supposed to begin. Due to the late start on day one, caused by Wednesday’s floodlit game, it was agreed that the hour lost should be made up by bringing the start forward on the last three days. So with play commencing at 10:30am the match was over before any of the other games played yesterday had begun.

Resuming on 303 for eight, the visitors added 23 to their overnight total in two balls shy of eight overs. Dimitri Mascarenhas made a face-saving 94 in 124 deliveries, but fell one hit within sight of his first century since May 2001 when he was taken at head height at cover point off the bowling of Ian Salisbury.

In Salisbury’s previous over James Hamblin was out to an easy return catch off a leading edge.

The leg-spinner emerged with three for 104, and six in the match, however the home side owed their victory to Saqlain Mushtaq, whose six wicket haul on the third day saw him return match figures of 11 for 180.

The Pakistani’s 13th ten-wicket haul of his career sentenced Hampshire to defeat by an innings and 60 runs. It was Surrey’s seventh consecutive championship victory over Hampshire, who have not won at The Oval since 1982 and now look a certainty for relegation.

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